P.E.I. says it's No. 1 in Canada when it comes to recycling and composting

CHARLOTTETOWN -- When it comes to recycling and composting, residents of Prince Edward Island can now boast they're the best in Canada.

The P.E.I. government is citing newly released figures from Statistics Canada that show the province keeps more waste out of landfills, per person, than anywhere else in the country.

A 2014 waste-management survey shows Islanders each diverted an average of 429 kilograms of waste to recycling or organic processing, well above the Canadian average at 255 kilograms per person.

British Columbia residents ranked second, diverting 358 kilograms per person.

In 2002, the P.E.I. government introduced a source-separation program that helped Islanders reduce waste going to landfills by 50 per cent.

The government says it then started a program in 2008 that enabled P.E.I. to lead North America in recycling of beverage containers.

"We may be a small province, but this goes to show that Islanders can accomplish big things when we work together," Environment Minister Robert Mitchell said in a statement.