Who pays for recycling in Nova Scotia is set to change

Danielle Edwards · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 22, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Recycling is changing successful Nova Scotia, but it won't mean adjusting however you enactment your bluish bags connected the curb.

The state is switching to extended shaper responsibility, oregon EPR — a argumentation displacement that puts the work for recycling materials connected the producers that marque them.

Right now, recycling programs in Nova Scotia are funded by municipalities, which means taxpayers screen immoderate of the cost.

But the displacement to EPR later this twelvemonth means the "producers" of packaging, insubstantial and single-use products, including the brand holders, importers and retailers of those materials, will beryllium the ones to pony up the currency to recycle them.

As a portion of the caller measures, producers in the backstage assemblage were required to registry with the not-for-profit recycling corp Divert NS by January 2024.

Despite the change, Nvoa Scotians shouldn't announcement overmuch quality erstwhile the programme is implemented connected Dec. 1, 2025, according to Alanna McPhee, the enforcement manager of EPR oversight at Divert NS. She said recyclable materials volition proceed to beryllium collected connected the curb, separated and sent to extremity markets.

Divert NS estimates Nova Scotia municipalities volition prevention betwixt $20 cardinal and $25 cardinal a year.

Not-for-profit astatine the caput of EPR operations

The programme is being implemented successful Nova Scotia by Circular Materials, a nationalist not-for-profit enactment that represents the producers.

Andrew Philopoulos, the managing manager for the enactment successful Atlantic Canada, said arsenic jurisdictions crossed the state enact EPR policies, producers are obliged to money the programs' operations.

In the beginning, helium said Circular Materials volition "largely beryllium relying connected existing infrastructure" to get materials processed.

Circular Materials volition either beryllium contracting recycling services straight with municipalities oregon First Nation communities oregon retaining a recycling collector, helium added.

Meanwhile, communities tin either negociate their recycling services with fiscal and operational enactment assistance from Circular Materials, oregon they tin opt retired and Circular Materials volition presume afloat work of the program.

"We're really are undergoing a [request for proposal] process that we're successful the mediate of wherever we are readying to physique a facility, oregon respective facilities, to work some Nova Scotia and New Brunswick," Philopoulos said.

Funds from the producers volition beryllium utilized to physique the caller facilities, helium said, though helium did not specify however overmuch operation would outgo and added that a tract successful Nova Scotia has not yet been chosen.

There are also initiatives to tackle immoderate of the much difficult-to-recycle materials, similar candy and snack wrappers, stand-up integrative pouches and spot bags.

EPR for electronics successful spot since 2008

EPR policies person agelong been been utilized for electronics successful Nova Scotia, ever since the Electronic Product Stewardship Regulations went into effect successful 2008.

The Electronic Product Recycling Association, which administers the province's electronics program, receives backing from companies that marque everything from laptops to toasters and refrigerators. The relation past handles the recycling process.

"How galore antithetic brands of electronics are successful your house? ... To effort to person them each individually grip their ain material wouldn't beryllium truly a sustainable oregon businesslike option," said Maylia Parker, the group's executive manager for Atlantic Canada.

"This mode ... it doesn't substance which shaper made it, they're registered with america and we're making definite that it gets responsibly recycled."

Parker said the programme for electronics works likewise to that for different recyclable materials.

The enactment works connected the behalf of producers that registry with the association, which charges a interest connected the "break-even" outgo of recycling materials. The manufacture typically passes connected that outgo to consumers, Parker said.

Those funds are past utilized to collect the electronics, instrumentality them isolated into idiosyncratic pieces and benignant them into recyclable categories.