January 2015 - Recycling and Environmental Action Planning Society

Recycling & Environmental Action & Planning Society
REAPS
Hotline 250-561-7327
www.reaps.org
REPORT
Email newsletter@reaps.org
JANUARY 2015
COMING EVENTS
REAPS Legacy to the Canada Winter Games
JANUARY
1
Happy New Year
3 - 4 Christmas Tree Recycling
15
Natural Resource Export Lecture
27
Green Day UNBC
The decision was made to purchase 15 Elkay water bottle refilling
stations and 2 portable EWS Table Top Water Stations.
FEBRUARY
7
Each station features:
Seedy Saturday
•
•
•
13 - 1 MAR Canada Winter Games
MARCH
10
REAPS received funding through a Direct Access Gaming Grant in
the amount of $35,000. These funds were used to create a legacy
project for the 2015 Canada Winter Games.
an automated water bottle refill system
a counter that records each time a bottle is refilled
a regular water fountain tap
PG Education & Career Fair
27 - 1 APR
Traveling Film Festival
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
REAPS News
Web Pick
Book of the Month
REAPS Educational Programs
Natural Resource Export Lecture
UNBC Green Day
Christmas Tree Recycling
2
Local News
MMBC Supplies Recycling Bins
Seedy Saturday
UNBC Students Pave the Way
World Community Film Festival
3
Around BC
4
Top 15 Items Sought to Recycle
BC Must Step Out
BC Students– Recycling Bins
Wood Stove Exchange
Around Canada
5
Voluntary Recycling for Mercury
Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
Around the World
6
Canadians Recycling More
Hornby Island’s Free Store
2015 Make It a Greener One
Nova Scotians Recycle More
Back Page
Dumpy’s Tip of the Month
Recycle Craft Corner
Membership Application
7
8
Anyone who has tried
to refill a water bottle at
a typical water fountain
knows how awkward and messy - it can be.
The water refill stations
make it fast and easy to
refill almost any water
bottle.
Of course, that doesn't
mean plastic bottles
have been taken out of
the waste stream... but
Thepretty
Downtown
Market
it's
obvious
that Fair is an outdoor event for the whole family.
Come
and
enjoy
ethnic
food, art and craft from all over the world,
providing water refill
live
music
andencourperformances, children games and so much more.
stations
does
age people to use their
own bottles.
The water stations
have been installed in
the Games Venues and
other strategic locations
in Prince George.
REAPS
PAGE 2
REPORT
REAPS NEWS
Web Pick of the Month
Book of the Month
http://www.earthtimes.org/
100 pages of beautiful colour photos, lots
of growing tips, and recommendations on
what to plant and when to plant it. Since
1983, West Coast Seeds has been supporting organic gardening efforts by providing
grower quality seeds to markets growers
and home gardeners. Each year your free
subscription invites you to dream of
spring, colour, sunshine, food, and family.
News and blog articles
about the environment
and information on
current environmental
issues and topics
affecting planet earth.
REAPS Educational Programs a Call Away
REAPS offers many programs for community groups, businesses,
schools and residents. From Going Green to starting your own
composter and using natural pest control methods. We at REAPS
would be happy to discuss the endless possibilities of sharing our
knowledge with you.
Teachers check out our many school programs offered FREE to
your class on our website.
Natural Resource
Exports: Curse or
Blessing?
UNBC GREEN DAY
Green Day is a one-day event
that showcases past, present and
future sustainable initiatives on
This question has dominated Cana-
campus. Green Day began in
da's economic development since
2007 as a class project for students
Confederation and is as relevant to-
in "Global Environmental Change:
day as it was then, especially for
Science and Policy". Over the years,
northern British Columbia. In this wide Green Day has grown significantly in
ranging talk, Professor Drache will
size and scope. As Canada's Green
discuss the historical issues and tell
University, events such as Green Day
us what they mean for debates about
generate excitement behind the initia-
the role of natural resource exports
tives and strategies necessary to live
for Canada today.
up to our goals as
an institution. Expect something
Date:Thursday, January 15, 2015 -
special for the 25th Anniversary!
19:00 to 20:30
Date: Tuesday, January 27, 2015 (All
Location: UNBC Lecture Theatre 7-152
day)
Location: UNBC Winter Garden
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REAPS
PAGE 3
REPORT
LOCAL NEWS
MMBC Announced as Official
Supplier of the 2015 Canada
Winter Games
Multi-Material British Columbia (MMBC) is the latest Official Supplier of the 2015 Canada Winter Games and,
through their partnership with the 2015 Games, will leave
an exciting sustainable legacy in the community.
