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

The activities of non-profit corporations are governed by a Board of Directors. Their involvement differs in each organization.  Sometimes they do all the work. Other times they hire employees and provide oversight and give direction.  


The role of Board members of the Flin Flon & District Environment Council, Inc. has evolved.

In the beginning all the work was done by volunteers including Board members. Today, employees do the work. The Board oversees the recycling program. Some volunteer regularly or do specific tasks as they are able.

Everything Board members do is unpaid, but they have significant influence.

Barb Lyons attended the public meeting about recycling in 2009 and decided to become a Board member.

Barb has been active and dedicated, reading reports and asking questions that bring another valuable perspective to the discussion.  She has given considerable time to rewriting the bylaws and developing job descriptions and personnel policies. She understands the big picture of recycling in Manitoba because she has attended provincial recycling forums and tours.  

In 2013 Barb and I had lunch with Martin from the organization that subsidizes recycling. He suggested we pay for sorting in Winnipeg and set fees for pickup services that cover our costs. 

I was not enthusiastic, but Barb’s practicality had her on board. With information from other recycling programs and more Board discussion, the decision was made to ship most recyclables to Winnipeg for sorting.  Pickup fees were increased.

This decision is the reason there continues to be a successful recycling program in our community.  
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The Flin Flon & District Environment Council, Inc. and the recycling program are successful today in many ways because of Barb’s work as a volunteer Board member. 

The Environment Council honoured several people at its Annual General Meeting on April 23.

The community champions were Ray Gilfillan, John Moore and Kathy McGrath.  Ray has the garbage/recycling collection contract for Creighton. John and Kathy are the collectors for Denare Beach.

Creighton began recycling pickup in May, 2014. Ray stopped by the Recycling Centre to work out the details of dropping off the materials. It was immediately evident that he was not only willing to collect recyclables, he was enthusiastic about it.

The Recycling Centre isn’t the only beneficiary of his enthusiasm. Ray is willing to accommodate homeowners ideas to make it work for them.  He continues to encourage people and businesses to recycle.

Ray comes to the Recycling Centre twice a week. He often checks the board displaying the tonnes recycled each month and asks how things are going. He shares helpful information from the community and from his experiences.

In 2016, Denare Beach announced there would be a vote about recycling with the municipal elections in October.  

John Moore and Kathy McGrath are responsible for the garbage collection and landfill. They came to checked out the Recycling Centre operations before the election. They were hoping for a positive vote as they were eager to divert recyclable materials from the landfill.

Citizens of Denare Beach voted for recycling.

Kathy and John were back in December, quite excited to work out the logistics of transferring recyclables they collected at the curb and landfill into the Centre.

The trailer comes from Denare Beach most Tuesdays. John and Kathy are very accommodating, leaving the trailer to be emptied when the Centre has space which sometimes is the next day.

Ray, Kathy and John go above and beyond to make recycling happen. 
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Thank you. 

Originally published Apr 18/18  The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.


1. Containers sent for recycling should not be _________, _____________  or gooey.

2. Which of the following is not accepted at the Recycling Centre?   a) fluorescent bulbs  b) gift wrap      c) batteries  d) paint

3.  Was the amount of materials recycled in 2016 up or down?

4.  Recycling Centre employees work at which City of Flin Flon facility?

5. Recycling one _____________________ saves enough electricity to power a computer for five hours.

6. Which community began providing curbside recycling pickup in 2017?

7. The community recycling program has been operating for _____ years?  a) 15  b) 30  c) 25  d) 8

8. True or False – Computers and all the things that attach to them are recyclable.

9. What ‘twins’ appeared on Main St in the summer of 2016?

10. True or False – Everything must be sorted before it can be sent for recycling.

Answers

1. Nothing should be drippy, sticky or gooey when it is sent to the Recycling Centre.

2. b) Gift Wrap. Some may be recyclable but it is impossible to sort recyclable from non-recyclable.  

3. Both. Total tonnage in 2016 was down 18 tonnes but commingled materials were up 11 tonnes.  More homes were recycling. Fewer materials are coming from businesses.
2017 was a different story. Recycling was up by 21 tonnes. Commingled materials were up by 20%. Curbside collection in Denare Beach is a big reason for the increase.

