One Change Per Week

Have you been doing some spring cleaning recently? We salute you! However, a common challenge we see in our recycling programs is “wish-cycling.” This is when we put items in our curbside carts that we think *should* be recyclable, when they actually are not—or, at least not in the curbside program. It’s easy to assume that everything will find its way to the correct recycling stream, but that’s not usually the case. Wish-cycling could actually contaminate a whole truckload of recycling. Here are a few tips for properly disposing of some common spring-cleaning items.

IF YOUR CLOSET IS FIT TO BURST: Textiles are some of the most wasteful items. First of all, please do not put any clothing, blankets, sheets, shoes, etc. in your blue recycling cart as our recycling program does not accept these items. Instead, consider repairing ripped items or repurposing irreparable ones into rags—perfect for dusting and wiping down the rest of your home during your spring cleanup! You can also sell or donate items that just simply aren’t your style anymore. There are tons of buy-and-sell groups in our area for adults and kids. Clothing swaps with friends can be another fun way to refresh your wardrobe (or your kids') without sending the existing contents of your closet to the landfill.

IF YOUR COFFEE TABLE KICKED THE BUCKET: Furniture, especially wooden furniture, may seem like it can be recycled (it’s made of trees, after all!) but this doesn’t belong in your curbside carts. For instance, we’ve seen whole kitchen chairs in blue carts before, and they just cannot be recycled this way. In fact, bulky, heavy items like furniture shouldn’t be in any curbside cart—black garbage cart included—as they can damage the truck or pose a risk to workers. Please consider selling or donating items that are still in decent condition or find someone who refurbishes furniture for their business or hobby project. Items that are truly beyond hope should go to the Transfer Station in Thornhill.

IF YOU JUST FOUND AN OLD WALKMAN IN YOUR BASEMENT: Electronic waste, aka e-waste, is a huge problem these days, and many people simply throw things in the garbage when they stop working. But wait! While your old rotary dial phone from the 80s or that Tamagotchi from 1996 can’t be tossed in the curbside recycling cart, it absolutely can be recycled! Whether it’s a broken blender, busted hand-held drill, ancient TV set, or old-school flip-phone, there’s a place to take it: our local Return-It, aka Bottle Depot. Find a full list of acceptable items here—you might be surprised what’s on the list!

IF YOU JUST DID ONE HECK OF DEEP CLEAN: Our blue recycling cart is the perfect spot for most of your empty cleaning product containers—but please check the label first! We don’t want hazardous materials in our curbside collection program. Paints, solvents, flammable liquids, and similar items that contain warnings like poison, toxic, corrosive, etc, will need to go to Do Your Part Recycling in Thornhill—but if you’re not certain about a product, check in with the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine before disposing of it. Most regular household cleaners won’t fall into this category, though—if the container has a #1 through #7 material-type indicator on it, then it should be accepted in curbside recycling. That includes spray, pump, and pull-up tops. Just remove the lids and/or spray taps and place all parts into your cart separately. There are lots of “greener” ways to clean, too—try baking soda, lemon, white vinegar, and salt to clean up. Check Recycle Coach for tips!

IF YOU’RE STANDING THERE HOLDING A THING AND DON’T KNOW WHERE TO PUT IT: Just head to Recycle Coach, our handy app/website search tool. It probably has information on the item you’re wondering about. Recycle Coach includes a customized collection calendar for your address, as well as Terrace-specific information about what goes where.

Happy spring cleaning!

recycle@terrace.ca | 250-615-4019

Today’s #CurbsideCollectionTip is all about scooped poop! If you make one change this week, it should be to ensure you’re disposing of dog waste (or other pet waste) correctly.

Step 1: Buy poop bags. There are a range of prices and materials available, including some labelled as “compostable” or “biodegradable.” (If you’re really looking for these qualities, do your research first as not all brands’ marketing claims may be true, depending on what the bags are made of.) But regardless of your bag choice, just take note: it doesn’t matter how you scoop it; animal waste NEVER goes in your green organics bin or yard waste bags.

Step 2: Scoop poop (with our heartfelt thanks for keeping our streets, parks, and trails free from pet waste). If you can squeeze the air out before you tie the bag, even better. It helps prevent nasty explosions inside our trucks (hope you’re not eating lunch right now).

Step 3: Dispose of poop bags in your BLACK garbage cart only. You’re done! No muss, no fuss.

Stay tuned: a future tip will also explore the compostable bags that are acceptable for food waste scraps in your organics cart!

#OneChangePerWeek #CurbsideCollectionTips

recycle@terrace.ca | 250-615-4019

Shake shake shake!

