News Media Canada is pleased to announce that newspapers across British Columbia have developed a Stewardship Plan that will utilize the collection and processing services of Recycle BC.
The stewardship plan will ensure continued high levels of newspaper recycling in B.C. and was prepared by B.C. members of News Media Canada. The group includes several independent newspapers and five major publishers in B.C. (Postmedia Network Inc., The Globe and Mail Inc., Black Press Group Ltd., Glacier Media Inc., and Sing Tao Newspapers), who collectively produce 121 individual print news publications. Together, News Media Canada’s members account for both the vast majority of the publications, and overall newsprint tonnage distributed in B.C.
As part of the public consultation process, a number of initiatives will aim to inform and educate interested parties, stakeholders and the public about the plan and how it would work. The first stage of the consultation commences with the posting of the plan to News Media Canada’s website, www.newsmediacanada.ca. The consultation period dates, consultation events, and contact information for submitting feedback, and updated information can be found on the website.
Three live streamed webinars, accessible to all, will be available for viewing on: Thursday, July 20th, at 12:00 P.M., Wednesday, August 16th, at 2:00 P.M., and Friday, September 8th, at 11:30 A.M. (Pacific Daylight Time) on the News Media Canada website. The purpose of the webinars will be to explain the plan and program and how it would affect those concerned. At the conclusion of these webinars, questions may be submitted via an online form. These questions and their subsequent answers will be available on the News Media Canada website in the days following the final webinar. They will also be included in the final submission of the plan.
“Newspapers are the original backbone of the residential recycling programs and drove the establishment of the now three-decade-old Blue Box recycling system in B.C.,” said John Hinds, president and CEO of News Media Canada. “The recovery of newsprint and the value it has as a recyclable commodity, to offset the other less valuable Blue Box materials, has been key to the success of recycling in B.C. We are pleased to continue as a partner in a program we are sure will be best for the environment.
“Our intent is to gain Ministry of Environment approval for this plan to be in effect for a minimum of five years,” said Hinds. “At the end of this term, News Media Canada will evaluate the performance of the plan and the desirability of either continuing with something similar or embarking on a different approach. Newspapers provide a social good. In addition to the quality journalism across the province, newspapers also offer a significant amount of public service announcements/advertising at no cost to charities and public institutions such as schools and hospitals. We are proud of the plan that’s been put together.”
The News Media Canada Stewardship Plan is an arrangement that will result in newsprint continuing to be collected through the Recycle BC curbside multi-family and depot system, in the same way that B.C. residents have become accustomed to over many decades. Although News Media Canada is taking full responsibility for its products under this plan, it will not result in changes to the residential recycling experience.
For further information on the News Media Canada Stewardship Plan, please contact John Hinds at jhinds@newsmediacanada.ca.
