B.C. Local Governments have a long and largely successful track record of running programs that get products like paper, glass and cans out of the garbage stream and into recycling. Reliable, easy to use curbside ‘blue box’ collection by municipalities has been central to the success of recycling programs in many parts of the province. In 2011, the province amended the regulations governing recycling and began a process of shifting responsibility and jurisdiction over packaging and printed paper (PPP) recycling to industry. To meet the requirements of the Regulation, the key industry players formed a not-for-profit agency, Multi-Material British Columbia, (MMBC) to develop and implement a residential stewardship plan. Local governments and others are voicing concerns about how this new system is being implemented and raising questions about whether it is capable of meeting the stated goals of the BC Recycling Regulation.1 An August 2013 letter from the Mayor and Council of Port Moody summarized many of these concerns, writing that “we do not feel the program, as presented, is helpful in increasing diversion and lowering waste generation, nor do we feel that it is respectful of the taxpayer who will continue to subsidize the packaging material life cycle.”2