Mr. Speaker, ENR is currently working with its partners at the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs as well as Northwest Territories Association of Communities to support municipal waste management in various capacities. They range from training courses, household hazardous waste collection, and public education material. In addition, the department continues to expand the product stewardship programs that see recyclables removed from the NWT communities for proper disposal. Working with our partners, we are exploring the possibility of establishing a system of coordinated transportation and disposal to help overcome some of the financial, logistical, and technical barriers associated with removing recycled materials and contaminants that are generated from various sectors in the NWT.
Just an example, experience has shown that recycling programs can work successfully in the North as demonstrated by the Beverage Container program and the Electronic Recycle program. The Beverage Container program, or BCP, for example, has reused or recycled over 289 million beverage containers since 2005. Last year alone, BCP kept nearly 1,600 tonnes of material off the land and out of the landfills including 132 tonnes of plastic.