Waste & Recycling

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Web resources

Green Your (International)

GreenYour offers a wealth of tips, products, and information about greening your home and business. The business section includes sections on office purchasing, appliances, electronics, furnishings, kitchens and food, paper and supplies.

GreenBiz (International)

GreenBiz offers a topical, bottom-line perspective to the greening of business, including compelling news stories and updates on all aspects of going green. Check out the site’s Greening your Business: A Primer for Small Businesses guide, along with the Small Business section and the Business Operations section, which focuses on green solutions for larger companies.

Environment Canada's CCPIC guide for small and medium businesses (National)

Environment Canada’s Canadian Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse (CCPIC) website for small and medium business enterprises offers cost-effective tools, tips, and resources for small and medium-sized businesses. It also includes helpful waste minimization assessments for many different industries.

Sustainability Competency & Opportunity Rating & Evaluation (SCORE) assessment (International)

Sustainability Competency and Opportunity Rating and Evaluation (SCORE) is a sustainability assessment tool designed to help businesses and organizations benchmark where they are on the road to sustainability, and identify new or overlooked opportunities. You can enlist a certified SCORE assessor or use the do-it-yourself form.

Recycling Council of B.C. (RCBC) – Zero waste program (Vancouver)

Frogfile.ca (Vancouver)

Frogfile.ca offers a large online selection of sustainable office supplies, screened to ensure they are the best options available. Their site also has great resources for greening your business, reducing waste and engaging staff with sustainable practices. They also accept slightly used office supplies for resale.

HappyFrog.ca (Vancouver)

HappyFrog.ca is a comprehensive directory of green businesses and sustainability-minded organizations. Use their resources to find out about waste reduction organizations and facilities or purchase sustainable products. Keep implementing positive changes and list your business with HappyFrog.

How green is your takeaway container? (International)

Respected food portal CHOW has a feature to rate the kinds of packaging used for food, based on energy used to create it and decomposition.

Message in a Bottle – David Suzuki on water bottles (Vancouver)

The David Suzuki Foundation published an article about problems with water bottles that highlights the environmental impact of bottled water and encourages their elimination.

Local resources

CFL recycling facilities (Southern B.C., Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island)

Metro Vancouver SmartSteps program (Vancouver)

Green Workplace (Vancouver)

Green Workplace is a Vancouver-based company whose team of environmental professionals helps small and medium-sized businesses to evaluate their consumption and identify opportunities for waste, and energy reduction. Services include waste, lighting, paper, fleet and corporate governance assessments. They also offer waste management workshops. Fees for service vary depending on the size of your business and services required.

Energy audits (Southern B.C.)

FortisBC offers energy assessments that include lighting for their electricity customers. They can point you to incentives and rebates for any upgrades you need.

BC Hydro Fridge Buy-Back Program (B.C.)

Recycling Council of B.C. (RCBC) (Vancouver)

RCBC, founded in 1974, is Canada's oldest recycling council. Check this site to find out about what you can do to reduce electronics, appliance and other potential waste in your home.

Worm composting (Kamloops)

Composting Council of Canada (National)

The Composting Council of Canada is a national non-profit, member-driven organization with a charter to advocate and advance composting and compost usage. Their website offers a wealth of compost information.

Electronic Recycling Association (National)

Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) is a not-for profit organization working with the public and private sector helping companies and the public deal with unwanted electronic items. ERA collects old computers for donation and recycling in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto, and across Canada.

Encorp Pacific Return-It Electronics (B.C.)

Check this site to learn more about B.C.’s Return-It Electronics end-of-life electronics recycling program, available to all consumers and businesses in British Columbia. You can drop off any of the regulated products at designated collection sites without charge and be assured they will be recycled responsibly.

Product Stewardship Program (B.C.)

A government strategy to place the responsibility for end-of-life product management on the producer and consumers of a product, and not the general taxpayer or local government. Check this site for a list of electronics and computer manufacturers that have take-back programs for Canadian consumers.

