Halifax is surpassing its targets for plastic recycling. Since rules changed in September, almost 600 tones of extra plastic have been diverted from landfills into the recycling system. Six hundred tons is a lot—the equivalent of 23 tractor-trailer loads of compacted plastic. And that puts the city two months ahead of schedule in their recycling targets.

The CBC interviewed the city's solid waste manager, and wrote: "In September, the recycling program grew to include all plastics except for Styrofoam-style materials."

But it isn't all plastic that is accepted: it's all plastic containers—and still no bottle caps, for good reasons. Plastic "toys, dvd cases, plastic cutlery, coffee/pop cups and lids, cereal box liners, straws, pipe, packaging that is made of a combination of plastic plus paper and bulky items that do not fit in the blue bag" still aren't allowed. (full list)

People who already recycle have done great with the new rules. The room for improvement, the city manager says, is with the people who still put everything in black bags.

Do you recycle as much as you'd like to? Do you notice neighbours who seem to do better or worse than you with what they put to the curb?

An HRM video showing the inside of the recycling plant and laying on the guilt trip pretty thick: