Originally published Sept 18/19  The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

Convenience is the most important factor in increasing recycling rates. Residential pickup is the most convenient way for households to recycle.

The Recycling Centre first offered curbside pickup in 2003. Users were asked to pay $30.00 per year. Payment was on the honour system so recyclables were picked up even if the household hadn’t paid.

The program came to an abrupt end in 2007 as recycling struggled financially and the program did not cover costs.
 
The Centre brought back the convenience of curbside pickup in 2010. It provides red bags at a cost that covers the program expenses. Residents fill one red bag and two more bags or boxes and put them on the curb. The red bag lets centre staff know the household has paid for the service.  

In the beginning the program provided pick-ups the first and third Wednesdays of the month. The number of users dropped significantly when Creighton began providing their own pickup services in 2014.

Since 2015 red bag pickup happens every Wednesday in Flin Flon where households are using the service. 

The number of red bags collected has dropped to the point where it is barely covering costs.

The questions are:
Is the $3.50 fee the reason?
Should the program end?
Should recycling pickup be free and a fee be charged for more than two bags of garbage?

Curbside pickup uses less fuel with one vehicle stopping at 20 houses rather than 20 vehicles driving to the Centre.

It brings materials into the Centre at a predictable rate and removes the litter problem at the Centre and trailer.
​
Let us know what you think on our Facebook page: Flin Flon Recycling or call (204)687-6169. 

Originally published Sept 11/19 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

A variety of things happen in the back room at the Recycling Centre. We call it the paper room as the office paper from businesses and schools is separated and sold.

It is also the room of the four B’s – batteries, bulbs, books and beer.

The battery packing box sits in a shopping cart. The batteries found in household recycling are placed in the cart where they are sorted into the box for shipping.

Transportation regulations require separate packaging for lithium and small sealed lead acid batteries to reduce fire hazard.  Each one must be placed in a plastic bag that is supplied with the boxes. Button batteries are lithium. A number of them are placed on a piece of tape and covered with another piece for shipping.

Fluorescent bulbs are packaged in cardboard boxes lined with heavy plastic bags for shipping. These bulbs contain mercury oxide which is very toxic. The tube bulbs are placed in four foot or eight foot boxes. The smaller CFL bulbs are shipped in a three foot cube box.  The bags are tied and taped shut when they are full. The boxes are sealed with tape on both ends for shipping.

Books are packed into large vegetable boxes from the grocery stores. They are arranged so as many books as possible fit in the box.

Finally, the large bags of beer cans separated from the household recycling are moved to the back room where they are counted into bags of 144 cans so they can be returned for the ten cent deposit.
​
 In 2019 we have shipped 691 kilograms of batteries, 40 boxes of bulbs, and 12 boxes of books. 

Originally published Sept 4/19  The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

​The Recycling Centre is a materials recovery facility or MRF.  We collect recyclables and ship them other places to be made into something new.  Most of the recyclables are household packaging and cardboard although  other items add variety on a regular basis.

Someone works at the Recycling Centre every day because the pile on the dock gets too enormous and messy over the weekend.

The exception is statutory holidays although a volunteer may clear the dock.

Materials arrive in several ways.  People drop it off at the Centre. The trailer by Canadian Tire is emptied Monday and Friday. We may get a truckload during the week if needed.

Denare Beach brings their curbside pickups on Wednesday and Creighton on Thursday and Friday.

We pick up recyclables from businesses every day.  Some are on a monthly pickup schedule while others call us when they need one.

Recyclables are loaded into carts when they arrive. Cardboard goes directly into the cardboard baler. The other carts are emptied in the main work area where the glass, aluminum cans and garbage are removed. The rest goes into the hopper on the commingle baler. 

Office paper goes to the back room for sorting.

We also receive cardboard bales from Coop and Canadian Tire.

We ship about 50 bales every two weeks. Our space is so small we cannot store them.

Electronic waste is stacked on pallets, wrapped and stored in the trailers attached to the building for shipping. A load of 24 pallets is shipped two to three times a year.

