The District of Tumbler Ridge recently took to social media to ask people to stop putting glass in the recycle bin.
“Glass materials are strictly prohibited from being placed in your Recyclables bin,” they posted. “Glass can cause safety hazards during the collection and sorting process, and its inclusion in the recycling stream can compromise the quality of other recyclable materials. To ensure the success of our recycling efforts, do not dispose of glass items in your recyclables bin.”
While the District does offer curbside pickup for recycling, not everything is allowed in the blue bin. In addition to glass, soft plastic and Styrofoam are not allowed.
Currently, only paper and cardboard, tin, hard plastics and containers, including drink cups and milk and soup cartons.
When in doubt, the District has included a handy guide to what is and what is not allowed in the bins. Have a light bulb that’s burned out? Not allowed. Bag full of dog poop? No thanks! Packing peanuts…did you know that many packing peanuts are now made out of potato starch and can be disposed of by running warm water over them? But no, not allowed in recycling.
This does not mean that Styrofoam and glass and soft plastics are not recyclable. However, because these cannot be easily mechanically separated, they need to be recycled separately.
This means that in order to recycle these things, they need to be brought down to the recycling station, down at the transfer station.
The District also requests that people make sure their garbage bags are sealed.
“We would like to emphasize the importance of securely sealing all garbage bags before placing them in the collection bins. This measure is crucial to prevent littering, minimize odours, and protect our environment from potential hazards. By using tightly sealed bags, we can ensure a cleaner and healthier community for everyone.
“We take these guidelines seriously to maintain an efficient waste management system that is environmentally responsible. Failure to comply with the above guidelines may result in a bylaw violation ticket, as per the Municipal Ticketing Information Bylaw No. 655, 2017, Solid Waste Collection.”
If you have any questions or need further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact our Public Works department. Call 250-242-4242.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
