Originally published May 12/21 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

The trailer in the old Extra Foods parking lot between Canadian Tire and Walmart is a very popular place to drop off their recyclables.

The lot is a mess. Loose materials are left on the ground. They also fall out of the trailer when it is being emptied. There seems to be more mess than this explains however.

Whatever the cause it needs to be cleaned up.

Last year we held a work bee on a Saturday. Twenty people helped clean up the lot. Several truckloads were hauled away.

Covid 19 health regulations make it more difficult to do this year. Only five people can gather outdoors at one time.

The plan is for a clean-up Saturday May 15. Anyone who wants to help can call the Centre and sign up for an hour between 10:00 and 3:00. Everyone who is not in the same household must arrive in a different vehicle.

The Recycling trucks will be there with supplies. They will also collect the bags of garbage.  Participants should avoid gathering at a truck.

Anyone wanting to help on a different day can leave bags of garbage at the hitch end of the trailer.

Garbage bags can be picked up with no contact by calling the Centre at (204) 687-6169. 

We continue to work on managing the trailer effectively.
 
Increased use of the red bag curbside pickup in Flin Flon would help in several ways including less potential for mess. 
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Red bags are on sale in May for $2.75. The reduced price may continue If 25 more households start using the service. New users should call the Centre at (204) 687-6169 to add their home to the pickup route.

Originally published Apr 28/21 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

Studies about recycling rates have shown that convenience is the best way to encourage people to recycle. Curbside pickup increases recycling rate by over 50%.

The Recycling Centre began a curbside program in 2003.  Recyclers were asked to pay $30.00/year but all recyclables were picked up without checking if the fee had been paid. One hundred residents paid for the service in 2006. It isn’t known how many more used it.

Recycling tonnage set a record of 500 tonnes in 2007 that stood for ten years.

There are two reasons the program ended in June 2007. Prices paid for selling recyclables which provided a lot of the funding, fell dramatically and the $30.00/year fee did not cover the cost.

The current curbside pickup service began in 2010 with a service fee paid by buying a red bag. The current price is $3.50.

Recyclables in a red bag on the curb lets the Centre employees know the fee has been paid. Two more bags or boxes of recyclables are picked up with the one red bag. Large boxes can be flattened and left under the bags.

The program was quite popular in the beginning but the number of users dropped significantly when Creighton’s curbside pickup began in 2014.

The cost seems to prevent people from using the service so the bags will be on sale for $2.75 for the month of May. New users should call the Recycling Centre ahead of time so their home can be included on the pickup route.

Bags are available at Coop, Eddies, Gas Bar, Super K, PharmaSave and the Recycling Centre.

For more information call the Recycling Centre at (204) 687-6169.

Originally published Apr 21/21 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

We recycle books, which is a dangerous because I find many that I want to read. I have actually read a few.  

School children’s books about different issues that interest me are great as they describe the basics.

Recently I read ‘Garbage’ by Eleanor J. Hall that is part of a series called ‘Our Endangered Planet’.

The first paragraphs of the Introduction put it in perspective.

All living things produce waste. Most natural waste is broken down in nature and reused for other purposes. Human beings have created many new materials that nature cannot decompose. The amount of biodegradable waste humans produce is too large for nature to take care of.

The amount of waste per person has grown significantly since the 1960’s as people had more money and more things to buy.

It used to all be garbage but as landfills grew big problems grew as well. Taking care of garbage became a challenge for municipal governments that required expertise, regulation, time and money.

It got new name. Solid waste management has categories such as organics, hazardous waste, paper materials, plastics and metals.

Programs like recycling, composting, metal salvage, separating hazardous waste for proper disposal are growing in an effort to reduce the harm to the environment and the costs and space requirements of landfills.

