Hartland Landfill opens recycling station

The Hartland Landfill in Victoria, British Columbia, now includes a Return-It Express & GO recycling station, which allows residents to drop off their refundable beverage containers.

The new facility at the landfill, operated by the Capital Regional District (CRD), “revolutionizes the recycling experience by allowing people to conveniently drop off their pre-bagged beverage containers without sorting and receive their deposit refunds via Interac e-Transfer or cheque,” says CRD.

Consumers also have the option of donating their beverage container refunds to a charitable organization. Once a fundraising organization creates an Express account, Express users can donate their deposit funds to the specific charity and organizations’ accounts when they drop off their empty containers at the Express & GO recycling station, according to CRD.

Powered by solar energy, the station is housed in a 20-foot repurposed shipping container that will operate during the Hartland Landfill’s operating hours. It joins more than 175 other Return-It collection sites operating provincewide, with nine of them being Express & GO locations.

 “Return-It is excited to bring our first Express & GO station to Greater Victoria,” says Allen Langdon, president and CEO of Return-It. “With this new location, we can support accessibility and provide even more recycling solutions that are convenient for the community and encourage recycling.”

Return-It says plastic bottles collected in Western Canada are “responsibly recycled right here in British Columbia and Alberta, where they’re cleaned and broken down into plastic pellets that can be used to make new plastic bottles.”

Russ Smith of CRD says, “The CRD is always looking for ways to expand our service offerings at Hartland Landfill and the new Express & GO station will help us fill a gap in our service. Residents were always able to drop off refundable beverage containers at Hartland Landfill’s recycling depot, but they weren’t able to receive a refund. With the new Express & GO station, residents will now have the opportunity to receive a refund themselves or donate it to a charity.”

Return-It says it helps recycle approximately 1 billion beverage containers per year. It describes itself as an industry-owned, not-for-profit, product stewardship agency with beverage container management as its core business.