Batteries, fluorescent bulbs and paint are also packaged and shipped regularly.
​
Watching the number of tonnes grow shows us we are making a difference. 

Originally published Aug 28/19 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.
Guest post by summer student Aline Nasselquist 

You’re walking down Main Street and toss your water bottle into the blue bin rather than the garbage, good for you. The school year is comes to an end and you recycle the supplies that you can, good for you. 
 
You’re really helping the environment but just because you’re recycling doesn’t mean you’re doing what’s best for the environment.
 
There’s a reason we are taught to “REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE” in that specific order. It’s because this order creates the greatest impact.
 
Reduce by getting a reusable water bottle instead of purchasing disposable ones over and over.
 
Reuse leftover school supplies instead of buying all new sets every year.
 
Not only does this help the environment but also your wallet.
 
Over the summer of working at the Recycling Centre I have sorted through many bags and boxes of trash and recyclables. It’s actually surprising to see how much perfectly good stuff people get rid of such as sealed packages of loose leaf, folders that just need a new label, dozens of DVDs, photo albums, and so many more different things.
 
It was alarming but then people would call and ask us to keep some pop bottles or books from a specific author so they could reuse them.
 
Reducing our waste is so important through doing things like using reusable products instead of disposable. Then we must keep reusing products until the end of the items life.
 
This isn’t just buying new and then using it up but also buying second hand.
 
You alone can do so much good just by following the steps that come before recycling. Don’t forget to make things better by reducing and reusing.
 

Originally published Aug 21/19 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.
 Guest post by summer student Aline Nasselquist 

Canadians produce around 15 kg a week according to CBC.
 
On the week of July 30 - August 6 I did my best to create no waste and the biggest thing I discovered is that it really isn’t hard. It’s mainly just slightly time consuming and something that takes time to become a habit.
 
Some things didn’t go the way I planned it but some went better than expected.
 
Tactics I plan to implement into my everyday life are bringing reusable containers with me whenever I go out, opting for a hand towel versus paper towels, and using bar soap instead of liquid bottled soap. These changes didn’t greatly impact my everyday life but they do impact the environment.
 
Businesses like Bubba’s Bulk Bin encourage people to bring their own container and by taking a few extra steps CO-OP will also allow people to use their own containers. 
 
Reaching out and also working to discover my options were some tasks I wanted to achieve. I wanted to push myself further but changes like this take baby steps to implement into a person’s life.
 
I do plan on creating a Bokashi composter as soon as possible and using the food scraps I collected this week to start it.
 
I will also make a zero waste kit that I’ll keep in my car to hold cutlery with reusable napkins, a variety of reusable bags, and mason jars.
 
15 kg is a lot of garbage but I only created a fraction of that this week. That is a massive amount of progress and though it’s a small impact, it’s still something.
​

Originally published Aug 14/19 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

​As I write on Monday morning, Blueberry Jam 2019 is in the history books except for counting beer cans and baling the aluminum and other recyclables from the site.

Once again I was very encouraged that very few recyclables, especially aluminum cans were in the garbage. Almost every garbage bin had a recycling bin beside it which makes a difference.

It is important to have the option of garbage or recycling for the public. The dual bins on Main St. have reduced the amount of garbage in the recycling bins significantly although they still are very messy to process.

These bins also advertise that recycling is an important part of our community.

The bins in the parks are a different story.

I went through the bags the last time we emptied the park bins. They were so gross (there is no other word to adequately describe them) that our staff was giving priority to processing other bags of recyclables.  It is a good thing I am a ‘farm girl’ who can deal with smelly things.

The main culprits for the smell and ‘grossness’ were bags people use to clean up after their dogs, diapers and old food mixed in with all the recyclables. Liquids leaking from beverage containers added to the mess.