For the 2015 Games, MMBC will provide 550 recycling
receptacles, ensuring all of the Official Venues during the
2015 Games have a comprehensive recycling program.
Once the 2015 Canada Games is complete, the receptacles will be gifted to Emterra Environmental, so MMBC
can institute recycling for approximately 4,300 units in
multi-family buildings in Prince George. Since September
2014, MMCA has been providing single family homes
household recycling to the City of Prince George through
Emterra Environmental.
“Sustainable legacies are an important component of the
2015 Canada Winter Games and the City of Prince
George is pleased to welcome Multi-Material BC as an
Official Supplier,” says Mayor Lyn Hall of Prince George.
“As a community, having these bins in place during the
Games will dramatically decrease the volume of waste
going into our landfills. However, the true impacts will be
experienced long term as multi-family dwellings in will
have access to the same curbside recycling program as
single family homes.”
UNBC Students Pave The Way
Students from UNBC are
working to make public transit
in Prince George free of
charge during the 2015 Canada Winter Games. Their project, UNBC Students Pave the
Way, is an initiative run by
students with the goal of reducing traffic and air pollution
during the 2015 Canada Winter Games by encouraging
more people to take the bus.
So far, the students have raised enough for 15 free days of
transit during the 2015 Games. Visit
http://www.unbc.ca/news/35590/students-pave-way, for more
information on how you can donate to this sustainable initiative and help spread the word.
Seedy Saturday
Trade Seeds, Buy Seeds
Learn, Connect
Prince George’s Annual
Seed Swap!
Come by the Exploraon Place and parcipate
in Seedy Saturday. Bring your seeds to trade or
sell. Or, just buy seeds for the upcoming season! Seeds should be clean and labeled. For
more informaon or to book a table, contact:
jovanka@netbistro.com
Saturday, February 7, 2015
11:00am - 3:00pm Explora/on Place
Film Festival in Town
Showing Documentaries from around the world,
the 24th annual Travelling World Community
Film Festival comes to Prince George.
March 27– April 1
27 Documentaries
Find out more by visiting their Facebook
Page.
Or contact Jovanka @
jovanka@netbistro.com
REAPS
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REPORT
PAGE 4
AROUND BC
Top 15 items BC Residents Sought
to Recycle in 2014.
Source: RCBC
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Fridge / Freezer
Furniture
Paint
Televisions
Ferrous Metals
Mattresses
Household Hazardous Waste
8. Mixed Waste Paper
9. Large Appliances
(white goods)
10. Residential-use
Lights
11. P7 Plastics
12. Small Appliances
13. Computers
14. Yard Trimmings
15. Use Oil
B.C. Students Hope New Recycling
Bins will Alleviate Confusion Source: Globe & Mail
People who spent a few
hours at the Christmas Market in downtown Vancouver
this year were faced with a
challenging choice: not over
which sausage, Christmastree bauble or German knickknack to buy, but how to
throw out their garbage.
The market, in an excess of
recycling enthusiasm, had
five colour-coded bins at
every garbage station, from
black for “landfill garbage” to
a couple of greens for organics, red for refundables and
blue for mixed containers –
but nothing for paper.
Carr University of Art + Design master’s student specializing in product design.
He is leading a team, supervised by faculty member
Louise St. Pierre, designing
a prototype for a set of recycling bins that appears to be
one of three systems to be
tested this summer by Multi
Materials BC (MMBC).
MMBC is the non-profit industry organization handling
most recycling in the province.
At the University of B.C., 26year-old psychology master’s
It’s exactly the kind of system
student Alex DiGiacomo is
likely to baffle well-meaning
working at the brain and atrecyclers, as researchers at
tention research lab on a
Vancouver universities are
project to figure out what
finding in their quest to help
encourages people to recylocal governments and
cle correctly.
waste-management agencies figure out the ideal system for getting people to sort As Metro Vancouver moves
this January to a ban on food
their garbage when out in
scraps in regular garbage
public.
and both MMBC and Metro
push everyone to recycle
“Everybody wants to recycle,
more, that issue of how to
but they need help doing it.
get people to recycle effecThere’s only so much infortively when they’re away
mation we can process. And
from home has become a hot
more than three bins is just
topic. To Read More
too many,” said Andreas
Eiken, a 28-year-old Emily
B.C. Must Step Out Of Canada's Carbon Shadow Source: Huffpost
The challenge the world is facing is simple to describe.
