Many in Fredericton seem unaware glass containers now accepted at redemption centres
CBC
Outside the Northside Redemption Centre in Fredericton on a recent summer day, several people lined up carrying bags overflowing with cans and plastic bottles. Glass, however, was harder to spot.
For a long time, Fredericton residents have been grimacing every time they dump a glass jar in their regular garbage, knowing the recyclable material would end up in a landfill.
Yet for a while now, glass containers have been accepted at redemption centres under a pilot program that hasn't been aggressively promoted.
They now accept non-refundable glass jars, so long as they're clean and without lids.
Even so, Northside Redemption collects only about two large bins of glass a day, said manager Chris Matheson.
"The word is still getting out that we actually accept them now."
Fredericton resident James Norris stopped by the centre Friday with several boxes of glass jars. He said he found out that he could recycle glass from a friend at work, adding, "We've long been unhappy with the fact that you can't recycle glass in Fredericton."
The Department of Environment and Local Government said via email that the non-beverage glass container recycling program has been overseen by the Eastern Recyclers Association since 2021.
The 2023-2024 Environmental Trust Fund Award List shows that program was awarded $146,000 to continue increasing glass recycling around the province. To date, more than 100 tonnes of glass has been diverted from entering landfills, according to the provincial government.
Since its inception in 2021, 34 redemption centres across the province have participated in the glass container program, including those in Fredericton.
Frank LeBlanc, CEO of Recycle N.B., said that, as of Nov. 1, more people will hopefully be made aware that glass containers are now accepted for recycling.
Recycle N.B.'s upcoming extended producer responsibility program will entail education and promotion — including information on how and where to recycle glass.
Currently, Fredericton residents, through their taxes, pay for the curbside collection of their blue and grey boxes. LeBlanc said that once the producer-pay program launches, brand owners will be the ones paying rather than the taxpayer.
"The people that are putting the materials into the marketplace in the first place are going to be the ones that are going to be responsible for collecting it and recycling it at the end of the day," he said.
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