Mayor Lyn Hall and REAPS Executive Director Terri McClymont, plus members from the Multi-Material BC community events team. -photo submitted

Prince George, B.C.- September will mark the second anniversary of a curbside recycling program in Prince George,  and the City has scored well when it comes to embracing the program.

The City’s curbside collection program has the lowest contamination rate amongst large municipalities in British Columbia.  That means  the  recycling  program  saw the least amount of non recyclables, such as plastic bags, foam packaging,  glass or hazardous materials, placed in the blue boxes.

Prince George’s recycling contamination rate is below MMBC program’s target rate of three per cent, and is significantly lower than the average provincial rate for curbside collection programs of 8 per cent. In 2015, the City achieved an average contamination rate of 2.3 per cent.

To  mark the achievement, Prince George has  received a new public bench from Multi-Material BC,  the company which operates the  curbside recycling  program in P.G.

The  bench is made of  nearly 3 thousand  500ml recycled plastic bottles. It will be located at the REAPS Compost Demonstration Garden, located at 1950 Gorse Street.

While Prince George leads the way in recycling only approved materials, there is room for improvement,  as it’s estimated 2/3 of residents are taking  advantage of the free service.