As B.C. expands what people can put in their recycling bins and drop off at depots, waste-reduction advocates say the province still isn鈥檛 putting enough emphasis on cutting out plastic items before they鈥檙e thrown away.

The province amended regulations in January to make a wider array of plastics and packaging products 鈥� many of them single-use 鈥� accepted through the recycling system.

People can now put things like plastic utensils and straws, plastic-lined paper products and plastic party-style cups in their recycling, while also being able to bring flexible plastics, like wraps and sandwich or freezer bags, to depots.

In making the change, the province highlighted how single-use plastics are one of the most common items found on B.C.鈥檚 shores.

But the most recent data shows just over half of the recyclable plastic packaging making it to market is recovered in B.C., with less than that ultimately being recycled. The province recognizes that reducing waste and reusing items should come first.

鈥淯nfortunately, the province hasn鈥檛 really encouraged or enforced that aspect too much, but we鈥檙e hoping they will start to and then that can really make a shift to reduce the waste,鈥� said Sue Maxwell, chair of Zero Waste BC.

The province is expected to release a report on what it heard during consultations on new plastic regulations before those policies are drafted this spring. A 2022 intentions paper on those proposals envisions moving plastics into a circular economy approach where nothing is 鈥渨aste.鈥� Maxwell wants the province to expand that circular scope to all single-use items.

鈥淪ometimes people look at zero waste and say 鈥極h as long as nothing is in my garbage can, it would be okay,鈥� but really it鈥檚 about the fact that we are over-consuming the resources on the planet,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e need to consume less and consume smarter so that we still can have functioning ecosystems and a healthy planet.鈥�

Environment Minister George Heyman said in an interview that he doesn鈥檛 鈥渢hink it鈥檚 government鈥檚 job to tell people how much they should or can consume.鈥� He added that products were made to last when he was a child and there鈥檚 been a resurgence in that approach, which is why his government is focused on helping people understand what a circular economy looks like.

Governments, businesses and advocates have been educating the public on plastic waste, the minister said. Heyman has noticed a shift in behaviour where more people are using reusable water bottles over plastic ones now that more information and refill stations have rolled out over the years.

鈥淧art of that is education, part of that making it easy for people,鈥� he said.

Maxwell said B.C.鈥檚 Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program, which puts the onus on companies for the waste their products cause, needs to be emboldened as municipalities have for too long been bearing the costs of disposable and hard-to-collect packaging. She said companies should face steeper fines, which could go toward funding reuse programs, unless they shift to more reusable packaging or eliminate unnecessary product waste.

The EPR is expected to start covering items such as mattresses, vehicle batteries and medical syringes in the next four years.

鈥淲e want to deal with our own materials and recycle them properly as well as creating the economic opportunities that come with a recycled plastic industry,鈥� Heyman said.

The expanded list of recyclable items is one in a series of actions addressing plastic and other waste, he added.

Greenpeace Canada found it encouraging to see B.C. taking action that complements the federal government鈥檚 phased ban on problematic single-use items, but the group was disappointed more wasn鈥檛 announced on moving away from single-use items altogether.

鈥淪ingle-use is the issue in its entirety and that鈥檚 where this management strategy really falls short,鈥� said Laura Yates, a campaigner on the environmental organization鈥檚 oceans and plastics team. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not reducing the amount of single-use that is being produced.鈥�

The province鈥檚 circular economy intentions mention cutting the need for new, raw plastics. Yates said plastics run counter to a truly circular model because the polymers that form them are degraded during the recycling process, causing new products to still need virgin plastic material.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not actually helping us in moving to the end goal which is to reduce the amount of plastic pollution that is happening and moving away from our resource extraction-intensive culture,鈥� she said.

Adding to the recyclable items list was the result of the municipalities telling the province of the need to recycle a broader range of plastics, including soft and flexible kinds.

鈥淲e want to encourage reuse wherever possible, we want to expand our recycling while at the same time being sure that we have the infrastructure in place to both accept recycled items and process them so that we鈥檙e not simply pretending that we鈥檙e recycling everything we put in the blue box,鈥� Heyman said.

The most recent data shows 45 per cent of the plastic packaging covered by Recycle BC鈥檚 programs is not collected. Yates called on the province to create a level playing field by banning more items because she said individual businesses may want to move away from single-use items, but they might be worried about facing customer backlash.

鈥淲e can talk about plastic recycling and focus on plastic recycling from now until eternity, but that鈥檚 not the conversation we need to be having,鈥� Yates said. 鈥淭he only way that we鈥檙e going to stop plastic from ending up in the environment is by reducing the production of single-use plastics.鈥�

B.C. is working on single-use bans that will go further than the federal regulations and could take some action by the end of this year, Heyman said. There鈥檚 huge public support for making sure waste doesn鈥檛 end up in the ocean or on land, but the province has to ensure companies have access to alternatives before they can bring in new bans, he said.

Yates said the focus needs to shift to advancing more refill and share programs, and the government should come forward with funding to spur those models.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a good idea and I鈥檇 be happy to look at it further,鈥� Heyman said.

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