Vancouver Recycling

For all that Vancouver has done in the past two decades, did you know Vancouver has a strong, zero-waste commitment? The city strongly supports and implements green policies such as recycling, organics composting, and most recent, their zero waste action plan. In light of the new zero waste plan, you may ask, what does it all mean? In context, when we live and stay in a city for a long time, we may not realize how far our cities have evolved over the years. Compared to other cities in the world, we may just be sustainability champions.

Who knew, right?

Here’s Vancouver’s track record for all things sustainable.

• The city has launched sustainable green programs to meet the 2020 Greenest City Action Plan
• There’s been a focus on improving waste recycling and supporting the industry
• The city’s invested in green spaces, which beautify local neighbourhoods and corridors
• The city’s circular economy supports many livelihoods, especially artisans and makers

Let’s take a look at the waste and recycling component

Diving deeper into the waste and recycling initiatives, it’s clear that Vancouver has come a long way.

Just ten years ago, over 500,000 tonnes of solid waste ended up in landfills. Five years later, the city has diverted over 27% of that waste.

The Vancouver Zero Waste Centre has reopened, allowing residents take their old items in to be diverted from landfills.

It’s also becoming easier to sort and compost your organics. Cities like Vancouver boast an effective organic waste sorting system, found in homes and commercial venues like shopping centres.

Finally, the city’s phasing in a single-use plastic ban, reducing the amount of single-use plastics entering landfills.

Shifting from Recycling to Recovery

These days, more people are paying attention to the benefits of recovering materials instead of recycling. We can reuse recovered materials as-is, for a variety of cases. We can make new products and crafts all the time out of recovered materials. Recovering materials doesn’t have to compromise on quality. In fact, items and materials made out of recovered materials can be even more durable.

Improving Construction Waste Recovery

One sector that has seen improvements in waste recovery is the construction industry. In Vancouver, construction waste amounts to over 40% of wood dumped in landfills. Other building materials used to be difficult to recycle. However, there has been considerable improvements in recent years. Companies such as Sea To Sky Removal change the construction waste landscape.

Improving E-Waste Recovery

Since 2015, residents and businesses have diverted over 11,000 devices from Vancouver landfills. Private electronic recyclers make it easier for residents to drop-off their old laptops and phones. Organizations such as Free Geek provide services too, that help residents avoid dumping their items in landfills. Finally, residents have access to resources such as Waste Wizard and Metro Vancouver Recycles. These applications provide information on where they can take specific items for recycling, including their electronics. Making recycling more accessible for residents directly contribute to the lower landfill rates.

Conclusion: What the Greenest City Action Plan Tells Us

The Action Plan tells us is that if we set bold long-term goals, we can achieve them. Vancouver has set and met a considerable number of their Greenest City Action Plan goals. Now, as 2020 approaches, the city is now looking forward again.

This time, another twenty years.

Their 2040 Zero Waste Plan is bold, immediate, and necessary.

Priorities in this plan include:

• Eliminating the disposal of solid waste to landfill by 2040
• Support objectives that avoid the generation of waste
• Prioritize material reuse (sharing, repairing, recycling)
• Grow the circular economy in Vancouver
• Develop a zero waste culture (supporting businesses & individuals)
• Reduce GHG emissions
• Reduce Vancouver’s ecological footprint

The optimist in us believe that, after Vancouver’s successful 2020 Action Plan, we can achieve the 2040 objectives. During this shift, we also acknowledge that we’ll be moving further towards recovery. We’ll be reducing consumption. We’ll be avoiding needless waste. We’ll be recovering the city and the environment. We’d be recovering a future for all in the time of climate change.

Let’s do this, Vancouver!

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Canadian Mattress Recycling is a 100% locally-owned BC company with a team of employees dedicated to customer service and environmental preservation through recycling. We are located in the middle of Metro Vancouver on Annacis Island on Delta, BC and serve the entire Lower Mainland region and beyond. We are winners of the Green Business of the Year in 2016 by the Delta Chamber of Commerce.

We have lots of materials to give away for free or by donation. We have cushions, leather, pleather, coir, plastic foam sheets, polyester, furniture legs, and wood. Give us a call at 604.777.0324 during office hours, or visit our depot at #140, 715 Eaton Way, Delta, BC V3M 6S5.

Note that because our office will be closed until mid-July, free materials through the office will be unavailable until we reopen.

 

Available through the warehouse, 7 days a week

Dry wood and coconut fibre/coir mats (for erosion & weed control), and plastic foam sheets available free.

