Originally published Jan 16/19 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.
It is official. The total weight of materials recycled in 2018 is 510,361 kg or 510 metric tons or tonnes. This is a new record. The previous record was 500 set in 2007.
It is 47 tonnes more than 2017.
That is the big picture. It is always important to look at the details for a better picture.
The numbers for the different materials are: Aluminum 2,767 kg, Commingled materials (sorted in Winnipeg) 153,193 kg, Corrugated cardboard 272,770 kg, Glass 45,846, Office paper including shred 37,045 and books and other items 6,452. (1,000 kg makes one tonne.)
The biggest increase was 50 tonnes in cardboard. This indicates that more businesses are recycling and some regulars like the Coop are recycling more. The dumpster rates set by the City of Flin Flon increased last year which may have resulted in the increase.
Two items decreased.
Office paper was down just over a tonne.
The biggest surprise is the drop in commingled materials which includes the aluminum as it was included in previous years. This category is mostly the recyclables coming from homes. It was down by 6,497 kg or almost 6.5 tonnes.
This is a change as it increased 4,152 kg in 2016 and 7,714 in 2017.
Why? There could be several reasons.
The first thing that comes to mind is that fewer homes are recycling.
Other possibilities are people are consuming less so there is less packaging to recycle which would be a good thing. Or the percentage of plastics could have increased reducing the weight as they are lighter than fiber materials like fliers, magazines and boxboard.
The goal is to reverse this trend in 2019.
It is official. The total weight of materials recycled in 2018 is 510,361 kg or 510 metric tons or tonnes. This is a new record. The previous record was 500 set in 2007.
It is 47 tonnes more than 2017.
That is the big picture. It is always important to look at the details for a better picture.
The numbers for the different materials are: Aluminum 2,767 kg, Commingled materials (sorted in Winnipeg) 153,193 kg, Corrugated cardboard 272,770 kg, Glass 45,846, Office paper including shred 37,045 and books and other items 6,452. (1,000 kg makes one tonne.)
The biggest increase was 50 tonnes in cardboard. This indicates that more businesses are recycling and some regulars like the Coop are recycling more. The dumpster rates set by the City of Flin Flon increased last year which may have resulted in the increase.
Two items decreased.
Office paper was down just over a tonne.
The biggest surprise is the drop in commingled materials which includes the aluminum as it was included in previous years. This category is mostly the recyclables coming from homes. It was down by 6,497 kg or almost 6.5 tonnes.
This is a change as it increased 4,152 kg in 2016 and 7,714 in 2017.
Why? There could be several reasons.
The first thing that comes to mind is that fewer homes are recycling.
Other possibilities are people are consuming less so there is less packaging to recycle which would be a good thing. Or the percentage of plastics could have increased reducing the weight as they are lighter than fiber materials like fliers, magazines and boxboard.
The goal is to reverse this trend in 2019.
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