Get ready to recycle more

Provincial recycling programs announced for batteries and lightbulbs

Good news! Recycle NB is growing yet again. In July, the Department of Environment and Local Government amended the Designated Materials Regulation under the Clean Environment Act to include two new Extended Producer Responsibility programs for batteries and lightbulbs. Producers of these products have until December 31, 2024, to submit plans for managing their collection, storage and recycling.

Organized recycling programs for these two products is welcome news to us all, but particularly for folks in the waste management industry. There are a growing number of reports in recent years of battery-related fires at waste and recycling facilities across Canada and the United States, including some right here in New Brunswick.

Brad Janes, a spokesperson for the Capital Regional Service Commission, and Fred Thompson Brown, Director of Environmental Health & Public Safety for the Western Valley Regional Service Commission, provided examples of incidents in their regions. Mr. Janes said in 2021, a battery exploded and injured a worker at the landfill in Fredericton (https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6163674). And earlier this summer, there were two near misses involving batteries at facilities in the Woodstock region. Mr. Thompson Brown commented that the consequences of a significant fire at the transfer station in Woodstock would be far-reaching, impacting recycling and garbage collections from Grand Falls to St Andrews.

As it happens, you don’t have to wait to recycle your batteries. There are already a number of collection sites around the province, thanks to Call 2 Recycle, a non-profit organization that operates recycling programs across Canada. You can find a location near you on their website at https://recycleyourbatteries.ca/find-a-drop-off-location/.

As for lightbulbs, most contain small amounts of mercury or phosphor. When disposed of at a landfill, these materials can seep into groundwater and contaminate our drinking supply. When you recycle lightbulbs and tubes, the glass, metal, mercury and phosphor is separated so that it can be stored or used again. To find out how to safely dispose of bulbs, check with your local Regional Service Commission. You can find their contact information here: https://www.recyclenb.com/regional-commissions.

We will have more on these two new programs in the coming months. In the meantime, happy and safe recycling everyone!