When New West residents head to the new United Boulevard Recycling and Waste Centre, they’ll now be able to drop off their used oil and antifreeze containers.
The BC Used Oil Management Association has provided Metro Vancouver with a grant to ensure the responsible handling, collecting and storing of used oil and antifreeze materials at the new recycling facility. BCUOMA, a not-for-profit group dedicated to the collection and recycling of used motor oil, oil filters, oil containers, used antifreeze and antifreeze containers in British Columbia, is providing a grant that will go towards a 20-foot modified sea container and two, 1,000-litre intermediate bulk containers to provide an easy, free, and eco-friendly facility to return used oil and antifreeze materials.
“The new United Boulevard Recycling and Waste Centre is three times larger than the previous facility, and it is the perfect central location for a used oil recycling centre,” BCUOMA CEO David Lawes said in a news release. “BC Used Oil Management Association has been working with Metro Vancouver on innovative ways to move to a circular economy, and one of the solutions is by continuing to create easy to use, free and convenient centres for community residents to safely return their used oil and antifreeze materials. This new full-service recycling and waste centre in Coquitlam, with a dedicated used oil recycling facility, is a great example of organizations working together to create cleaner and environmentally safer communities.”
The regional facility is located at 995 United Blvd. in Coquitlam.
“We are proud of the new United Boulevard Recycling and Waste Centre’s many features that make recycling and waste management more convenient for the region's residents,” said Sav Dhaliwal, chair of the Metro Vancouver board of directors. “Partnering with organizations like the BC Used Oil Management Association gives us even more opportunities to divert unwanted or unusable items from the waste stream in a safe and environmentally conscious way.”
Jack Froese, chair of Metro Vancouver’s Zero Waste committee, said the region has an ambitious target to divert 80% of its waste.
“Ensuring that residents can easily and properly dispose of used oil, antifreeze and related materials provides us with an important advantage in reaching this target,” he said.
According to the BC Used Oil Management Association, used oil is a valuable resource if it’s recycled at one of the association’s dedicated public recycling centres because it can be recovered and re-used.
“Used oil can be re-refined into new lubricating oil or raw material inputs for manufacturing or energy products. Additionally, used oil filters contain metal, which is recycled into metal products like rebar, nails, and wire,” said the BCUOMA news release. “Used oil and antifreeze containers are recycled and used to manufacture new oil containers, drainage tiles and parking curbs. Used antifreeze is refined and reused as new automotive antifreeze.”
Metro Vancouver’s new $77.6-million United Boulevard Recycling and Waste Centre opened on March 14. It accepts a wide range of recyclables, including: glass; yard trimmings and food waste; plastic containers and bags; batteries, electronics and light fixtures; used automotive oil, antifreeze, and oil containers; clothing and textiles; books, magazines and other paper; and yard trimmings and food waste.
The City of New Westminster closed the local recycling depot in 2020 because that space was needed for parking for the new təməsew̓txʷ Aquatics and Community Centre, which is now under construction. The city decided to partner with the Tri-Cities and Metro Vancouver on the regional recycling facility, which is located just across the border in Coquitlam.
For more information on the United Boulevard Recycling and Waste Centre visit http://www.metrovancouver.org/services/solid-waste.
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