 

 

Available through the office, by cash donation for charity:

‘Pet Beds’, Floor Cushions, Leather, Bonded Leather (fake leather), Furniture Legs, Felt Pads (for moving pads), Fluffy polyester filling

 

 

 

If you’ve been on the internet or watched the news, you probably heard about the push to go plastic free.

Videos of plastic-filled oceans and beaches have been posted, igniting the conversation around plastic pollution.

But why does #plasticfree matter?

How much plastic do you encounter from the moment you wake up to the moment you fall asleep? How much plastic do you come by each day? Some plastics are reusable but most are not. Packaging, wrappers, straws, and shopping bags are often single-use plastics. These plastics are filling our landfills faster than we think.

Plastics in our oceans

It is uncomfortable to think about how much plastic is littered on our beaches. Plastics cover our beaches and are swept away into the oceans. Even when plastics leave the land, they aren’t really gone. Our oceans are filled with more plastic per square km than we realize. And plastics take thousands of years to break down.

The threat of microplastics

Microplastics are just as deadly. They can be found in the water we drink and the food we eat. These millimeter thin pieces are ingested by animals we catch for food. Scientists have shown that our drinking water has plastic particulates in them, too.

Plastic is becoming such a huge problem that the UN has called to end plastic pollution in 2018.

Businesses and organizations are stepping up to break free from plastic. Still, more work needs to be done. Sometimes problems this big may seem impossible to solve, but there are some lifestyle choices we can make to distance ourselves from plastic.

Here are our top 5 tips to live plastic free:

1. The last straw

Make the last straw you purchase the last straw you throw away. More restaurants and businesses are now aware of the wasteful plastic straws and are moving away from using them.

Steel straws are a popular alternative to plastic straws. They can be washed and reused. Some restaurants go without straws altogtether.

If you do end up getting a plastic straw, think about how you can reuse it at home or bring it along with you.

You can certainly get more than one use out of a plastic straw.

2. Buy bulk and save on packaging.

Do you ever stop and wonder how much our goods and produce are wrapped in plastic?

Buy bulk when you can or choose products that are not packaged in plastic.

Cardboard and paper packaging is better because you can at least recycle or compost them. Still, the best way is to reduce packaging in general.

Vancouver is opening their first package-free grocery called Nada. The Soap Dispensary is another store that lets you refill home and bath essentials. If you don’t live in Vancouver, you can still bring your own bag and buy bulk. Simply ask your local grocery store if you can bring your own jars. Or, you can simply say “no” to a plastic bag and use your own reusable bag instead.

3. Become a plogger.

Take an extra bag, slip on some gloves, and pick up garbage as you walk your dog or go on your morning run!

This keeps our trails, parks, and beaches clean.

It is a phenomenon growing in popularity in countries around the world. CBC wrote an article about plogging.

Any garbage that isn’t thrown away properly – like cigarette butts – end up in our water streams when it rains and eventually reaches the ocean.

4. Choose your fashion carefully.

A single fleece jacket made from synthetic fabric can release up to 700,000 microplastic fibers per wash in your laundry. Polyester, rayon, and nylon are all types of synthetic fabric.

If you can afford to buy organic cotton or non-synthetic fiber clothes, the environmental benefits add up.

Besides, fast fashion has caused many textiles to go to waste. Textiles use up important resources like water and energy to create them in the first place. But many clothes are discarded after a few uses.

If you are not a fan of organic cotton, or don’t want to go to great lengths to find one, you can still buy synethic fabric made clothes.

Just be mindful of what you buy, how much you buy, and what you throw away.

As always, the first step in adopting a recycling habit is to reduce your consumption.

5. Keep a log of all your #plasticfree efforts.

Keeping track of your plastic free activities can boost your motivation. It can perhaps convince your family and friends to join in. Keep track of all the times you said “no” to a plastic bag or how much garbage you throw away each week.

Set a challenge, and see if you can reduce the gabarge you’re throwing away.

Sometimes making a big change in your consumption habits can be stressful. This is why we encourage taking graduate steps to break free from plastic.

Do you have any other tips or suggestions to live #plasticfree? Tweet to us at @cndmattressrecycler or leave a comment on Facebook!

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Canadian Mattress Recycling is a 100% locally-owned BC company with a team of employees dedicated to customer service and environmental preservation through recycling. We are located in the middle of Metro Vancouver on Annacis Island on Delta, BC and serve the entire Lower Mainland region and beyond. We are winners of the Green Business of the Year in 2016 by the Delta Chamber of Commerce.

 

Did you know that the Easter holiday produces over 4,000 tonnes of waste each year? The majority of the waste comes from single-use plastics such as Easter baskets and artificial grass. Plastic eggs, another culprit, harm the environment as people toss them out once the festivities end. Thus, we’ve put a few ideas together on how to make your Easter celebrations zero-waste.

