Non-deposit glass bottles and jars, typically used to package salad dressings, oils, vinegars, and pickles, are accepted in the Multi-Material BC (MMBC) residential packaging and printed paper recycling program. Deposit glass containers for alcohol and juice are part of another stewardship program, and should be returned to a depot for the deposit refund.
Other types of glass, including mirrors, windows, dishes, drinking glasses, storage containers, and ceramics, are not accepted in the MMBC program. Not only are these not packaging, these are made from different types of glass than what is used to manufacture bottles and jars, and interfere with the glass recycling process.
In some communities, residents set non-deposit glass out in a separate collection container that is designated only for glass. In other communities, residents wishing to recycle non-deposit glass bottles and jars can drop them off at one of the nearly 200 depots around BC that accept MMBC materials. We ask that glass be kept separate from other recyclables because of how easily it breaks. When it breaks and is collected in the same container as other packaging or printed paper, the shards and tiny pieces of glass get embedded in the other recyclables and cannot be separated again. This means that neither the glass, nor the other recyclables, can be recycled properly. Glass that breaks within a glass-only collection container is recyclable.
Please empty and rinse non-deposit glass bottles and jars before recycling them. Metal lids can be recycled if they are removed and added loose to metal and plastic packaging recycling.
Glass collected in the MMBC program is sold to end-markets in British Columbia.