Either a majority of nations will
join the emerging climate
champion club in force, or too
many naysayers will remain on
the sidelines and ruin the planet for all of us -because there is
no chance to beat
the heat without a
concerted effort.
Sometimes a
small group of
bystanders is
enough to let a house burn
down.
The UN climate summit in Lima started with a lot of hope
because of the recent U.S.China agreement on climate
with new commitments from
the two largest carbon polluters for the coming decade of
2020 to 2030, exactly what the
UN needs to build momentum
for an international breakthrough at the important Paris
summit next year. Although
few other nations showed leadership in Peru, at the end of
the Lima meeting, 196 nations,
rich and poor, agreed to voluntarily put forward plans to reduce their emissions. The next
step is for all countries to submit their action plan for the
post-2020 phase to the UN by
March 2015.
Unfortunately
this is no legally
binding step,
and in light of
Canada's track
record as an
obstructionist in
the negotiations, the rest of the
world has essentially given up
on the Harper government
making a timely, meaningful
contribution.
Our province of British Columbia, however, together with a
group of progressive US states
and Canadian provinces, is
being viewed differently by a
number of observers because
of the provincial carbon tax
and other good steps into the
right direction. But just how
different is our province when it
comes to real progress in hard
numbers? Read More
Wood Stove Exchange
The Province is providing
$190,000 to communities
throughout British Columbia to
encourage residents to replace
their old wood stoves with cleaner burning models.
Together thirteen communities/regional districts are receiving funding from the Ministry of
Environment through the Wood
Stove Exchange Program. The
goal is to have close to 630
stoves exchanged across the
province this coming year.
Source: BC Newsroom
stove exchange program. The
program provides a $250 rebate
on the purchase of a new woodburning, pellet or natural gas
stove. To-date, the Province has
put over $2.3 million towards the
program, resulting in the purchase of over 6,000 cleaner
burning models.
There are approximately 70,000
older model wood stoves still in
use throughout the province.
Older higher-polluting wood
stoves can affect the health of
homeowners, neighbours and
Since 2008, the B.C. government overall air shed health.
has partnered with the BC Lung
Association to run the wood
REAPS
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REPORT
PAGE 5
AROUND CANADA
Voluntary Recycling for Mercury-containing Light Bulbs
Source: CBC News
The federal government has quietly backed away from a plan for
mandatory recycling of compact
fluorescent light bulbs, which
contain the toxic element mercury, CBC News has learned.
Instead, the Harper government
posted regulations earlier this
month that will create a voluntary
code of practice for companies that sell the bulbs.
The federal government announced in 2007 it
would ban incandescent light bulbs in favour of the
compact fluorescent ones because they use less
energy.
But last year, HomeDepot stopped recycling the
bulbs, leaving it up to third-party operations instead.
Another home renovation
store,Rona, does take back the
bulbs. JulesFoisy-Lapointe is the director of sustainable development for
Rona.
"They are products that over their life
cycle, have a better footprint than
any incandescent bulbs. But of
course you have to manage them
properly at their end of life," FoisyLapointe said.
Foisy-Lapointe wouldn't say how
much Rona's program cost the company every year,
but last year it recycled about 370,000 of the curlicue compact bulbs.
To Read More
Compact Fluorescent Bulbs Often End Up in Trash
News
Most Canadians are using compact fluorescent bulbs,
but only a third of them are disposing of the mercurycontaining devices properly, a new Statistics Canada
report suggests.
•
Source: CBC
12 per cent still had the old bulbs in their home.
The remaining six per cent used an "unknown"
method of disposal.
•
Each bulb contains a small amount of mercury, which
The federal agency reported this week that in 2011, 75
can damage the brain, spinal cord, kidneys and liver of
per cent of Canadian households used at least one
humans and other living organisms.
compact fluorescent bulb and 39 per cent used at least
one fluorescent tube. Far fewer households used merFluorescent bulbs: the good, bad and ugly
cury-free LED bulbs, another energy-efficient alternative to incandescent bulbs – just 10 per cent.
A compact fluorescent light bulb typically contains
about five milligrams of mercury — less than the
CBCNews.ca readers skeptical of CFL bulbs
amount that's in a watch battery, according to Natural
The Households and the Environment Survey of
Resources Canada.
20,000 Canadians, conducted by phone in October
and November 2011 found that:
However, mercury-containing devices are typically
treated as hazardous waste, because light bulbs are
• Only 32 per cent of households disposed of com- likely to break if buried in landfills. The mercury they
pact fluorescent light bulbs properly by dropping them contained can then contaminate water and enter the
off at a hazardous waste depot or returning the bulb to atmosphere. It does not break down in the environment and accumulates in the bodies of animals as it
a store.
moves up the food chain.
