Plastics recycling catching on in Halifax

Halifax is diverting tons of plastics away from landfills after the successful expansion of the region’s recycling program.

In September 2011, the city’s recycling program was expanded to include all plastics except for Styrofoam-style materials. That has increased the amount put out in blue bags and diverted from the landfill, to the extent that the program target is two months ahead of schedule.

Gord Helm, the manager of solid waste for the Halifax Regional Municipality, said he has seen an almost 600-ton increase in plastic since the fall.

“That’s 23 tractor-trailer loads of compacted, baled plastics,” he told local media. “When we started the program in September, we expected to collect an extra 500 tons by the end of March. We reached 592 tons by the end of January.”

There’s still room for improvement, Helm said, as 50,000 tons of recyclable plastic still heads to local landfills every year.