One Change Per Week

Changing your recycling habits can feel pretty daunting. It also might not feel like what you recycle (or don’t recycle) is really that big a deal. But it all adds up—to 13.5%, in fact, which is the total amount of incompatible material found in our last audit from Recycle BC. They’re the ones who take everything we collect and then sort it at their facilities (we do not do any sorting ourselves). We’ve talked about this before: while the technology for sorting recycling is pretty slick these days, it can’t catch everything. That’s why we require certain items to be recycled in separate streams, rather than curbside. If we picked up everything curbside, the cost would be much higher than it is today—meaning higher taxes for everyone. That’s why we need your help with sorting (and cleaning) items before putting them in your cart or taking them to the depot.

Phew—it’s a lot to learn. But why not try making small changes rather than changing everything at once? We could give you a long list or an infographic filled with every item you might have in your house, but trying to remember everything you read later isn’t exactly easy.

Let’s think about #OneChangePerWeek instead—making one change at a time is manageable and more likely to stick in your brain!

Check out the weekly challenges below and see if you can achieve them each week. You can also click the "Questions" tab to ask for clarification. You'll be a refuse pro in no time.