At our November 26th speaker's series, the evening started off with a presentation by Carly Ducharme from Waste Management with the Region of Peel. Carly took some time and showed the audience exactly what can (and cannot) be recycled in Peel Region.
In addition to being and helpful informative, Carly's presentation was also a real eye opener for many present and brought home some of the not so happy realities of the recycling industry. For example, Peel's curbside recycling program currently collects a variety of commonly recycled materials, but area residents sometimes wonder why additional materials are not eligible.
There are a few main reasons why materials are not collected at the curb for recycling.
1. Volume or size - In order for it to be cost effective to collect a material for recycling, the item needs to be of a large enough size and of sufficient volume that the recycling facility is able to efficiently and economically sort, store, and market the material. That means smallish items like single serving yogurt or applesauce cups are not recyclable, nor are drinking straws. Similarly, the lids of aerosol cans, pop or water bottles should be thrown away, not placed in your recycle bin - they are too small.
2. Contamination - if an item has been used for food and cannot be washed clean, or if it is a "composite" material (ie: made with two or more items that cannot be easily separated) it cannot be recycled. Wax coated paper cups are a good example of this.
3. It is unfortunate that some common items that could be recycled are not made with consistent ingredients, and therefore are excluded from the recycling process. This means that items like the clear "clamshell-style" containers often used for strawberries or salad greens are not recyclable in Peel.
4. Small pieces of paper such as those from a paper shredder cannot be recycled either, due to the difficulty of bundling them. However, they can be used in layers in the compost bin.
Carly suggested that everyone take the time to visit the Peel Region website (http://www.peelregion.ca/pw/waste/garb-recy/2009-brochure/pdfs/recycling-guide.pdf) and read the recycling guide in detail; an excellent idea as many in the audience were very surprised to realize what could and could not be recycled.
At the end of the day, we left the presentation feeling that curbside recycling is a great way to reduce landfill and while much more advanced than when it first started it still has a long way to go.
In addition to being and helpful informative, Carly's presentation was also a real eye opener for many present and brought home some of the not so happy realities of the recycling industry. For example, Peel's curbside recycling program currently collects a variety of commonly recycled materials, but area residents sometimes wonder why additional materials are not eligible.
There are a few main reasons why materials are not collected at the curb for recycling.
1. Volume or size - In order for it to be cost effective to collect a material for recycling, the item needs to be of a large enough size and of sufficient volume that the recycling facility is able to efficiently and economically sort, store, and market the material. That means smallish items like single serving yogurt or applesauce cups are not recyclable, nor are drinking straws. Similarly, the lids of aerosol cans, pop or water bottles should be thrown away, not placed in your recycle bin - they are too small.
2. Contamination - if an item has been used for food and cannot be washed clean, or if it is a "composite" material (ie: made with two or more items that cannot be easily separated) it cannot be recycled. Wax coated paper cups are a good example of this.
3. It is unfortunate that some common items that could be recycled are not made with consistent ingredients, and therefore are excluded from the recycling process. This means that items like the clear "clamshell-style" containers often used for strawberries or salad greens are not recyclable in Peel.
4. Small pieces of paper such as those from a paper shredder cannot be recycled either, due to the difficulty of bundling them. However, they can be used in layers in the compost bin.
Carly suggested that everyone take the time to visit the Peel Region website (http://www.peelregion.ca/pw/waste/garb-recy/2009-brochure/pdfs/recycling-guide.pdf) and read the recycling guide in detail; an excellent idea as many in the audience were very surprised to realize what could and could not be recycled.
At the end of the day, we left the presentation feeling that curbside recycling is a great way to reduce landfill and while much more advanced than when it first started it still has a long way to go.
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