Jasper Booster — On June 1, Jasper’s recycling program will start accepting plastics. Thanks to an Alberta government grant the Municipality of Jasper and the Town of Hinton will jointly launch the new ‘All Plastic Bottles’ recycling program.

Did you know that 7 per cent of your garbage is plastic but because plastics are bulky they account for over 20 per cent in volume? Shampoo bottles, household cleaning products, condiment bottles...there are an endless number of bottles in your home that await a much better future.

The purpose of this program is to collect household bottles that have twist off tops. “Check the neck!” If the neck of the bottle is smaller than the base, it is recyclable.
Approximately 90 per cent of plastic bottles are made of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyethylene (PET). Recycling plastic bottles means we will send less material to the landfill, reduce landfill costs for these materials and ultimately prolong the life of the landfill. All plastic that is collected in Jasper will be made into new materials - plastic lumber, flower planters, and fleece material are just a few examples.

I can’t tell you how many times people have asked me “why don’t we recycle plastic in Jasper?”

The answer to that question has been as complex as the act of recycling plastic itself. Other cities and towns in Alberta have recycled or do recycle plastic but there are often huge problems that occur when accepting this diverse resin product. Contamination is the biggest problem. This occurs when containers are not properly washed and when other materials are mixed in that don’t belong. Numbered plastics also make it confusing for people to sort and improper sorting usually leads to contamination.

We hope that the new ‘All Plastic Bottles’ program will be easy for Jasperites to follow. It is simple, effective and residents will find that nearly all containers in their homes fall into this program with only a few exceptions.

We do plan to phase in other types of plastic in the near future once this program is established. The success of the milk container recycling program in Jasper has been fantastic. We hope this program will be equally well received.

To recycle “All Plastic Bottles”, check the neck, twist off the cap, rinse and recycle! Look for the new Green Community Recycling trailer at the Museum starting June 1. For more information call Nicole Ward at 852-1563.

Source: jasperbooster.com