Multi-Material BC selects Green by Nature EPR to manage post-collection system for packaging and printed paper recycling program

New venture will invest $32 million and employ 570 British Columbians

VANCOUVER, Feb. 27, 2014 /CNW/ - Multi-Material BC (MMBC) is pleased to announce Green by Nature EPR (GBN) - a new organization founded by leaders in the recycling industry in British Columbia - has been selected to manage the post-collection system for MMBC's residential packaging and printed paper recycling program, which will begin delivering services to approximately 1.25 million households on May 19, 2014.

GBN will be responsible for managing the processing and marketing of approximately 185,000 tonnes of packaging and printed paper material after it has been collected from curbside households, multi-family buildings and depots across the province.

GBN is a new organization founded by three industry leaders with an unmatched network of material recovery infrastructure in BC. With over 100 years combined experience, GBN partners have each played an instrumental role in the development and progress of the recycling industry in BC over the last 40 years:

• Cascades Recovery - one of Canada's largest collectors, processors and marketers of recyclable materials generated by businesses and residents.
• Emterra Environmental - one of Canada's largest waste resource management companies that provides recyclables collection, processing and marketing services, as well as organics and solid waste collection and disposal services to municipalities and businesses across Canada and the US.
• Merlin Plastics - a North American pioneer in plastics recycling and marketing that holds several patents in plastics recycling technology as a result of its innovative research and development team based in Delta, BC.

In addition to the founding companies, GBN will engage more than 20 subcontractors that are leaders in recycling in their local communities to be part of the integrated province-wide MMBC post-collection system. This coordinated approach will ensure the MMBC program operates as efficiently as possible, leverages existing recycling infrastructure, and will help MMBC achieve its targeted 75% recovery rate for packaging and printed paper.

The post-collection system operated by GBN will employ 570 British Columbians and bring $32 million in new investment to the province, including capital investment in two new facilities:

• A container recycling facility in the Lower Mainland - the first of its kind in North America - which will maximize sorting efficiency, recovery and the quality of recovered products; and,
• A material recovery facility in Nanaimo that will sort and prepare collected material for shipment to downstream processors and end markets.

"We are very pleased to partner with Green by Nature EPR. The awarding of a post-collection contract is an important milestone for MMBC as we prepare to launch our program in May," said Allen Langdon, Managing Director of MMBC. "MMBC's partnership with GBN represents a new and innovative approach to packaging and printed paper recycling, and puts BC at the forefront of industry-led recycling programs in Canada."

"Being selected by MMBC - the most extensive industry-led product stewardship program ever to be implemented in BC - means that Green by Nature EPR has the opportunity to not only employ existing recycling infrastructure but also make significant investments in BC's recycling infrastructure that have not been possible until now," said Albino Metauro, CEO of Green by Nature EPR.

GBN was selected through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process that was open to organizations with expertise in consolidation, processing and marketing of packaging and printed paper.

"MMBC's partnership with GBN, with their extensive infrastructure network across the province, means that British Columbians will see maximum environmental benefits from recycling packaging and printed paper," said Langdon. "These environmental benefits will be realized as the MMBC program gets underway in May, and into the future, as waste diversion rates increase and more product categories of packaging and printed paper are added."

MMBC's program is the first of its kind in Canada where responsibility for managing the residential recycling of packaging and printed paper has been fully shifted by provincial regulation from local governments and taxpayers to business. MMBC works to ensure that BC businesses, many of which are household names locally and globally, meet their corporate sustainability objectives by enabling responsible recycling solutions to be offered to consumers. BC residents will be able to recycle new categories of packaging that are not commonly included in current curbside or depot recycling programs - including milk cartons, foam packaging, plant pots, aluminum foil packaging, certain types of plastic film packaging and drink cups.

About MMBC:

In May 2011, BC's Recycling Regulation was updated to include packaging and printed paper.  The regulation shifts the responsibility for managing the residential recycling of packaging and printed paper from regional and municipal governments and their taxpayers to business.

Multi-Material British Columbia (MMBC) is a non-profit industry-led and financed organization that will assume responsibility for managing residential packaging and printed paper recycling on behalf of industry in May 2014.

www.multimaterialbc.ca

About Green by Nature EPR (GBN):

GBN EPR is a national organization founded by key industry leaders in discarded materials management in Canada. Its principals are renowned pioneers in the materials recovery and recycling fields, and are supported by a core team of managers averaging 20+ years of experience each in the design, build, operations, and management of complex material recovery programs and related infrastructure. GBN comprises service providers with extensive expertise in the collection, processing and marketing of discarded packaging and printed paper with an unmatched network of material recovery infrastructure for our customers and shareholders.

SOURCE: Multi-Material British Columbia (MMBC)

Media Contacts:

FleishmanHillard
Grace Hon: 604-688-2505 / [email protected]
Anna Lilly: 604-505-9048 / [email protected]