It hasn’t all been figured out. Each community has its own programs and challenges resulting from available information, community size, financial resources, physical environment, history, regulations and political will.
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Many issues described in the book published in 1997 still exist today. New ideas, technologies and habits result in changes. The waste created by humans will continue to demand time and resources to manage

Originally published Apr 14/21  The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

The Flin Flon Round Table on the Environment and the Economy had shrunk to a small group concerned about the Environment when I joined them in 1992.

Our vision was to encourage people to be environmentally friendly by providing information, projects and advocacy.

Recycling seemed like a great place to start.  Peter Bush, a committee member had collected paper for recycling that Greg East, another committee member was storing in a garage.

We found a company in Winnipeg that accepted paper for recycling. Healthy Flin Flon provided money for shipping.  Gardewine parked a trailer at the Market Garden for four days in mid-November, 1992.

People brought 13 tons of paper which was loaded by volunteers.  

That was the beginning. We purchased a used semi-trailer by selling advertising. It was parked at the Market Garden where we collected paper one weekend a month. Two more loads were sent.

We moved indoors in December 1994 and sold recyclables to cover costs. But we needed more funding to grow the program.

Organizations that give grants for projects want to know the money will be used as intended so we needed to get organized. The Committee was incorporated as a non-profit in January 1995 with bylaws describing how the organization would operate.

I remember meeting with a Flin Flon City Council committee. We needed money for a baler and other equipment. There were serious questions about how the program would continue and be accountable.

Incorporation papers and bylaws helped answers those questions. A $65,000.00 grant from Flin Flon City Council in 1996 meant recycling was here to stay.
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Bylaws and business meetings aren’t very glamourous but they are an important part of the success of every organization. 

Originally published Apr 7/21 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

​Recycling has its own version of alphabet soup describing aspects of the industry with initials that are a mystery to many.

A recent webinar ‘Developing and Implementing Effective Recycling/Waste Diversion Promotion & Education Strategies’ introduced me to a new one: P and E; Promotion and Education.
 
There is always something to learn about getting the message out.
 
The guest speaker stated that how people get their information is very importance for effective promotion and education.
 
It has a lot to do with age.

The Boomers born after World War II are most likely to go to traditional paper and other media. Gen Xer’s (40 – 50 years) use a mix of media. They like short sound bites, Google and feedback. Millennials (early 20’s – late 30’s) who grew up with recycling and the internet, prefer digital instant information that is positive fun and engaging with little reading.
 
This means that many kinds of P and E are important.
 
In the early days, the recycling program provided information about what is recyclable and how to do it using fliers and posters. Pictures of recyclables were cut out from resources provided by recycling organizations and pasted to a page that was photocopied.
 
A lot has changed. Now, pictures are cut, pasted and printed electronically.
 
P and E is also provided by a road sign, a newspaper column, radio messages, a website, a Facebook group and a booth at the Leisure Show.  
 
Recently, the traditional way of providing information through a mass mailing of fliers was done to provide a handy reference when questions arise.
 
Many are finding it useful. Some have already been recycled.
 
Next P and E task: learning to use Instagram. 

August total – 51,386 kg
       
        Aluminum – 809 kg
        Commingled* - 11,436 kg
        Office Paper – 5,688 kg
        Cardboard – 27,124 kg
        Glass – 4,999 kg
        Books –   780 kg
        Other plastics – 318

Total for 2021 – 384,041 kg
Total for 2020 – 347,675 kg
Difference – +36,366 kg


Batteries –135 kg

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


Comments –  These numbers are looking very good for the year. A little analysis shows that half of the 36 tonnes that we are ahead for this year is shredded paper as the local mining company is cleaning out offices with the expect closure in June 2022.

Ten of the new tonnes this year are cardboard. 

Commingled tonnage had been decreasing every month since July 2018. This is partly due to less paper which is the heaviest material in the mix. The slide ended in November 2020. We are now 4.5 tonnes ahead of last year but still 3 tonnes less than July 2018. 
Aluminum is ahead by 400 kg, glass; by 541 and the other category (books, hard plastics) is ahead by 1.5 tonnes.