As of Feb. 1, British Columbians are paying a refundable 10 cent deposit on milk and milk substitute containers. The initiative, launched by Recycle BC, says it will reduce waste.

"Shifting milk containers to the deposit-refund system will capture the millions of additional plastic and fibre-based containers that were otherwise being thrown out, such as those from restaurants, schools and offices that did not have access to the residential recycling system," the provincial government stated in a Jan. 31 release.

On Cortes Island, Waste Management Centre Manager Brian Pfeifle lauds the initiative, but doubts it’ll have much uptake, as rural communities rarely have an official Return It depot. Instead, local residents and visitors often end up bringing returnable items to local waste management centers.

Pfeifle says recycling programs by the BC government have significantly ramped up in recent years and they’re having an impact on the amount of waste ending up in landfills. However, he says that with an influx of people moving from cities to rural communitie, a new type of waste is ending up in landfills: kitchen compost. 

Pfeifle says it’s all about educating the public about what’s acceptable for recycling and tips for reducing solid waste. To that end, the Cortes Island Waste Management Centre is updating its website and making it easily accessible on community website cortesisland.com.

CKTZ News speaks with Brian Pfeifle for details on rural community recycling centers: