Metro Vancouver says it has seen about 10 percent less waste so far this April, compared to the same time last year. The regional district says it noticed a shift from commercial to residential waste beginning March 20, after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions had taken effect in B.C.
There’s been more traffic at transfer sites, and residential garbage is up, but commercial waste is down as much as 25 percent, according to Paul Henderson, general manager of solid waste services with Metro Vancouver, bringing the total down significantly. “Our goal as a region is to reduce the amount of waste that’s disposed of and also increase the amount of material that’s recycled, so those are absolutely our goals,” said Henderson.
“Definitely, all of us are thinking about how we can translate what’s happening now in all of the areas we’re looking to improve the environment, reduce the impact on the environment — how can we see what’s happening now and extend that past the pandemic,” he said.
Henderson said recycling isn’t monitored on a month-by-month basis like garbage — it’s measured annually — but anecdotally, he said residential blue bins appear to have a little more recycling in them than before COVID-19 struck.
Early on in the pandemic, some recycling facilities temporarily shut down, and there have been changes made at transfer sites, like increased physical distancing, additional cleaning, and card payment only.