Ridge Meadows Recycling Society is fourth in the province for their collection and recycling of used oil, antifreeze, oil filters, and automotive containers.
Interchange Recycling, the not-for-profit organization dedicated to the collection and recycling of the automotive waste in B.C., announced the winners on Thursday, July 23, of their seventh annual Top Collector Awards for 2025.
The recycling society in Maple Ridge was fourth only to: GFL Environmental Depot in Abbotsford which came first; City of Burnaby Eco-Centre that came second; and Central Surrey Recycling and Waste Centre which came third.
Leanne Koehn with Ridge Meadows Recycling said being a top collector in the auto fluid and container program since the inception of the awards shows then that the community is aware of the other items they accept at the Recycling Centre.
“Bringing oil back for recycling is extremely important – even small amounts of motor oil in the environment can contaminate groundwater and our local waterways. As part of Interchange’s program, we accept motor oil, oil filters, oil containers, antifreeze, antifreeze containers, and more,” said Koehn.
The top 30 B.C. public recycling centres were recognized for their outstanding performance and commitment to collecting used oil and antifreeze materials out of more than 300 collection sites across the province.
Criteria to determine the top collectors included tallying the total amount of used oil and antifreeze collected at each facility, and a total number of years participating in Interchange Recycling’s public return facility program.
The recycling centres also has to demonstrate a continued support of Interchange Recycling and other recycling stewardship-related programs.
“Each collection site across the province plays a vital role in keeping our communities safe by recovering hazardous materials like used motor oil, antifreeze, oil filters, and automotive containers,” said Jenn Robson, director of operations at Interchange Recycling.
“When residents drop off these materials at our free public recycling centres, they ensure these recyclable resources stay out of local landfills and waterways. These awards recognize the communities leading by example,” she added, noting that this year’s rankings reflected a strong performance across the province, with nine collection sites climbing the ranks and five new facilities joining the list.
GFL Environmental Depot in Abbotsford and the City of Burnaby Eco-Centre maintained their respective first and second-place positions from 2024.
Most improved in 2025 was Castle Fuels Inc. in Kamloops and the City of Burnaby Eco-Centre was named the top local government facilty.
This year, Interchange Recycling also announced the expansion of its program to include 11 additional automotive container categories including: automotive adhesives, automotive aerosols, brake fluid, conditioners, degreasers, fuel system cleaners, lubricants, automotive sealers, solvents, and stabilizer containers.
All containers must be empty and free of any remaining product before being accepted.
Used oil, according to Interchange Recycling, if it is recycled at one of their dedicated public recycling centres, can be recovered and reused, and re-refined into new lubricating oil or material inputs for manufacturing or energy products.
Used oil filters contain metal, which is recycled into metal products like rebar, nails, and wire; used oil and antifreeze containers are recycled and used to manufacture new oil containers, drainage tiles, and parking curbs; and used antifreeze is refined and reused as new automotive antifreeze.
Interchange Recycling was formed in 2003, and is a collaborative, not-for-profit group dedicated to the collection and recycling of used lubricating oil, oil filters, oil containers, and used automotive containers in B.C.
Each year, the recycling organization noted, approximately 50 million litres of oil and three million litres of antifreeze are collected and responsibly managed through their network of public recycling centres and generators across the province.
For more information about the Ridge Meadows Recycling Society go to: https://rmrecycling.org/.