October total – 42,238 kg
       
        Co-mingled* - 13,769 kg
        Office Paper – 3,624 kg
        Cardboard – 20,967 kg
        Glass – 3,860 kg
        Books -  613 kg

Total for 2017 – 392,741 kg
Total for 2016 – 369,490 kg
Difference – +23,251 kg


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

​September total – 39,781 kg
       
        Co-mingled* - 13,478 kg
        Office Paper – 3,420 kg
        Cardboard – 18,660 kg
        Glass – 3,610 kg
        Books -  613 kg
       

Total for 2017 – 350,503 kg
Total for 2016 – 332,779 kg
Difference – +17,724 kg


E – waste – 10.14 metric tonnes

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

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

There is a picture on the wall in my office from the November 16, 1992 edition of the The Reminder.  I am loading paper into a semi-trailer.

This picture captures the humble beginnings of recycling in our community.  

The newly formed Environment Committee decided to try recycling in our community.  I called other recyclers in the province for information on how to make it work.

It was an exciting and challenging time. 

Recycling was stored in semi-trailer for two years before moving into 7 Timber Lane in 1994.

A capitalization grant from the City of Flin Flon in 1996 allowed us to buy equipment. This meant recycling was here to stay.

I had no idea then what recycling would become.

Twenty-five years later we have recycled 7,525 metric tonnes.

The Environment Committee became the Flin Flon & District Environment Council, Inc. in 1995.

We own a building, two vehicles, two balers and a forklift. We have 10 employees.

We also recycle batteries, printer cartridges, electronics, paint and fluorescent bulbs.

Our employees are at the landfill where tires, oil, metal and hazardous waste are recycled.   

And I am still here. I got involved because I had an interest in protecting the environment.

I was the first paid employee for 9 months beginning in 1996.  Carie MacIntosh took my place. I was still very involved as the Chairperson of the Environment Council. After Carie served for four years  Doreen Murray took over.  She managed through many changes and challenges in the next 12 years.  I was hired when she retired in 2013.
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Many people have contributed to the success of recycling in our community.  It has been a great journey. 

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

​As I write Friday morning, we are desperately searching for a boom truck to remove our new baler from a semi.

I have learned several things this morning. Some big equipment cannot be lifted with forks. They must be lifted from above.

Next time, I will ask that question – if there is a next time. New balers are not purchased on a regular basis. The one we have is 20 years old.

There are several  boom trucks in town. Some are out of town working. Others are down. Some businesses that have a boom truck are only certified to use it for their business, not others like us.

There have been several learning curves in the 25 years the recycling program has been operating.

Our first shipment was paper packed into little boxes. There were pallets in the truck but I was not familiar with how loading and unloading with pallets worked, so the boxes were piled wherever they fit.

That load of small boxes was a real challenge to unload. The receiver commented that he understood that often people with intellectual challenges are part of recycling programs.
I didn’t bother to let him know I was responsible.

In the early days I was good at finding information and administration. I knew nothing about managing space and shipping.

Bob Fortier volunteered almost every day the first 15 years. He had worked in the warehouse before retiring so he knew about operating equipment like forklifts, and how to solve equipment and space problems.

My learning curve was much easier because of Bob.
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As we celebrate 25 years this month I know Bob’s commitment and skills are a significant factor in our success. 

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

I attended the annual forum of the Manitoba Association of Regional Recyclers in Winnipeg October 19. There were two tours on Wednesday afternoon before the forum.

The first tour took us to Mother Earth Recycling which recycles mattresses and electronics. Some of the electronics are refurbished and sold in their store. It is a relatively new organization. They hope to also be able to recycle furniture in the future.

Old mattresses and furniture take up a lot of space in landfills.  

PureSephera  Recovery and Recycling was our next stop. This business recycles appliances that cool things like fridges, freezers and air conditioners in a way that is completely environmentally responsible.

Several things were news to me. Refrigerant is not the only substance of concern for these items when they are thrown out. There are PCB’s and mercury in the working parts that should not be released into the environment.

At PureSephera, they remove the refrigerant, oil, mercury and PCB’s and dispose of them in an environmentally friendly way.

The foam insulation found in older fridges is also a problem. The CFC’s used to make the bubbles in the foam remains trapped in it. They are released into the environment when items are shredded for salvage.

CFC’s break down the molecules in the ozone layer that protects us from harmful UV radiation from the sun. They are not destroyed in the process so continue to bounce around destroying ozone for a very long time.

Foam from the appliances at PureSephera is shipped to Montreal where it is compressed in a chamber that collects the CFC gas.
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We are working to find a better way to dispose of refrigeration appliances from our community. 

