Dear Editor:
I read with great interest Drake Fenton's June 24 story in your paper, Bigger Not Better for West Van Recycling, regarding the North Shore Recycling Program not allowing large blue boxes for collection.
The article has raised some questions amongst avid recyclers and the NSRP wishes to clarify the situation.
We do not limit the amount of recycling that can be picked up at the curb. While the NSRP only provides one free blue box per household, residents are welcome to put out more than one blue box of the same size. Additional standard-sized blue boxes can be purchased from your local hardware store.
At the NSRP we fully support the Metro Vancouver Zero Waste Challenge and the goal of 70 per cent diversion by 2015. In fact, our diversion rate for single-family homes on the North Shore is already at 60 per cent, one of the highest diversion rates in the region.
We encourage residents who may have large amounts of cardboard boxes or other recyclables generated from a recent move or cleanup project to take those materials to our drop-off depot as the curbside collection program is designed to handle normal weekly volumes.
Other tips include:
n Return your empty beverage containers to a Return-it Centre (see www.encorp.ca for a location near you) or donate them to a local fundraising group.
n Flatten plastic milk jugs or other large containers by stepping on them before putting them in your blue box.
n "Nest" smaller items inside larger items to save space.
n Place the blue and yellow bags beside the blue box on collection day and not inside the box.
n Just because it "says" recyclable doesn't mean we can recycle it. Check out the NSRP website at www.nsrp.bc.ca for more helpful hints and to find out what is acceptable in your blue box.
We appreciate avid recyclers and want to do everything we can to encourage families in their recycling efforts. Thank you to North Shore residents for all their good work in reducing waste.
Al Lynch, manager
North Shore Recycling Program