Unlike other communities who often throw out the public spaces recycling because it is so awful, I believe people have put recyclables in the bins believing they will be recycled. We must honour the trust they have placed in us.
​
Several park bins do not have garbage containers anywhere close by, something we will work with the City of Flin Flon to change. 

Originally published Aug 7/19 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

The kind of material arriving at the Recycling Centre changes with the seasons. Summer is beverage container season.  We have a bale of aluminum cans every week. Beer cans and bottles are returned for deposit every week to ten days. This past week there was more than seven thousand.

More fast food packaging and disposable eating items have been coming in. These cannot be recycled with the exception of plastic bottles, aluminum cans and the plastic specialty drink containers from MacDonald’s and Tim Hortons which are #1 or #5 plastic.

My trip to a family reunion took me through Saskatchewan, Alberta, Montana and a bit of British Columbia. I did not see many recycling bins in my travels although the one at the Coop gas station in Melfort was great. It prevented contamination by separating oil and antifreeze containers from the beverage containers and garbage. There is a picture on our Facebook page.

I went shopping a couple of times. I always have a bit of culture shock with the amount of stuff available in cities. My thoughts were “Someday all of this will be in a landfill somewhere”.  The YouTube video – The Story of Stuff – has greatly influenced my perspective about consumerism.  There is a link on our Facebook page.

We will be busy with recycling next weekend at the Blueberry Jam Music festival.  Last year all our bins were there beside the garbage cans. We emptied them regularly during the weekend. Our truck was more than half full at the end of the event.

I was impressed that the bins filled up and that very few containers had to be rescued from the garbage.
​
Don’t take a vacation from recycling!

Originally published July 31/19 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

The Flin Flon landfill has a compound for fridges, freezers, and air conditioners. It was built in 2007 for an Environment Council project to protect the ozone layer by providing for the removal of ozone depleting substances (OSDs) at the landfill. The program continues for a small fee.

What is the concern about ozone?

At ground level it is nasty air pollution that leads to health problems.

Fifteen kilometers up in the atmosphere it is the sun screen for the earth, filtering out harmful UV radiation from the sun.

The chemicals used for refrigeration called CFCs and HCFC’s seriously destroy the ozone layer. Sunshine releases the chlorine, which is the C in the names. One atom of chlorine destroys thousands of ozone atoms in the atmosphere.  The ODS in the atmosphere today will damage ozone for another 80 years.

Life on earth needs the ozone protection from the sun’s radiation.

Less ozone causes more skin cancer, eye problems, premature aging for people and animals. It damages crops like wheat, rice and corn which are staples in people’s diets. It destroys plankton which is the food for the food we get from the oceans.

In 1987 most countries signed the Montreal Protocol which strictly regulates ODS. Anyone who works with it must be licensed.  The amounts are documented carefully and tracked. CFC’s are being phased out.

One regulation requires that all appliances must have the refrigerant removed by a certified technician before going to landfill.

Our project provides the removal service at the landfill for a fee of $25.00 which can be paid at Flin Flon City Hall or the landfill gate.
​
The fridge goes to the metal pile for recycling. 

​Originally published July 24/19 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.
 Guest post by summer student Aline Nasselquist 

Think about the amount of trash you create in a single week, like food packaging and shopping bags, even clothing tags. Now, imagine not creating any waste whatsoever.
 
Being zero waste is something I’ve noticed more people are interested in. I want to tackle this challenge for a week to see just how difficult it can be in a community like ours. How accessible, actually is it for us to create the absolute least amount of waste around here?
 
I’ll be attempting to keep all my garbage in a jar for a week.
 
It can be very expensive to purchase items that aren’t pre-packaged so I want to see what our community has to offer.
 
However, I will be throwing away some single use items like toilet paper. Also, any trash created due to work or someone else in my household does not count but I’ll still be mindful. 
 
Finally, if I have to create waste I will try to make it recyclable, an example of this is prescription pill bottles.
 
Since I still live at home I have some limitations. Simply put I can’t force my parents to partake in this week. But, I’m taking on the challenge of making one five person meal this week. During this week I’m additionally going to challenge myself in a multitude of ways by following others online examples. I’ll be challenging the community as well to see just how accommodating businesses can be.
 