​Originally published October 26/17 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 the removal of ozone depleting substances (OSDs) at the landfill. The program continues for a small feel

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.
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There will be new information in next week’s column.  

Originally published Oct 18/17  The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

​Canadians dispose of 28 million tires every year. What happens to the old ones?

Traditionally, they took up huge amounts of space in landfills. The smoke and run off from accidental tire fires is very hazardous to people and the environment. 

Tires were one of the first products that included a recycling fee when they were purchased to pay for recycling when they were worn out. This fee was reduced from $4.00 to $3.75.

Tire Stewardship Manitoba is the Producer Responsible Organization (PRO) for tires in Manitoba. It receives 100% of the recycling fee. We receive fifty cents a tire from them.

The money also supports the tire recycling companies in Manitoba as they develop products made from old tires. More information is available at http://www.tirestewardshipmb.ca/.

The equivalent of 1.8 million tires is recycled every year in Manitoba which is 100% of the tires available.

Locally, tires are collected at the Flin Flon landfill for the whole community including Creighton and Denare Beach.   There is no tipping fee for tires.

When 800 passenger tires or 300 semi tires have been collected,  a semi-trailer is loaded and sent to Reliable Tire in Winnipeg. OTR Recycling comes from Ashern to collect the oversize tires.  

A variety of products are made from tires including sidewalk blocks, stepping stones, parking curbs, rubber mulch and mats for a variety of uses including blasting, kennels, gyms, and hockey rinks.

Driveways and decks can be covered with the recycled rubber product. The rubber surface doesn’t crack and discolour even in the harsh winters. 

Another product is rubber pavement for streets and roads.  It is very quiet, and lasts much longer than traditional pavement.
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More information is available at www.rtrrubber.ca.

Originally published Oct 11/17The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

It was an interesting conversation with a supporter of recycling who had some questions.  
He wondered if recycling actually helps the environment when all the activities are considered.

He was referring to driving materials to the Recycling Centre, shipping them to Winnipeg and then to the factories and the whole process of making them into something new.

Recycling activities definitely affect the environment like everything we do. Studies have been done that compare the environmental costs to the benefits.

Recycling is a win for the environment.

This is what we know.

Recycling reduces the amount of waste in landfills. Smaller landfills take up less space and cost less to operate. They produce less acidic liquid run off called leachate and less methane and carbon dioxide.

Recycling conserves natural resources like trees, water and minerals. Recycling is less polluting and harmful to the environment than collecting raw materials and making things from scratch.

Recycling saves energy. For example, recycling aluminum cans take one twelfth of the energy it takes to make a brand new one. The amount of energy saved by recycling one aluminum can run a computer for 5 hours.

Everything we have comes from the Earth. Its resources are finite. Recycling means there will be more left for future generations.

It also creates jobs.

Every year for Earth Day the company we ship our materials sends a report of the environmental benefits from our recycling program. In 2016 we saved 4,310 mature trees, 7,040,980 liters of water, reduced carbon emissions by 1,188 tons, saved 2,666,590 kwh of energy and diverted 1,705 cubic yards of waste from the landfill.

Recycling makes a difference.  

Originally published  Sept 27/17  The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

​The tasks on Monday covered the variety of things the Recycling Centre does to take care of things people no longer need in a responsible way.

The books were packed in the box for shipping.

An email was sent to begin the process of shipping a semi-trailer of electronics for recycling.

The beer cans were counted and bagged. The bottles were sorted into flats of 24.

The printer cartridges were stacked on a pallet and wrapped for shipping.

Another email was sent requesting a load number so a semi-trailer load of tires can be shipped from the landfill this week.

The batteries were waiting to be packed in the box and sent for recycling.

There were enough four foot fluorescent tubes to fill a couple of boxes for shipping. Four more eight foot tubes arrived and were packed in the longer box.

Used oil and containers that had been left at the Recycling Centre instead of taken to the landfill were picked up. 

A caller was informed that the Household Hazardous waste depot is open every day at the Flin Flon Landfill and that information brochures are at City Hall.

The trailer from Canadian Tire was emptied at the Centre. 

The usual activities of clearing recyclables from the dock, picking up recyclables from businesses and baling materials for shipping happened. 

Three bales of comingled materials and one of cardboard were finished. Another cardboard bale was started. A bale of cardboard arrived from the Coop.

It is great the Recycling Centre is able to provide the services needed so homes and businesses in our community can make a difference by recycling.
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Thank you to our employees and everyone who makes it happen.