Western Canada Computer Industry Association (National)

Western Canada Computer Industry Association (WCCIA) utilizes the existing capacity of B.C. businesses to recover, reuse and recycle used electronics, reducing carbon dioxide and the overall environmental footprint - a priority for all British Columbians.

Genesis Recycling (Aldergrove)

An Aldergrove-based company that promotes environmental stewardship as the cornerstone of its corporate model. Genesis has become a well-established business while continuing to create innovative solutions to the e-waste problem in Canada.

RC Recycling Centre (B.C.)

RC Recycling Ltd. is a qualified recycler of a B.C. Electronics Stewardship Program that is approved by the B.C. Ministry of Environment. They specialize in the recycling of computers and electronic equipment.

TechnoTrash Recycling (National)

A business specializing in E-Waste management. Their fundamental purpose is to provide complete, zero waste electronic recycling whereby nothing goes into landfill. They provide services to all sectors of the public, business and government.

Call2Recycle™ (Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation Program) (B.C.)

Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation’s (RBRC) Call2Recycle™ program helps people recycle their used portable rechargeable batteries and old cell phones. The site contains a comprehensive listing of drop off locations throughout British Columbia that accept used rechargeable batteries and old cell phones.

Computers for Schools in British Columbia (B.C.)

The Computers for Schools program will take computers and match them with a school or library that can use them. They can also advise on your local environmental disposal options for your used computer.

Free Geek Vancouver (Vancouver)

Free Geek Vancouver accepts all computer equipment, no matter the condition, free of charge. Free Geek Vancouver is a non-profit computer recycling and reuse centre that promotes the ethical recycling of computers through Vancouver. Community members volunteer to help test, refurbish or dismantle unwanted computer equipment donated by the public. No experience is required and volunteers receive free computers and workshops.

British Columbia Electronics Materials Exchange (B.C.)

The British Columbia Electronics Materials Exchange lets you sell, give away or trade things you do not want with people who do. It is like an online garage sale. You can also post requests for items that you need.

Where to recycle CFLs in B.C.

Bring in your old compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs for recycling* at the retailers listed below.

NOTE: Home Depot locations in B.C. now accept CFL bulbs for recycling. Check the Home Depot store finder for a store near you.

Recycling locations

Lower Mainland

Interior Region

Vancouver Island

*Only CFL bulbs can be submitted for recycling at participating retailers. CFL tubes are not accepted.

Outside Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, or Interior

If you are located outside the areas listed above, please contact the Recycling Council of B.C. (RCBC) at 1 800 667 4321, and they can provide answers to your recycling questions.

Common questions

How are compact fluorescent bulbs recycled?
The Lamp Recycler, the company that recycles the bulbs, utilizes a small vacuum chamber that is constantly rinsed with water. The lamps are fed into the machine and once in the vacuum chamber, the end of the lamp is broken open. The vacuum draws out the mercury and phosphorus, and cold water is used to keep mercury in its most transportable state, a liquid.

The glass is then crushed and the aluminum end caps separated and these items are sent for recycling. The end caps are then sent to local smelters, and the glass is used to manufacture light-reflecting paint for highways. The mercury and phosphorus are placed in sealed drums and sent for separation, recycling and neutralization.

How much mercury is in a compact fluorescent bulb?
Both linear fluorescent and CFL lamps (light bulbs) contain a small amount of mercury, necessary for normal operation. CFLs contain four milligrams, approximately half the mercury found in a linear fluorescent lamp. Mercury is only released when the bulb is broken. Most lamp manufacturers offer a "low mercury" or environmentally friendly lamp. The green socket or end cap identifies these lamps.

Because compact fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, is it better for the environment to use incandescent bulbs?
No. Although fluorescent lights contain small amounts of mercury, they are far more energy-efficient than incandescent lights. Using energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs is better for the environment because they reduce greenhouse gas emissions from gas-fired generating stations, and reduce the need to build new generation facilities. Because they last about eight times longer, fewer bulbs go into landfills and less packaging is required.