4. Flin Flon Landfill. This contract subsidizes the recycling program.

5. Aluminium can

6. Denare Beach.  The community voted to recycle in October 2016.

7. c) 25 years. The first semi load of paper was shipped in November, 1992.

8. True – Computers and other electronics are shipped to Exner Ewaste in Elie Manitoba for recycling.

9. Dual garbage and recycling bins.
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10. False. Very little sorting happens in Flin Flon. Most recyclables are sorted in Winnipeg. 
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Originally published Apr 11/18  The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

April 22 is Earth Day. It is a day set aside to bring attention to importance of protecting the Earth so it can support life.

The first one was in the United States in 1970. It was organized by a two US senators, one a Republican, the other a Democrat.  People from all walks of life and political parties participated.

It became recognized around the world in 1990. The focus has changed over the years. Recycling was important in the 1990’s. Climate change is the main concern since the early 2000’s.

Earth Day is on Sunday this year. The Recycling Centre is celebrating by inviting everyone to an open house from 1:30-4:30 p.m.  The Centre is located at 9 Timber Lane, in the Eecol Electric building.

You will see how all the different materials are processed and stored for shipping and the new baler in action. You can get an answer to all your recycling questions.

The Recycling Centre is really a Materials Recovery Facility or a MRF. Nothing is recycled into new things here.

Household recyclables, corrugated cardboard and office paper are compressed into large bales and shipped to Winnipeg. They are sorted and sent to mills in the United States or Eastern Canada where they are made into new products.  

Household batteries, fluorescent bulbs, paint, printer cartridges and electronics are also collected.

Every Earth Day the company we ship to in Winnipeg sends information about the difference our recycling made the previous year.

In 2017, recycling from our communities saved: 5,949 mature trees, 50,646 bathtubs full of water, electricity to power 117 households for a year and 229 dump truck loads of garbage from the landfill.
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Recycling makes a difference. 

Originally published Apr 4/18 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

Many Manitobans want to know why they don’t receive cash when they return their pop containers for recycling. The answer is because they didn’t pay a deposit when the container was purchased.
 
Some provinces, like Saskatchewan, charge a deposit when consumers buy a beverage such as a can or bottle of pop.
 
Why doesn’t Manitoba collect a deposit? Because it is more expensive.
 
For example, when you buy a bottle of pop in Saskatchewan you are charged a 10 cent deposit and a 6 cent recycling levy. The deposit is higher for larger containers like 2-litre bottles.
 
If the can or bottle is returned to a SARCAN depot in Saskatchewan, the 10 cent deposit is returned. The 6 cents is not returned and is used to run the deposit program.
 
In Manitoba, a 2 cent enviro levy is charged for non-alcoholic beverage containers to support community recycling of the containers. (Beer containers can be returned to vendors for a deposit.)
 
Compared to Manitoba, the deposit system in Saskatchewan costs the consumer 4 cents more if the container is returned for deposit. If the consumer doesn’t return the container to be recycled, they paid 14 cents more than in Manitoba.
 
Which system is better? It is difficult to say. Recycling rates for beverage containers are somewhat higher in Saskatchewan but Manitoba’s system is less expensive for people buying beverages.
 
Some people take beverage containers bought in Manitoba to SARCAN depots in Saskatchewan.
 
This cheats the recycling programs in both provinces.  SARCAN pays a deposit it did not receive when the beverage container was purchased. It lowers recycling volumes in Manitoba community programs and reduces their recycling subsidy.
 
And it is illegal.

April total – 49,050 kg
       
        Commingled* - 11,905 kg
        Office Paper – 3,173 kg
        Cardboard – 28,538 kg
        Glass – 4,440 kg
        Books -  994

Total for 2018 – 162,863 kg
Total for 2017 – 140,760 kg
Difference – +22,103 kg

* Commingled is unsorted materials sent to Winnipeg for sorting


Comments – The big difference this month is corrugated cardboard. There was a lot from the Coop store. We also picked up 9 bales at Canadian Tire. Overall, commingled materials are the same as last year and cardboard is 20 tonnes ahead.