The wall of tin cans keeps getting longer and higher.

Approximately 100 tonnes of recyclable cans are hauled in monthly through the Capital Regional District’s blue box program. But, unlike a few weeks ago, Metro Waste Paper Recovery, the company that sorts the region’s material before selling it to smelters and mills, is having trouble making a decent sale. The same goes for cardboard, paper and even some plastics. It’s a situation recyclers around the world are experiencing and, like them, Metro is stockpiling the commodities until a solution is found.

Limited space has forced Metro to send its excess tins up the street to Steel Pacific Recycling, where the wall of scrap metal continues to grow. “We are paying to get rid of some of the material,” said Doug Stevens, Metro’s plant manager.

The CRD and recyclers are committed to keeping blue box pickups operating, but to make that feasible, change is needed, said Steel Pacific marketing manager Reid Hudson.

The two private companies are locked into CRD contracts to handle recyclables until 2012, and they pay the regional district a guaranteed ‘floor’ price for materials picked up at curbside material.

As a matter of cash flow, Steel Pacific is requesting that it be permitted to pay the CRD for the material after it’s been sold, rather than on receipt of the recyclables, as has been the case. “We have to be up front because clearly, you can’t survive without everybody playing their part in it, and it effects everyone,” Hudson said.

Commodities that a month ago were in the midst of record highs have fallen off the map. When Steel Pacific was paying sellers between $225 and $240 a tonne for scrap metal, they now are paying $20.

The situation with paper is even more drastic. Where not long ago Metro was receiving $100 a tonne from processors, the lack of interest from buyers means Metro is being forced to pay $30 a tonne to get rid of it, Stevens noted. “We are charging our customers to bring material into the facility,” he said. “Six months ago we were paying them for it.”

Last week, the Recycling Council of B.C. held emergency meetings to address current market conditions and members talked about partnering with other companies to gain storage space for stockpiled materials. Also discussed was how to sell the material without flooding the market once prices stabilize and, in a worst case scenario, whether the excess material should be dumped in landfills.

“We didn’t expect to solve the problem (immediately),” council spokesperson Mairi Welman said. “This isn’t a simple silver bullet thing.”

Metro has avoided layoffs so far, but Steel Pacific hasn’t been as fortunate, trimming staff at its five branches from 150 employees to 45. The facility also shortened its hours and is now closed on Saturdays.

“We were shipping out on average about two barge loads (of metal) a month,” Hudson said. “And we are down to basically none.”

North American mills warned scrap metal dealers they may not be buying until February, Hudson said, but he thinks that date is optimistic. The primary market for North American smelters is automakers, an industry experiencing massive drops in sales. Good market or bad, the blue box program will go on, said Hartland landfill manager Tom Watkins. All the curbside material collected will eventually be recycled as specified in the district’s contract, he said. “They won’t end up in a landfill,” Watkins guaranteed.

raldous@vicnews.com

Doing your part

n During the Christmas shopping season, avoid using wrapping paper. Instead reuse material such as newspaper or put gifts in a reusable bag. And instead of buying disposable plates or cups, use dishes and rewash them, says Recycling Council of B.C. spokesperson Mairi Welman.