We should all be more aware of the garbage we produce but we should also be aware of how easy even a low-waste lifestyle can be.
 
In a follow up column I’ll be documenting how this goes.

Originally published July 17/19 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

The three R’s of environmental responsibility in order of importance are reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Recycling is at the bottom of the list. However, as an organization whose goal is caring for the earth, we try to reduce and reuse in our operations as well.

One example is the school supplies giveaway that will be held at the public library August 24. Instead of recycling or throwing out the many usable school supplies we receive we will be giving them away at the library on August 24. We will include any items dropped off at the Recycling Centre or Library.

There are other ways we reduce.

It is an uncomfortable fact that our operations require us to use many plastic bags. It doesn’t really fit our environmental goals.  However, we reuse plastic bags as much as possible.

Large bags for the blue carts outside the Centre and those used to collect aluminum cans are reused many times. Any large bags that can be opened without tearing are reused for garbage.

The large blue bins outside the Recycling Centre are there to reduce the use of plastic bags. Recycling bins can be emptied into these bins so a plastic bag isn’t needed.  

Bringing recyclables to the Centre in closed cardboard boxes also removes the need for a plastic bag and the box is recycled.

Some recyclers reuse large plastic bags from dog food for example.

We encourage reusing by saving a variety of items for people who want to reuse them. For example, the Food bank used small ice cream containers for soup. Ice cream pails are saved for blueberry pickers.
​
We strive to reduce and reuse as we recycle. 

​Originally published July 10/19 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

Many details about the challenges of recycling have come to light since China stopped taking the hodge podge of plastics the rest of the world was sending them to recycle. This information is making it obvious that much of the recycling they were receiving was probably ending up in their landfills.

Two big ones have come to light this past week.

First: Black plastic of any kind is not recyclable. At some point in the recycling process plastics are sorted mechanically with laser lights. They cannot ‘read’ black plastic.

Second: Number 1 plastic clam shells used for fruit and baked goods are piling up in the system. The plastic is very recyclable. The problem is the adhesive used for labeling.

The plastic must be clean to recycle. Some adhesives make it too difficult to remove labels while others are easily removed. Sorting by adhesives is nearly impossible.

Packaging companies need to higher priority to the end of life of their products when making design decisions.  They need to consider what happens to their product after consumers buy it.

Currently priority is given to visibility and marketing (to ensure the product is easily seen), security of the product (so it isn’t easily stolen), and reducing costs for manufacture and shipping. Food safety is also a necessary priority.

Black plastic may be used for because it looks nice. Adhesives may affect the cost. Whatever the reason, plastics companies need to quit using black plastic, and set an industry standard for adhesives that are easily removed.

The Flon Flon Recycling Centre is still accepting the #1 PETE clamshells. Hopefully a process for removing labels will be found shortly for items already in the system. 

August total – 44,608 kg
       
        Aluminum – 462 kg
        Commingled* - 11,043 kg
        Office Paper – 1,775 kg
        Cardboard – 25,224 kg
        Glass – 5,400 kg
        Books – 704 kg
        Other plastics –

Total for 2019 –  352,379 kg
Total for 2018 – 352,077 kg
Difference – 302 kg


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


Comments – The commingle totals are down 12 tonnes from this time last year. Discussions this months with others in the province indicate this is a trend everywhere. It seems to be related to less paper products in the recycling stream which weigh more. 

July total – 54,123 kg
       
        Aluminum – 833 kg
        Commingled* - 11,945 kg
        Office Paper – 5,784 kg
        Cardboard – 28,618 kg
        Glass – 5,704 kg
        Books – 712 kg
        Other plastics – 335 kg

Total for 2019 –  307,771 kg
Total for 2018 – 307,212 kg
Difference – 559 kg

Batteries – 91 kg

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


Comments – This is the highest monthly total ever.