Metro considers banning old clothes, textiles from the garbage
Posted August 22, 2016 11:40 am.
Last Updated August 22, 2016 2:54 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Metro Vancouver is tossing around the idea of banning you from throwing old clothes and textiles into the garbage.
The regional district’s Paul Hederson explains there is already an extensive recycling network in place. “It’s one of the most recycled and reused materials, so really a ban is just a continuation of encouraging people to do more and more.”
“We identified clothing and other materials like bulky furniture as potential future bans so we would expect to consult on those materials in 2017 and then potentially make recommendations for 2018.”
He notes there are lots of options in the region for people looking to drop off unwanted clothing. “Things like Metro Vancouver Recycles or the MV Recyclepedia app are really good resources for people to go to find out how to recycle pretty much anything.”
If the idea goes forward, those who don’t comply could face fines. “We have inspectors at all our disposal facilities and if they see the disposed material in the individual garbage streams, then a surcharge is levied. It’s either a per cent surcharge for some materials like yard trimmings and food scraps, and it is 50 per cent on top of the load.”
It’s not yet clear how the region would deal with old clothes that can’t be recycled.
