Page 29 - Plastics News August 2020

British Columbia expands EPR and bottle Advocacy group questions plastic chemical
deposit systems recycling efficacy

anada's third-largest province has approved a alifornia based organization called the Global
Cnumber of changes to its extended producer
CAlliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) says
responsibility and container deposit programs. A
province of over 5 million people, British Columbia has elected officials should be wary of turning to processes
an extended producer responsibility (EPR) system for labeled as chemical
recyclables collected through the curbside “Blue Box” recycling or advanced
program. Producers of paper and packaging fund the recycling as ways to
stewardship group Recycle BC, which is responsible for boost the recycling
collection and processing of recovered materials. The rate of discarded
plastic. GAIA also
q u e s t i o n s t h e
financial viability of
t h e p r a c t i c e ,
repeating allegations
it had made in a
t e c h n i c a l r e p o r t
released in June and
calls conversion of
plastic scrap to fuel a “greenwashing scheme.” The
GAIA says its new 40-page report “reveals that what
industry in the United States calls 'advanced recycling'
is largely the opposite— turning plastic into fuel to be
burned.” GAIA consists of advocacy groups from around
program currently requires producers to pay for the the world, including 14 regional organizations in the
recycling of a wide range of items. British Columbia U.S. and Canada. The group says the U.S. House of
leaders recently decided to further widen the list. Representatives Select Committee on the Climate
Starting in 2023, “packaging-like” and “single-use” Crisis should reconsider its endorsement of the process
products will be added to the Blue Box program. in its recently published “Solving the Climate Crisis:
According to an explainer document from the Ministry The Congressional Action Plan For a Clean Energy
of Environment and Climate Change Strategy,
Economy and a Healthy, Resilient, and Just America”
“packaging-like” includes items consumers often
already put in their blue boxes. Those include food document. GAIA says its research indicates, “out of the
storage, sandwich and freezer bags; paper lunch bags; 37 [chemical recycling] facilities proposed in the U.S.
aluminum foil; shrink film wrap; wax paper and since 2000, only three are currently operational, and
parchment paper; non durable plastic, paper or other none have been proven to successfully recover plastic
food containers; aluminum foil pie plates and baking to make new plastics on a commercial scale.” The
trays; corrugated cardboard moving and banking group also claims “a technical assessment of chemical
boxes; bags used to collect recyclables; LDPE/HDPE
recycling [found] the technology to be polluting,
film used as drop sheets for painting; bubble wrap; and
plastic plant pots and saucers. “The addition does not carbon intensive, and riddled with system failures,
include glass or metal food storage containers or long- disqualifying it as a solution to the escalating plastic
term storage containers such as heavy-duty plastic problem, especially at the scale needed.” Judith Enck,
boxes or totes. In addition, the regulation was president of Beyond Plastics and a former U.S.
amended to require that party supplies such as paper Environmental Protection Agency regional
streamers, pinwheels and piñatas be included in the administrators says, “This technology has not worked in
Blue Box program. But that provision does not include the past, cannot survive without significant taxpayer
items such as ballon and ribbon. The business group
Retail Council of Canada (RCC) said that it anticipates subsidies, creates few jobs, and brushes aside the
serious climate change and air toxics issues associated
the changes will raise costs associated with the EPR
program. with plastic production.”

August 2020 27 Plastics News