Residential Blue Box recycling expands May 19th in the City of Courtenay. Starting on Monday, May 19th, residents can put new items out for curbside pick up such as aerosol cans, hot and cold drink cups, plastic plant pots, and spiral wound containers for frozen juice, cookie dough and other products.

The expansion is part of the City’s transition of recycling services to Multi-Material BC (MMBC), which is assuming responsibility for recycling services in municipalities across the BC. In exchange for signing onto the program, Courtenay receives a financial incentive from MMBC which will be used to reduce garbage user fees charged to residents on annual property tax bills.

“We have been looking forward to starting this new service for residents of Courtenay,” said David Allen, Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Courtenay. “The service will continue to be provided by Emterra operating as part of the Green By Nature group, and pick up schedules will remain the same. The only change for residents is that more items can now go into Blue Boxes.”

Everything currently allowed, plus a number of new items, will continue to be picked up, except soft plastics which will change to depot drop off. A full list of items that can be included is available online at www.courtenay.ca. New recycling guides will be included in the city’s tax notices this month, notices have been running on local radio stations and newspapers, and reminder flyers will be dropped in residential Blue Boxes by the contractor in coming weeks.

Other areas participating in the MMBC curbside recycling program are Royston and Cumberland. For information on recycling in these areas visit www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/royston  and www.cumberland.ca .

Recycling depots in the Comox Valley will also expand under the new program. New items will be accepted at certain depots. For example the recycling depot at the Comox Valley Waste Management Centre will expand to accept new materials including plastic foam packaging (i.e. Styrofoam), glass, and plastic bags/film wrap. The recycling depots located at Courtenay Country Market and behind the Canex store in Comox will not take new items but will continue to be drop-off locations for cardboard, hard plastics, and metal containers. The privately run Encorp Return-It depots in Courtenay and Comox will now also offer packaging and printed paper recycling. For the most up-to-date list of CSWM depot locations and recyclable materials that they will accept, visit www.cswm.ca/depots.

Visit www.courtenay.ca or call 250-703-4863 for more information.