Surrey is getting serious about efforts to reduce recycling contamination.
“Not everything can be put into the blue bin for recycling,” city hall said in a news release Friday (March 5).
As part of an educational campaign, a new Waste Wizard platform makes it easier for Surrey residents to sort through their junk – that is, what gets recycled, donated, taken to a recycling depot or put in the waste bin.
A search engine at surrey.ca does the work. For example, type in “Batteries” and info pops up about how and where to recycle them.
(For the record, car batteries can be dropped off at your local recycling depot. “To find out which depot near you accepts this item, please visit MetroVancouverRecycles, RecycleBC or call the Recycling Council of British Columbia Hotline 604-732-9253.”)
The city says non-recyclables mistakenly placed in blue bins have to be manually sorted.
“Placing unacceptable materials in your recycling cart pollutes Surrey’s recycling stream, increases the amount of loads rejected, creates more risks for workers, and leads to the City incurring financial penalties which may impact annual waste collection utility rates,” says a post on surrey.ca/sortingwaste.
“With your help, we can reduce the waste we send to landfills and reduce the impact on our environment. Let’s work together to reduce recycling contamination, which occurs when non-acceptable items are placed in the recycling cart.”
Accepted items that can go in the City of Surrey’s blue bins include paper products and packaging, plastic packaging, and metal containers and packaging.
Items not accepted include plastic bags/film plastics, hazardous materials (sharp items, gas canisters, batteries, etc.), personal hygiene products, foam, scrap metal (pots/pans), small electronics (toasters, blenders, etc.), clothing, books and Tupperware containers.
• RELATED STORY/PHOTOS: Surrey’s new recycling/waste dropoff site takes shape near Newton business park.
Surrey’s new recycling and waste dropoff facility is being built on a lot in East Newton, across the street from a business park.
Clark Builders is contracted to construct Central Surrey Recycling and Waste Centre at the corner of 154th Street and 67th Avenue, with the opening targeted for “very early” 2022, according to Harry Janda, Surrey’s Solid Waste Manager.
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