A Canadian metropolitan region home to 2.5 million people is considering imposing a disposal ban on expanded polystyrene.

The regional authority Metro Vancouver has scheduled a June workshop to gather input on a potential EPS disposal ban in the Vancouver, British Columbia area. The goal would be to encourage EPS recycling.

“Banning recyclable materials from disposal is one of Metro Vancouver’s regulatory tools to encourage recycling,” according to the Metro Vancouver web page for the project. “There’s a financial deterrent for not recycling. Surcharges can be applied if banned materials are found in the garbage at regional disposal facilities.”

Among the household materials currently banned from disposal are old corrugated containers; yard debris and food scraps; containers made of glass, metal, PET, HDPE, LDPE or PP; all beverage containers (except milk cartons) and clean wood.

The Metro Vancouver website lists 57 drop-off locations around the region for recycling or reuse of EPS. Some have limits on the types of EPS items they’ll accept.

The June 7 workshop is intended to gather feedback and answer questions about a potential ban. If approved by agency leaders this fall, a disposal ban could go into effect starting in 2018.

More stories about challenging materials