Toronto accepts new plastic items to Blue Bin program

City of Toronto Media Relations has issued the following:

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News Release:  June 1, 2015

Toronto accepts new plastic items to Blue Bin program

Toronto's Blue Bin recycling program, one of North America's largest residential recycling programs, will become even bigger and better with the addition of new types of soft plastic material. Effective today, Toronto's recycling program accepts plastic film – the soft, stretchy type that includes bags used for dry cleaning, soil, sandwiches, bread, milk, bulk food and produce, frozen fruit and vegetables, as well as overwrap from toilet paper and paper towels. More details are available at toronto.ca/recycle.

"Every addition to our recycling program results in less garbage ending up in the City's Green Lane Landfill," said Councillor Jaye Robinson (Ward 25 Don Valley West), Chair of the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee. "We're moving closer to our waste diversion target, and that's great news for Toronto."

Adding these plastics to Toronto's Recycling Program will result in the diversion of approximately 3,500 tonnes of waste from landfill annually and increase the amount that is recycled through the Blue Bin program by 2 per cent. This will raise the overall residential waste diversion rate by 0.35 per cent as Toronto continues towards its waste diversion goal of 70 per cent.

"So many foods and products that we use every day are packaged in this type of soft plastic. We added plastic shopping bags in 2008 and now we're pleased we can tell residents to put more types of plastic bags in the Blue Bin instead of the garbage," said Beth Goodger, General Manager of Toronto's Solid Waste Management Services division.

The City uses its contractor Canada Fibers Ltd.'s state-of-the-art recycling processing facility in Toronto to process these types of plastic. Another key factor enabling the addition of soft plastics to the recycling program is a stable market for selling soft plastic film.

Residents should continue to perform current set-out and recycling practices, such as emptying and rinsing these soft plastic items to remove residue before recycling.  Residents can consult the Waste Wizard (the City's online search tool) if unsure about whether particular items are recyclable. If residents need more room to accommodate these new recyclables, they can go online at http://www.toronto.ca/311 or call 311 to upsize their current Blue Bin or order an extra Blue Bin free of charge.

This news release is also available on the City's website: http://bit.ly/1I2kIYe

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. Toronto is proud to be the Host City for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.

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New - Soft plastics accepted in recycling (Blue Bin)

 As of June 1, 2015, the following soft, stretchy plastics can go in recycling:

• milk bags (inner pouches and outer bag)
• bread bags (non-foil)
• sandwich bags (e.g. resealable type bags)
• bulk food bags
• produce bags
• dry cleaning bags
• newspaper/flyer bags
• diaper and feminine hygiene outer bags
• frozen fruit bags
• frozen vegetable bags
• transparent recycling bags
• over-wrap from toilet paper, napkins, paper towels, water and soft drink packaging
• garden soil, manure or compost bags
• road salt bags

Instruction on how to put into recycling:

• Empty and rinse bags to remove residue before recycling.
• You may either bundle your bags inside one bag and ties handles or put bags in loose.

Not accepted (types of plastic film):

• Biodegradable plastic containers and film (e.g. compostable plastic bags)
• Any type of black coloured plastic
• Laminated plastic film (e.g. chip bags and stand-up resealable pouch bags)
• Snack food bags (e.g. potato chips, peanuts, cookies)
• Meat and cheese bag packages
• Household cling wrap
• Cellophane
• Cereal liners
• Candy bar wrappers
• Plastic bubble wrap
• Shower liners, pool covers, boat wrap