Recycle NB to oversee two new recycling programs

Lightbulbs and batteries added to Designated Materials Regulation

FREDERICTON, NB, July 22, 2024 – Recycle New Brunswick will add two more Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs to its mandate following an amendment to the Designated Materials Regulation under the Clean Environment Act.

EPR is an environmental policy approach in which producers are responsible for managing their products from manufacturing through to end-of-life. In the coming months, obligated producers of batteries and lightbulbs will be required to register with Recycle NB and submit a management plan for their collection, transportation, storage and recycling.

The new Designated Materials Regulation, which took effect on July 15, 2024, brings the total number of programs under Recycle NB’s oversight to nine. Batteries will include single-use and rechargeable types, and lightbulbs will include fluorescent, LED and incandescent varieties.

Recycle NB is an arm’s-length government agency whose role is to ensure that materials designated by the Minister of the Environment and Local Government are managed in a manner that assures a healthier environment. In addition to batteries and lightbulbs, Recycle NB currently oversees recycling programs for tires, paint, oil and glycol, electronic products, packaging and paper products, pharmaceutical products and medical sharps and beverage containers.