The Capital Regional District (CRD) has issued a plea to BC’s Ministry of Environment and Parks to reconsider the recent decision to not include mattresses in the Recycling Regulation amendment passed in October.
Additionally, the CRD would like to have box springs and bed frames, also known as foundations, included in the scope of this regulation.
Essentially, the Recycling Regulation requires producers of certain products to create responsibility programs that collect, manage and process their products once they reach the end of their life.
Some items that were included in the recent Recycling Regulation amendment were: automotive products, compressed canisters, emerging electronic products and medical sharps.
This ensures these materials are recycled in an environmentally sound way, and avoid ending up in a landfill.
“Mattress disposal is a costly challenge for local governments and a persistent source of illegal dumping,” said Cliff McNeil-Smith, board chair of the CRD.
“Adding mattresses and foundations to the Recycling Regulation is a practical and proven solution that will shift responsibility for end-of-life management of these materials to the producers that make them, while also supporting a circular economy.”
Under the current regulation, the cost of recycling mattresses falls to the CRD, with member municipalities covering collection, hauling and tipping fees.
According to the CRD, if mattresses and foundations were to be included under the Recycling Regulation, a significant cost would be shifted away from local governments, illegal dumping would be reduced, steps would be taken toward this becoming the norm and the Province’s waste reduction goals would be supported.
To make their case, the CRD penned a letter to the Ministry of Environment and Parks in the hope that this inspires change to the regulation.
