Recycling is a common activity in many Canadian municipalities and has been for some time now.
Unfortunately, recycling programs cost money to run, in the form of salaries for the collectors, the vehicles, etc.
These costs are borne by local governments and in turn by the residents by way of taxation.
Nonetheless you would be hard-pressed to find someone who complains about the cost of recycling, we all want to do our part.
The one group not doing their part is the manufacturers of products, the products that come in packaging, the packaging that necessitates the establishment of recycling programs.
The provincial government, in an effort to force participation by industry in the process passed legislation requiring industry to establish a stewardship plan.
In response, industry established the Multi-material BC, MMBC, a not-for-profit organization formed to take over recycling stewardship in British Columbia.
The goal of the MMBC stewardship plan is to transfer the costs of recycling from government and taxpayers to industry and their consumers.
Let’s be clear, taxpayer equals consumer, so we’re still on the hook.
MMBC has a board of directors, three to be exact.
Two are from industry, and the third has previous ties to industry.
This is pretty much like putting a vampire in charge of a blood bank.
Where are the board members representing the other half of the equation: the consumers, us?