Paper and packaging recycling program starts in 2016

29 October 2015

The provincial government is now ready to launch — on Jan. 1, 2016 — a recycling project that will involve collecting fees from businesses that generate a lot of paper and packaging.

Newspapers are exempt from the program for the first year.

The fees collected will go to a non-profit organization that will support the province's new Multi-Material Recycling Program.

MMRP is intended to make recycling programs more sustainable and divert more waste from landfills.

"I am pleased to announce the launch of this recycling initiative," Herb Cox, Saskatchewan's environment minister, said in a news release issued Wednesday. "After consulting with stakeholders, this revised program recognizes the challenges faced by small- and medium-sized business and addresses the needs of our municipalities."

According to the government's release, the MMRP will be managed in Saskatchewan by Multi-Material Stewardship Western (MMSW), a non-profit organization that operates similar programs in B.C., Manitoba and Ontario.

That group will collect fees from participating business. The fees will vary depending on the business size as well as their production of paper and packaging products.

MMSW will then reimburse municipalities for the collection of waste paper and packaging.

The program has been under development for several years.

 

cbc.ca