Instead of trashing your old microwave, the province is urging British Columbians to consider an environmentally friendly alternative.
A government-approved recycling program for small appliances starts up Oct. 1, providing residents with the opportunity to help keep unnecessary waste out of landfills.
But, similar to other programs which take care of old tires and computers, this program will come with a cost when you want to replace those old electronics.
"Our impression is that people are quite familiar with these types of programs," said Product Care Association president Mark Kurshner, a spokesperson for the Canadian Electrical Stewardship Association (CESA).
CESA is a non-profit industry association formed to create and manage the new recycling program, called Unplugged, which will accept more than 120 small appliances designed for residential use. These range in size from toasters and electric toothbrushes, to countertop microwaves and vacuum cleaners.
The program will be funded by a recycling fee placed on new appliances. The fee structure ranges from $10 on a large countertop microwave to 25 cents on an air freshener. These fees, which will also come into effect Oct. 1, will cover the costs of collection, transportation and recycling.
These fees were determined by CESA and based on factors including the total product weight, the cost of program administration, product sales and forecast and the cost of program administration. "We've done analysis of the cost to get an electric toothbrush or an iron, for example, and came up with fees to process that product type and weight," Kurshner said.
The fees will be reviewed during the first two years of operation and re-adjusted if necessary.
Here in Prince George, items can be dropped off at BBK Bottle Depot on Vance Road, one of 100 drop-off locations across B.C. From that point, they will be transported to processors in B.C. and Alberta and separated into the different materials to be recycled.
"We are proud to see that the small appliance industry has developed a program to help British Columbians recycle their products and keep them out of the landfill," said Environment Minister Terry Lake in a press release.
For more information, including a full fee list and appliances approved for return, visit www.unpluggedrecycling.ca.
