Fort St. John facilities offer new electronic recycling options

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — With March 18th marking Global Recycling Day, collection sites in Fort St. John and across B.C. are now offering new recycling options for electronic devices. 

Craig Wisehart, executive director of Electronic Products Recycling Association (EPRA), says Global Recycling Day is important in raising awareness about recycling, particularly for electronics and small appliances.

“We see Global Recycling Day as a key time of the year when we can get the message out about the importance of recycling,” said Wisehart.

Fort St. John has two facilities, the Fort St. John Bottle Depot and the Recycle-It Resource Recovery site, which will now accept both electronics and small appliances, power tools and a wide range of home electrical equipment.

“We now collect all of that material at all of our locations,” said Wisehart.

Wisehart says the expansion was driven by the EPRA for home electronics and Canadian Electrical Stewardship Association (CESA) for small appliances.

The benefits of recycling include keeping harmful waste out of landfill sites and recovering valuable materials like copper, steel and aluminum.

Wisehart says he has observed trends in electronic devices getting smaller due to innovative technology but they are still producing a high level of material. 

“The number of electronics going in the market has continued to increase over the years, but because electronics are getting smaller and lighter, the weight of the electronics going in the market is less,” said Wisehart. 

“So while there’s less tonnage going into the market, there’s still a lot of electronic and electrical devices and a lot of home appliances that are still going into the market.”

According to Mordor Intelligence, the Canadian home appliance market is expected to grow by over 5.76 per cent in the next five years and the need for responsible disposal is more important than ever.

It was also reported by the Government of Canada that eight in ten Canadians say they value a sustainable lifestyle, and over half report they’d be willing to pay a premium for eco-friendly products. 

“We would love for consumers to recycle more and it’s easy to do,” said Wisehart.

Local recycling locations can be found at recyclemyelectronics.ca.