Paper Use GHG Reporting FAQ (Recycle BC)

We produce an annual calendar that includes pages related to 'education' on Recycle BC and the collection schedules for all three of our waste streams including recycling. Would we include this entire document as recycling?

You would look at how many pages are used for recycling information, for both education and collection schedule, relative to the total number of pages of the calendar. That would be the percent of paper use allocated to Recycle BC relative to the total amount of paper you ordered for calendars for the year.

If we have flyers for our Waste Wizard tool, would we report 33% of the paper usage for these since the tool is used for materials for all three waste streams?

Yes, if your Waste Wizard tool is used for three waste streams then paper and packaging recycling would account for 1/3 of the related paper usage.

We printed a lot of brochures in 2019 and will likely not need to print materials for some time. Do we only need to report brochures printed in 2020 even though we will be distributing them this year?

Only orders made in 2020, or whatever calendar year you are reporting for, should be included in the data you provide for paper use.

How do I calculate and report for the paper used for municipal recycling guides that are mailed out to residents in an envelope along with other municipal information?

What should be included in my submission to Recycle BC? We recommend you include only the Recycle BC proportion of the total weight of all of the recycling guides distributed, and a proportional share of the weight of all of the envelopes used for distribution. For example, if the weight of the recycling guide was 60% of the total weight of the municipal information mailed to the resident and Recycle BC’s proportional share of the recycling calendar was 20%, then 12% of the weight of all envelopes used should be included in the total weight reported.

How do I determine which WeRecycle paper category to use to report my Recycle BC-based paper use?

Please find below a description of the five “Paper Category Types” available on the WeRecycle Portal that can be used to report your Recycle BC-based paper use. Examples of the types of paper found in each category are provided. Choose the category/categories that best represent your paper type used. For each category, you will also need to choose the range of recycled content included in the paper.

We have curbside, multi-family and depot reporting contracts. Under which contract do we report the weight, paper type and recycled content percentage for promotional calendars distributed to residents?

It is recommended to allocate the weight of the promotional calendars to the curbside and multifamily contracts proportionate to the total number of households serviced by each. For example, if you service 800 curbside households and 200 multi-family units, allocate 80% of the weight of the promotional calendars to curbside and 20% to multi-family contracts.

If you have both multi-family and depot contracts, report 100% of the weight of the promotional calendars to the multi-family contract. Similarly, if you have both curbside and depot contracts, report 100% of the weight of the promotional calendars to the curbside contract.