In most cases, that’s really all it takes to rinse a dirty food container for recycling. Rinse containers as soon as they’re empty, add some warm water and a little soap, put the lid on, and shake it up. Or rinse them out before you dump the water in your sink from washing dishes. You can also fill that last empty spot in your dishwasher with an empty peanut butter jar or to-go container that needs a little more scrubbing power. But no worries, they don’t have to be spotless (as you can see in the video below!). And labels may be left on plastic packaging as they can be removed later during the recycling process.

Why rinse?

• First, it’s just more pleasant for everyone. Dirty containers in your cart will smell, attract rodents or bears, and generally get gross between pickup days. Once they get to the depot, dirty containers probably smell that much worse for the workers in these facilities.
• Second, containers with contents remaining can contaminate other materials in your cart. Think of a coffee cup with a splash of coffee remaining. If that spills onto paper products like the newspapers in your cart, the paper can no longer be recycled.
• Third, packaging with contents might damage machinery—or the workers operating it—at the processing facilities. Think of aerosol containers, which can explode if improperly handled. And bottles of hair gel that still contain product? Now that’s just a mess! Use or dispose of those contents before adding the container to your cart.

Just remember to shake shake shake and you’ll make a world of difference for contamination in our recycling system.

Quick how-to video from Recycle BC:

More from Recycle BC on rinsing containers here.

recycling@terrace.ca | 250-615-4019

#OneChangePerWeek #CurbsideCollectionTip

As spring approaches, you may be in the mood to freshen up your place with some new purchases. And many items come packed in the infamous mess-maker, Styrofoam. Next to glitter, which clearly tops the chart, Styrofoam must be one of the worst items to clean up around the house. As soon as a block of it gets bumped or dented, those teeny, tiny little particles start breaking loose, getting everywhere and sticking to everything. Thanks, static electricity!

If you think it’s bad around your house, imagine what it would be like to pick those bits off of plastic containers, newspaper, and other materials in a whole community’s worth of recycling bins! Today’s recycling sorting technology is pretty high-tech, but separating out Styrofoam fragments from other materials in your curbside cart is a tall order. That’s why Styrofoam can’t go in your curbside recycling cart and isn’t part of our curbside collection program.

Most types CAN be recycled, though, with a little help from you! Your #OneChangePerWeek challenge this week: if you bought something that came in a box with some kind of plastic or foam protection inside, take a minute to sort it to see what goes where!

Do Your Part Recycling Depot:

• Styrofoam blocks or containers
• Bubble wrap
• Stretchy soft plastic overwrap

Black cart or Thornhill Transfer Station:

• Packing peanuts
• Flexible foam packing material

For more information about foam, please check https://www.doyourpart.ca/ or contact Do Your Part directly as they are not operated by the City of Terrace

#OneChangePerWeek #CurbsideCollectionTip

Here’s your weekly Curbside Collection Tip on blue cart etiquette!

Our blue recycling carts are bag free! All items should be placed loosely in your cart, not in bags in your cart. First, it’s a safety concern as we can’t see what’s in there when we rip them open. Second, soft plastics of all kinds are a disaster when it comes to sorting out recycling later in the process—they get stuck on sorting equipment and snag items together, making it difficult for the machines to identify what’s what. Please keep bags and other soft plastics out of your recycling cart!

If your cart is full to the brim and you have extra recycling this week, then (and only then!) may you bag it. Please use transparent clear or blue bags for extra recycling and place them next to your cart. Workers will dump your cart, and then dump the contents of the bag(s) into your cart and dump that, too. Empty bags are taken away for separate recycling.

And if you have soft plastic recycling, remember to take this to Do Your Part, along with Styrofoam and glass (also not permitted in your blue cart).

#OneChangePerWeek #BagFreeBins #CurbsideCollectionTip

Did you deck the halls with cedar and holly this year? Or did you have a live Christmas tree? Here’s what to do with those natural Christmas decorations once your fa-la-la-ing is over for another year.

Remove any wire, ribbons, ornaments, or similar from your natural wreaths, garlands, and centrepieces. Now, these items are ready for your green compost cart or backyard compost bin. If there’s glue or glitter, please throw these decorations in the garbage instead.

Dried-out trees are a fire hazard that should not be left in the home, the garage, or outside the home. If you chose a live Christmas tree this year, make sure to remove lights and every ornament and strand of tinsel, then head to the Christmas Tree Chipping for Charity event, in partnership with the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine:

Date: January 8, 2022
Time: 11 am to 3 pm
Location: 4617 Greig Ave (old Co-Op parking lot beside the George Little House)
Bring: Please consider bringing a non-perishable food item. Donations will go to local food banks.

This will be a contact-free, drop-and-go event for safety. Check out our Events Calendar for more information.

