Originally published  Feb 15/17 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

In 2016, corrugated cardboard was 47% of materials recycled. Nine percent was office paper. This tells us the majority of recyclables in Flin Flon does not come from homes. 

It is great that many workplaces in our community recycle.

There are industrial places like HudBay, commercial enterprises like grocery stores and restaurants, and institutions like schools and health care facilities.

The Recycling Centre picks up recyclables from 45 workplaces.  The pickup schedule varies. Some places have pickups several times a week. Others have pickups once or twice a month or when needed. There is a fee for this service.

Several businesses producing large amounts of recyclables store items in a large bin or shed.

Some workplaces bring their recyclables to the Centre.

Here are some tips for recycling at work:

• Flatten cardboard boxes and put them in one box. It will take up less space and is easier to carry.
• Shredded office paper can be recycled. It should be in a separate bag. Remove all newsprint, plastic covers, file folders and other things before shredding.
• Provide a recycling container every desk as most waste at desks is recyclable paper.
• Coffee cups, tissues, paper towels, plastic wrapping, food items, candy and food wrappers, are not recyclable and belong in the garbage.
• Many posters and other display materials are recyclable. If it can be torn it is recyclable.
• Laminated items and mixed materials like padded envelopes, and coffee cans made of tin and cardboard are not recyclable.
• Several sizes of bins for beverage containers are available free for businesses from Recycle Everywhere.

For more information about recycling in your workplace, call 204 687 6169.

Originally published Feb 8/17 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

It was part of a conversation again last week. The person said something I have heard since recycling began. “Most of the stuff sent for recycling just ends up in the landfill.”

This belief probably had its beginning in fact somewhere many years ago. It may still be partially or completely true in some places but it is the exception not the rule.

Any operation produces some garbage. The average recycling centre or Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) where materials are processed for shipping has an average garbage rate of 5%.

The Recycling Centre is very aware of the trust the public places in us to keep recyclables out of the landfill and send them on to a new life.
 
Recyclables from Flin Flon are sent to Cascades Recovery, Inc., in Winnipeg. We pay $45.00/tonne for materials to be sorted.  Landfill tipping fees in Winnipeg are $65.00/tonne so it is highly unlikely recyclables are being sent to landfill as the company would be losing money.

We have toured Cascades operations twice. We have seen the sort line, and bales of materials stored for shipping to mills for recycling. 

We are also very confident that the electronics we ship are recycled.  In April, 2105 two of us had the opportunity to tour Exner Ewaste in Elie, Manitoba which is where our electronics are recycled.

The Electronic Products Recycling Association which pays for ewaste recycling has very stringent requirements for the recycling process. They make sure the recycling process is safe for workers and that recycling happens without damaging the environment.
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There are pictures from the Cascades tour and a news item about ewaste recycling on our facebook page: Flin Flon Recycling.

Originally published Feb 1/17 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

I was asked the other day if we accept meat trays for recycling. Many have the recycling symbol on them with a number six. My answer was ‘No’.

A suggestion on our ‘Flin Flon Recycling’ facebook page helped me decide to look for more information. Here is what I found.

The technical name for number six plastic is polystyrene (PS). Meat trays and many other things are made from ‘extruded polystyrene’ or polystyrene foam.  Most of us call it Styrofoam which is actually a registered trademark of the Dow Chemical Company for extruded polystyrene used for thermal insulation and craft applications.

Polystyrene foam has many uses because it is strong, lightweight, cheap, and sanitary to use.

According to the Canadian Plastic Industry Association’s web page, polystyrene foam is very recyclable.  However, only about 35% of recycling programs in Canada accepts it.

This is because it is 90% air. It takes up a lot of space and is very light. It requires special machines to compact or ‘densify’ it enough to make shipping feasible.

The Recycling Centre gets a lot of polystyrene foam. The biggest pieces are usually found in cardboard boxes where it protected whatever came in the box. It has to be removed before the cardboard is baled which takes time and can be challenging, as it may be stuck tightly in the box.

Foam cups, meat trays, egg cartons, and other items often found with other recyclables we receive. They are removed and put in the garbage.

If the company we ship to in Winnipeg finds a market for number six plastic containers we will accept them.

It is highly unlikely however, that we will ever recycle PS foam. 

​Originally published  Jan 29/17  The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.
If this sounds somewhat familiar, I used a column from 2014 and reworked it. :) 

Just living produces garbage or waste which we throw away. But where is ‘away’?

Everything used to go to the landfill where it was covered up and forgotten by most people. Over time, many places didn’t have space for more landfills and the landfills were leaking harmful chemicals.  

People realized that more than half of the garbage was recyclable which would save space, energy and resources. Ways to get rid of toxic items without damaging the environment were developed.

So ‘away’ is changing.

Landfills collect metal which is picked up and made into new metal. Vehicle batteries, used oil/antifreeze, their containers and filters are collected and sent for recycling.

Tires collected at the Flin Flon landfill are sent for recycling into a variety of things.

Recyclables such as food containers, cardboard packaging, newspaper and office paper, electronics and household batteries are collected at the Recycling Centre.

Changes are coming to make getting rid of toxic materials which have danger symbols on the label, and fluorescent light bulbs easier. These items should not go in the garbage!

Currently, the Home Hardware and the Recycling Centre take paint. The Centre also accepts fluorescent bulbs and thermostats.

A Hazardous Waste depot is coming to Flin Flon the Landfill in spring of 2017 so these items should be stored until then.

Old or unused medication can be returned to a pharmacy for safe disposal.

The rest goes to the landfill.  

It is important to think about where ‘away’ is and be responsible with the things we are finished with it. With a couple of new habits, we can make the world a better place.

And wherever ‘away’ is, it is NOT in the bush!
 

January total – 36,953 kg
        Newsprint – 1,075 kg
        Co-mingled* - 11,956 kg
        Office Paper – 3,288 kg
        Cardboard – 16,562 kg
        Glass – 3,588 kg
        Books -  544 kg
       
Total for 2017 – 36,953 kg
Total for 2016 – 34,434 kg
Difference – 2,519 kg

47 kg batteries (not included in weights)
8 Boxes fluorescent bulbs

E – waste – 9.03 metric tonnes

* Co-mingled is unsorted materials sent to Winnipeg for sorting

Comments - We are 2.5 tonnes ahead of last year's January which doesn't surprise me. This month always includes holiday recycling. This year's seemed like quite a bit more than other years, altho' it is easy to forget what it was like 12 months ago. The weights tell me I was right. There was 2 tonnes more of co-mingled materials and half a tonne more of cardboard. We also had half a tonne more of office paper which includes shredded paper. It seems many people are cleaning out old documents this time of year. 

​I am hoping this trend will hold for all of 2017.