EPRA BC Collection Event in Vancouver

Recycling Pop Up for Old Electronics to be Held This Weekend in Downtown
Vancouver
Residents are encouraged to bring their old electronics for safe recycling at no cost to the West End on
Saturday
Vancouver, BC (July 9, 2015) – This weekend, the Electronic Products Recycling Association of BC (EPRA
BC) is giving downtown Vancouver residents the opportunity to recycle their unused and unwanted
electronic products. The pop up recycling event, organized between EPRA BC, Return‐It and the City of
Vancouver, encourages downtown dwellers to clean out their end‐of‐life electronics and drop them off
free of charge for responsible recycling, preventing them ending up in landfill or illegal export. In
addition to consumer electronics collected by the EPRA BC program, residents will also be able to bring
small appliances, power tools and household batteries for recycling.
EPRA BC, the industry‐led not‐for‐profit stewardship organization tasked with responsibly recycling endof‐
life electronics in BC, accepts and recycles a range of regulated electronic products including: display
devices (televisions and monitors), desktop printers, computers and peripherals (such as keyboards),
home theatre in a box (HTB) systems, non‐cellular telephones as well as audio and video systems.
“Last year EPRA BC diverted an estimate of more than 3.5 million devices from landfills and illegal
export, safely and securely recycling almost 23,000 metric tonnes of electronics,” says Craig Wisehart,
Executive Director, EPRA Western Canada. “EPRA BC is continually working to increase awareness of
what electronic products can be recycled and where they can be taken to make returning recyclables as
convenient as possible. The City of Vancouver has been a tremendous partner in making electronics
recycling accessible for downtown Vancouver residents, helping to extend nature’s warranty.”

Electronics recycling in B.C. facts:
 EPRA BC has diverted more than 131,000 metric tonnes – or an estimate of over 20.3 million
devices ‐ of electronic waste from landfills and illegal export since the program started in 2008.
 B.C. has 4.9kg per capita electronics recycling rate, the highest in Canada.
 EPRA BC’s collection network, managed by Return‐It, has expanded to 222 sites and return to
retail locations across the province in 2014, meaning over 98 per cent of British Columbians
have access to safely and responsibly recycle their electronics.
“The pilot program between the City of Vancouver, the EPRA BC, Encorp and Electro‐Recycle for
electronics and small appliance recycling events is helping to raise awareness and understanding of
responsible recycling throughout the City,” says Albert Shamess, Director of Waste Management and
Resource Recovery with the City of Vancouver. “This year alone, nearly 20,000 lbs of electronics and
small appliances that would have gone to the landfill have been recycled at collection events. These
events are conveniently located throughout the City and play a vital role in reducing the amount of
recyclable items that end up in the landfill each year. The City appreciates the commitment of all of the
volunteers and community participants who are helping to reduce electronic waste!”
As with all authorized EPRA drop‐off locations in B.C., there is no charge to residents for dropping off
electronic products at this weekend’s collection event. The recycling program is funded by an
Environmental Handling Fee (EHF) that is charged on the sale of new designated electronic products.
THE EHF is not a tax of any kind, and it is not a deposit – these fees are paid at the time of purchase and
are used to fund the collection, transportation and responsible recycling of end‐of‐life electronics.
“The West End Business Improvement Association is happy to support community driven collection
events in partnership with product stewardship organizations like EPRA BC and the City of Vancouver,”
says Stephen Regan, Executive Director for the West End Business Improvement Association. “The last
collection event yielded over 2,770 items for recycling from local residents that may have otherwise
been illegally dumped in the lanes of the West End. We hope to collect even more electronics and
electrical products at Saturday’s event that can be responsibly recycled and kept out of landfill.”
This weekend’s electronics collection event will be taking place on Saturday, July 11 from 11am – 2pm
at Lord Roberts Playground, on the corner of Cardero and Comox in Vancouver.

About the Electronic Products Recycling Association of British Columbia
Electronic Products Recycling Association British Columbia (EPRA BC) is an industry‐led not‐for‐profit
organization tasked with promoting and managing end‐of‐life electronics recycling in the province on
behalf of obligated stewards.
The stewards in the EPRA BC program are comprised of major producers, distributors and retailers of
electronics in British Columbia. EPRA BC is responsible to their stewards for implementing and operating
an environmentally responsible program for handling electronic waste in accordance with EPRA BC
standards and the requirements of the EPRA BC Stewardship Plan. This electronics stewardship program
has been collecting and responsibly recycling end‐of‐life electronics in BC since August 2007.
EPRA BC’s electronics recycling program is delivered to BC, by Encorp Pacific under the brand Return‐It™
Electronics.

Media Contact:
Terence Chu, FleishmanHillard: 604‐688‐0391/Terence.Chu@fleishman.ca