• 50 per cent of households surveyed threw the light
bulbs in the garbage.
To Read More
PAGE 6
REAPS
REPORT
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AROUND THE WORLD
Canadians recycling more batteries than ever before
Source: Call2Recycle
Over 2 million kilograms of batteries diverted from landfills • Manitoba has collected almost 60,000 kilograms through
this year through the Call2Recycle Canada program
its network of over 400 collection sites.
More and more Canadians understand the importance of recycling their batteries, as proven by Call2Recycle Canada,
Inc., Canada's national consumer battery recycling program.
Today, the organization announced it reached a milestone,
collecting and recycling over 2 million kilograms of batteries across Canada – equal to
the weight of six jumbo jets. This significant
achievement illustrates that Canadians not
only understand the importance of battery
recycling, but are taking action. Canadians
have recycled more batteries in the first 10
months of this year than in all of 2013.
"Thanks to the efforts of Canadians who
have committed to do the right thing with
their batteries, we all share in celebrating
this exciting milestone," said Joe Zenobio,
Executive Director, Call2Recycle Canada,
Inc. "Working together with our collection
partners and the public, we are confident we
can continue to advance battery recycling efforts
across Canada."
Call2Recycle Canada is the approved battery stewardship program in Quebec, Manitoba and British Columbia, where increased collections have significantly contributed to this national milestone.
With ninety-one per cent of Canadians living within 15 kilometers of a Call2Recycle drop-off location, which accepts both
rechargeable and primary batteries, battery recycling has become increasingly easy and convenient. The widespread
Call2Recycle network offers over 7,000 collection sites across Canada, which includes national retailers Best Buy, Canadian Tire, Future Shop, The Home Depot, Home Hardware,
Lowe's, Staples and The Source. The collection network also includes government buildings and municipal depots. Finding a drop-off
location is easy - visit the Call2Recycle website to find one close to
you: www.call2recycle.ca.
"A number of diverse relationships have been
established to help Canadians taking advantage of more recycling options than ever
before," said Zenobio. "From municipalities to
retailers, having access to convenient drop-off locations will
only help increase battery diversion across Canada."
Call2Recycle Canada is funded by battery and battery-powered
product manufacturers to manage the safe collection and recycling of batteries. The stewardship organization has a proven
track record of delivering environmentally-sound product stewardship for battery recycling and providing a simple process for
These three provinces have already exceeded their total 2013 all those involved – from consumers, collectors and transportcollections with two months still remaining in the calendar year. ers, to sorters and processors.
• Quebec has collected over 950,000 kilograms through its
network of over 2,000 collection sites.
With over 20 years of insights and industry best practices
Call2Recycle Canada helps ensure the maximum amount of
• British Columbia has collected more than 420,000 kilobatteries are collected and diverted by providing a program that
grams through its network of over 1,600 collection sites.
is simple, convenient and effective.
Hornby Island’s Free Store Recycled
Source: Times Colonist
The original Free Store was deemed unsafe and has been
Hornby Islands’ popular Free Store has been a place to
share and recycle goods and to meet up with neighbours for dismantled. Materials in good condition will be recycled from
the old store, said recycling depot manager Stani Veselinomore than three decades.
vic. The Free Store is run by volunteers eager to help other
residents and keep their areas as green as possible.
Now, the store itself is being recycled to make way for a
1,900-square-foot replacement.
The new store will
The Comox Valley Regional District has awarded a contract open early in the
new year.
of up to $146,900 to C & W Campbell Homes Ltd. to build
the new space. It’s a simple design with frame construction,
a metal roof and cedar fascia boards and will be attached to To Read More
the store’s office and boutique, which are remaining in place
as an intrinsic part of the island’s recycling depot.
REAPS
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REPORT
PAGE 7
2015 Make it a Greener One
Home Recycling Tips
Close the Loop: Buy Recycled!
1/ visit your local recycling center and find out what materials they accept for recycling. Then set up your bins accordingly. To find the recycling center nearest you, call: 250561-7327
2/ put storage bins in place - The key to a successful
home recycling program is the storage bin setup. Once you
learn which materials your local curbside recycler accepts,
using the storage bin provided. The garage is a good place
to locate the bins; if using an open car port secure the contents from pests and wind. Once your system is set up, recycling is easy!
3/ use plastic bags or totes to store materials that go to
the depot for recycling. Paper bags can be leaky, and rip
easily. Try to use smaller containers, as they will be easier
to lift when full.
