Of the 3.6 million tonnes of solid waste we produce annually in the Lower Mainland, about 55% is recycled. This includes recycling by residents, businesses and schools, and represents about 1.8 million tonnes.

Recycling does more than reduce your garbage. It also:

• keeps re-usable materials (paper, glass, metals and plastics) out of the landfills
• reduces the volume of material trucked to the Cache Creek landfill, therefore reducing air impacts from transportation
• saves the region money (garbage costs about $130 per tonne to manage while recycling can create a small profit)
• reduces our consumption of natural resources used to manufacture new items
• creates employment - Thousands of local jobs are related to the recycling industry.

Unsure of what you can recycle?
What materials are acceptable varies a little between cities. Use the links on this page to check your city’s recycling pages.

In addition to blue boxes, or recycling facilities, 100s of items can be returned for reuse or recycling. Wood, batteries, cell phones and more. Check out our searchable, online Metro Vancouver Recycles database. You can also call the Recycling Council of BC’s Recycling Hotline at 604-RECYCLE (604-732-9253).

Business recycling 
Metro Vancouver provides on-line support for business recycling (industrial, commercial or institutional operations) as well as job site recycling (demolition and salvage, landclearing and construction). Check out the on-line technical guides and recycling directories at the Metro Vancouver's SmartSteps and BuildSmart websites. 
 SmartSteps 
 Buildsmart