Thanks for doing your part to reduce waste this holiday season.

recycle@terrace.ca | 250-615-4019

There’s a good chance you’re going to give or receive items this holiday season containing Styrofoam packaging. Please remember these items cannot go in your curbside recycling bin. Instead, some can be recycled at the Do Your Part Recycling Depot, and those types that can’t can be put in your black cart—or taken to the transfer station if you’ve done more shopping than you care to admit 😉

Do Your Part Recycling Depot:

• Styrofoam blocks or containers
• Bubble wrap
• Stretchy soft plastic overwrap

Black cart or Thornhill Transfer Station:

• Packing peanuts
• Flexible foam packing material

For more information, please contact Do Your Part directly as they are not operated by the City of Terrace.

Thanks for doing your part to reduce waste this holiday season.

recycle@terrace.ca | 250-615-4019

Five days till Christmas! If you’re celebrating, have you wrapped your gifts yet? For one small change to try this year, why not aim to reduce waste when packaging up your presents?

While glitter, foil paper, or bows can add a certain festive flair, this type of décor cannot be recycled. In fact, things like glitter can contaminate other materials because—as you most certainly know—it gets EVERYWHERE. (Even just a little bit on the front of a card seems to find its way into everything, honestly.)

When wrapping gifts, consider what happens to the packaging afterward. You can help out your recipients by choosing recyclable or reusable materials. With any luck, they’ll do the same for you!

Here are some great choices for holiday recycling because they can all go in your curbside RECYCLING cart:

• 100% paper wrapping paper (for an alternative to store-bought patterns, try brown kraft paper or even newspaper!)
• Tissue paper
• Paper gift bags (fabric handles, metal grommets, and decorations removed)
• Paper greeting cards (without glitter, music, or recorded greetings)
• Paper basket filler from a gift basket

Plus: natural decorations on top of your gift, like holly, cedar, or pinecones, can go in the compost cart, as long as there aren’t contaminants like glitter or ribbon on them. You can also try making your packaging part of the gift by wrapping gifts in other gifts, like a Christmas tea towel or scarf.

Here are some items you can recycle elsewhere:

• Holiday string lights (see last Monday’s post for more on this topic)
• Some types of foam packaging (more about foam later this week)
• Batteries (Do Your Part Recycling, City Hall, Staples, and many other locations around town accept batteries; check our website for a full list)

Here are items you will have to reuse if possible or throw in your curbside GARBAGE cart:

• Foil or plastic wrapping paper
• Ribbons and bows
• Foil gift bags or bags with non-paper decorations
• Rope handles and grommets from all gift bags
• Glittery cards or battery-powered cards that play music or recorded greetings
• Cellophane wrap for gift baskets and the gift baskets themselves

Hot tip: Don’t write on gift bags or gift bag tags so that your recipient can reuse the gift bag next year.

Thanks for doing your part to reduce waste this holiday season.

recycle@terrace.ca | 250-615-4019

Have your holiday string lights gone kaput? Don’t toss them in the trash! They CAN be recycled, but NOT in your curbside recycling cart. Head to the Bottle Depot instead!

Edit: Please note that the video below incorrectly states that string lights can be taken to Do Your Part Recycling Depot. This is incorrect; the only place in Terrace to return these lights is the Bottle Depot.

Strings of Christmas lights are included in the provincial recycling program for light fixtures, managed by an organization called Product Care Recycling. Through this program, strings of lights are free to drop off at a number of participating depots across BC. Up to five strings per visit are accepted, and there is no need to remove the bulbs from the string prior to drop-off. If you have a larger volume, please contact the depot directly to see if they can handle your volume.

Thanks for doing your part to reduce waste this holiday season.

recycle@terrace.ca | 250-615-4019

Are you ready to make #OneChangePerWeek to your recycling habits? This week, consider your refundables! Yes, they ARE recyclable, just not through curbside pickup. We do NOT accept deposit-bearing containers in our curbside collection program. If your recycling has not been picked up, the presence of refundable recycling in your cart may be the reason.

Instead, head to the Terrace Bottle & Return It Depot to return:

• aluminum beer and pop cans
• plastic water and juice bottles and drink boxes
• gable top drink cartons
• glass drink bottles
• plastic and glass liquor bottles
• bag-in-a-box alcohol or water
• and more—find a full list here: https://www.return-it.ca/beverage/products/

Don’t forget! If you don’t want to take back your beer and pop cans yourself, there are several local charities or clubs that will take them for you.

We’re aware our mailed-out brochure doesn’t specify instructions for refundable beverage containers and that has already been updated for next year’s edition, coming to your mailbox in January 2022 🙂

recycle@terrace.ca | 250-615-4019