4/ label recycling bins to ensure materials are separated
correctly.
5/ choose products with the highest percentage of
"post-consumer" recycled content
The value of recyclables is driven by market demand. As
consumers, we must choose products with recycled content
and packaged in recycled materials, so that the materials we
recycle are put to use, and markets are sustained. These
products can typically be made with recycled content:
Two types of recycled materials are used in manufacturing
products and packaging:
pre-consumer - often referred to as mill scraps recycled
internally at manufacturing plants.
post-consumer - returned by consumers, through recycling
programs, to the manufacturing process.
- clean bottles and tins before putting in the recycling bin.
This prevents flies both at home and the recycling station.
- put a 'no junk mail' sticker on your letter box. You'll be
amazed at how much this reduces your rubbish.
- join the Freecycle™ movement - the idea is simple: you
give away for free what you have and don’t need and you
receive for free what you need, but don’t have. This ‘free
cycle’ of goods keeps lots of useful stuff out of landfill sites
and is about thinking globally and recycling locally.
Join
Today
Packaging: Boxes for foods such as cereal, crackers and
cake mix. Bottles containing liquid laundry detergent, dishwashing liquids, shampoos and household cleaners.
Paper products: Facial tissue, toilet paper, napkins, paper
towels, greeting cards, writing paper and corrugated cardboard shipping boxes.
Plastic products: Coat hangers, desk accessories, storage
organizers, patio furniture, playground equipment and toys.
Automotive: Re-refined motor oil, retread tires, rebuilt/remanufactured parts and used cars.
Garden Supplies: Hoses, planters and mulch.
Clothing and accessories: Tennis shoes
and hiking boots.
Clothing fabric made of
recycled plastic bottles.
Home maintenance: Carpeting,
door mats, roofing,
wallboard, paint, insulation, gutters and
down spouts, siding
and flooring.
Nova Scotians Recycle More Electronics than Rest of Canada
Source: CBC News
Nova Scotians are proving to be some of the best recyclers in the
country.
Per capita, people in Nova Scotia recycle more TVs, computers
and other electronics than almost anyone else, according to the
Electronic Products Recycling Association (EPRA), an industry-led
not-for-profit group that handles most electronic recycling in Canada.
The EPRA says approximately 5,000 tonnes of electronics were
recycled in Nova Scotia last year. That's about five kilograms per
person.
"I think people in [Nova Scotia] are fairly tuned into recycling and,
you know, understand the benefits of recycling," said Gerard
MacLellan, executive director of EPRA in Atlantic Canada.
"When you have a population that's fairly well educated in recycling I think ... running these programs becomes a lot easier."
Shawn Young isn't surprised to hear Nova Scotians are good at
recycling. He's with the Atlantic Coastal Action Program (ACAP).
Young says some years, the ACAP takes in up to 500 used computers, which are then cleaned and given away or sold for a small
fee.
"I just hope people keep doing what they're doing," he said. "We're
In comparison, Quebec produces about 10,000 tonnes of electroncertainly seeing an increase every year and people wanting what
ic waste, but recycling amounts to about 1.3 kilograms per person.
we have to offer.
REAPS
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REPORT
RECYCLING & ENVIRONMENTAL
ACTION & PLANNING SOCIETY
Mailing address:
PO Box 444, Prince George, BC V2L 4S6
Compost Garden and Office Location:
1950 Gorse Street
Phone: 250-561-7327
Fax: 250-561-7324
E-mail: newsletter@reaps.org
Website: www.reaps.org
Dumpy’s Tip of the Month
A New Year: Make Green
Resolutions.
Simple things you can
choose to be a little greener from your clothing, your
home, your transportation
and more! We encourage
you to choose one to get
started and add a new
one each month.
RECYCLE CRAFT CORNER
Adorable Repurposed Sweater Mittens (click on title for
instructions)
Easy to make and especially inexpensive, these mittens are
the perfect project to complete this winter.
Recycling and Environmental Action
Planning Society (AKA REAPS)
The REAPS Report is published six times a year, on the first of
January, March, May, July, September, and November.
Articles, originals or reprinted with permission, are submitted by
members and represent the opinions of the authors only, not
necessarily those of the Society, Board, or members as a
whole.
Deadline for submission is two weeks prior to publication date.
Articles, suggestions for articles, or comments in general are
much appreciated, and can be submitted to the REAPS office
via email at newsletter@reaps.org
If you no longer wish to receive our newsletters via email please email REAPS and state
UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
Email: