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

Recent studies show there are 100 batteries in the average Canadian household in remote controllers, watches, children’s toys, power tools, computers, alarm clocks and many other things.

Batteries are also used in industry and community infrastructure. For example, batteries provide phone service when the power is off
. 
There are three types of batteries.  Wet cell batteries are used mostly in vehicles. Dry cell and rechargeable batteries are most common in households and workplaces.

A chemical reaction inside batteries creates the power.  Chemicals include copper, cadmium, mercury, zinc, lead, nickel and lithium depending on the kind of battery.

Button batteries contain the most valuable materials. 

All batteries should be recycled to prevent these chemicals and metals from causing serious damage to the environment and human health.

The Flin Flon Recycling Centre began collecting dry cell and rechargeable batteries of all shapes and sizes for recycling in 2014. Vehicle batteries can be taken to local landfills where they are collected for recycling.

Batteries should be in a sealed bag or container when they are sent to the Recycling Centre so they can be separated from the other recyclables.

 The batteries are collected and shipped through the Call 2 Recycle program. This program is paid for by industry and a Environmental Handling Fee (EHF) that was added to household batteries February 1,2017.

Call 2 Recycle sends boxes and plastic bags as Li-Ion, SSLA/Pb and lithium primary batteries need to be shipped in separate bags according to Transport Canada rules to prevent fires. Button batteries are lithium and are placed between two pieces of tape.
Batteries are packed in the boxes and shipped.  

In 2016, the Recycling Centre shipped 354 kilograms of batteries for recycling.

Note: There are pictures of the battery recycling at the Recycling Centre on our facebook page 'Flin Flon Recycling'.

When I posted the pictures, someone asked where the batteries go. 

The batteries from Flin Flon are shipped to a sorting station in Hamilton, Ontario where they are sorted according to the kind they are - what metals/chemistry they have. They are then shipped to plants that can process the metals/chemicals in them. More info is available at www.cal2recycle.ca.  under the 'Why Recycle' tab.

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

​In many homes, composting outdoors is not possible. Vermi-composting is a way to compost indoors.

Red wiggler worms do the work. They are big eaters and leave large amounts of very rich compost behind. They live in a bin kept at room temperature with bedding made of shredded newspaper or computer paper.

The worms eat compostable materials like fruit and vegetable scraps, tea leaves and bags added to the bedding. Coffee grounds, citrus, onions, bread, rice, pasta can be composted in moderation, as these items can make their environment too acidic. The acidity can be controlled by adding crushed egg shells. These shells are also very nutritious for the worms.

Red wigglers are vegetarians so cannot eat meat, fish, bones, dairy products, oily foods and large pits or stones.

They also have lots of babies.

It is important the worms are not too wet or too dry. Drainage holes in the bottom of the bin with a tray underneath can prevent drowning. If the bedding seems dry, moisture can added with a spray bottle until it is damp.

Compost should be harvested every 3 to 6 months to keep the worms healthy. Too much compost in the bin can be fatal.   

I first learned of composting with worms from Bob Fortier, a dedicated volunteer in the recycling program in the early years. He was an avid gardener and liked to try new things. He would often show children his worms during recycling presentations at the schools.

Several others in the community have experience composting indoors with worms.
Information about where worms are available in our community is available by calling the Recycling Centre at (204) 687-6169.

Go to http://greenactioncentre.ca/green-your-routine/vermicomposting/ for more information.

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

Composting is form of recycling that can be completed in our community. It takes care of 30-40% of waste and the new material can be put to good use.  

Plant waste such as vegetable peels, grass clippings, leaves, garden waste, and wood chips can be composted. The result is a soil fertilizer that is better than chemicals.

Compost adds a wide variety of nutrients and micro-organisms to soil. It doesn’t wash away and helps keep the soil moist.

A compost pile can be created in your back yard with or without a bin. There are a variety of bins that can be bought or built.

The process takes a few months to a year or more, depending on how much attention it receives and how much ‘greens’ and ‘browns’ are in the mix.

Greens are vegetable and fruit scraps (fresh, cooked, or canned), coffee grounds/filters, tea leaves/bags, garden waste, fresh weeds without seeds, fresh grass clippings which are rich in nitrogen.

Browns are dry leaves, straw, dry hay, sawdust, woodchips from untreated wood, twigs, dried grass clippings, dried weeds without seeds, shredded paper napkins, tissue paper which are rich in carbon.

Eggshells, plain rice and pasta, bread, hair, wool, cotton can also be composted. 
A layer of black dirt will get the compost started. Mixing in browns and keeping it moist but not too wet will keep it from smelling.

The compost will work faster if it is stirred regularly which can be weekly to every month.

Meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, oily foods, bones, pet waste, weeds with mature seeds, plants infected with disease, plastic/petroleum products, metals, synthetic materials cannot be composted.

More information is available at http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/composting-basics-and-getting-started/. 

Originally published Feb 22/17 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

Kathy L. a Flin Floner who is a great friend of the environment, gave me some interesting information she received at a seminar at the Winnipeg Conservatory.

How long does it take to decompose a …
                 Banana peel – 1 month
                Corn based plastic – 45 days
                Cigarette butt – up to 10 years
                Aluminium can – 200 – 500 years
                Plastic bag – up to 1,000 years
                Styrofoam cup – 1 million years
 
It‘s no wonder people are concerned about litter.
 
This reminds me of something I read a while ago where researchers took drill cores (like they do for mineral exploration) in a landfill in New York State in the late 1990’s. In one section they found lots of meat. It was at the time there was a two day power blackout in 1965. They concluded the meat was thrown out after being unrefrigerated for too long. After 30 years it was still meat.

Information in newspaper columns need better sources than ‘I read an article a while ago!’ so I went to Google to get the facts. While I didn’t find the information about meat, I did find the Garbage Project, a 23 year archaeological dig in 10 landfills that discovered in all kinds of interesting facts about garbage and people’s habits.

They found newspapers that were readable whether they were 5 or 50 years old, grass clippings and even carrots and heads of lettuce.

Garbage needs to be in landfills not floating in the environment. However, landfills just hold things that break down very slowly!

f stuff is going to be around for such a long time, we need to put what we can to good use by recycling and composting. 

February total – 36,953 kg
        Newsprint – 490 kg
        Co-mingled* - 9,671 kg
        Office Paper – 3,100 kg
        Cardboard – 14,622 kg
        Glass – 2,991 kg
        Books -  730 kg 
       
Total for 2017 – 68,557 kg
Total for 2016 – 64,419 kg
Difference – 4,128 kg

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

Comments –  We are four tonnes ahead of last year which is good news. Most of that is co-mingled materials which shows the continued trend of household recycling. Recyclables from the curbside service in Denare Beach is adding to the total.