1. Say no to plastic eggs

Around the world, single-use plastics clog up landfills. Wind and rain also blows these single-use plastic litter into our waterways like the ocean. Single-use plastics affect wildlife, and when they break down into microplastics, they enter our food chain and water supply. The amount of plastics in our world is staggering. Therefore, consider plastic-free activities this Easter, starting with saying no to using plastic eggs.

Parents often purchase plastic Easter eggs because of their price point. Why shell out more money for eggs that would otherwise be thrown away at the end of the holiday? For an event like an annual Easter Egg hunt, it doesn’t seem too bad to buy single-use plastic eggs every year.

Wrong – in fact, think about the plastic eggs that children don’t find at the end of the event. Unless someone goes through the field combing for every egg, chances are some end up as litter.

Therefore, consider using real eggs for decorating. Dyeing eggs produce brilliant colours similar to plastic eggs. Also, if you use natural dyes, these eggs can be composted after the event. Another benefit of dyeing your own eggs is being able to include your children in the activity.

Simply set aside a day or two before the Easter holiday to prepare the eggs and dyes. Turn the egg-dyeing activity into a teachable moment with your children. Chances are, they’d find egg-dyeing super interesting and fun!

This might not be as effective if you’re running a community Easter egg hunt. Still, we encourage you to think twice about using plastic eggs for your hunt. At the very least, think of ways you could retrieve all the plastic eggs you hide, wash and reuse them for Easter next year.

Another option is to consider wooden eggs. Simply reuse and repaint over and over, year after year (RecycledScene).

2. Repurpose plastic Easter eggs

If you already bought plastic Easter eggs – don’t fret! Why not turn the eggs into storage capsules for your children when you’re done with them? They can be used to store toys and more, like Play Doh. You can also paint over plastic eggs and turn them into decoration. Finding a new use for the eggs can be a fun challenge for your children. Besides, this encourages your children to learn about reducing, reusing, and recycling.

Recommended article: How to introduce recycling to your kids

3. Reduce candy wrapper waste

Candy wrappers are wasteful. Companies like TerraCycle can turn them into new products. Still, making new recycled products require energy and resources. Plastic wrappers can’t be easily broken down in nature. They find their way into our water streams when it rains and end up in our oceans over time. Our oceans are filled with so much plastic right now. CBC has reported that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is 16 times larger than previously estimated. Other studies have shown that bottled water sold by major corporations are all contaminated by microplastics.

Find a local grocery store that sells unwrapped candy in bulk and bring your own zero waste container to fill them. You might get some weird looks — so first figure out whether the store will let you do this. The good news is as Vancouverites become more aware of the plastic pollution issues on Earth, bringing your own containers can become more acceptable. In the meantime, you can reduce waste by buying unpackaged candy in bulk.

4. Ditch the plastic basket

People are surprised when they learn plastic Easter baskets can’t be recycled. This is true, so if you must purchase plastic Easter baskets, try to find a second use for it around the home. You can even use the baskets for future holidays. Choosing a natural, compostable Easter basket will still be the best option, but we understand it might not be possible for everyone.

5. Make your own basket grass

Did you know that most grass fillings for Easter baskets are plastic and non-biodegradable? This means you end up throwing the fillings out in your regular garbage, which gets dumped in landfills. We know preparing for Easter can be stressful, but take a few seconds at the store to buy paper grass fillings instead. If you’re looking for a cheap alternative, why not make your own grass filling using construction paper? Just shred the paper and you have your own compostable and recycable grass filling.

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Do you have any tips or tricks to reduce your holiday waste? Share them with us at @cdnmattrecycler or comment on Facebook! We love hearing suggestions for ways to reduce waste at home.

Canadian Mattress Recycling is a 100% locally-owned BC company with a team of employees dedicated to customer service and environmental preservation through recycling. We are located in the middle of Metro Vancouver on Annacis Island on Delta, BC and serve the entire Lower Mainland region and beyond. We are winners of the Green Business of the Year in 2016 by the Delta Chamber of Commerce.

As we head into spring cleaning, we begin to wonder how we can even start throwing away our mattresses and old furniture cluttering up our homes. Sometimes the task can seem stressful and exhausting. Sometimes we don’t know where to start, or how to even think about throwing our mattresses away. So we have put together the top 5 questions to ask yourself. Following these suggestions can help make your spring cleaning less stressful!

1. Do I really need to replace my mattress?

Sometimes we replace things that don’t need to be replaced. Mattresses are one of them, especially if they are in good condition or almost brand new. Maybe there is a better sale for another brand mattress, but ask yourself if you really need it. Of course, when your mattress gets old through wear and tear, it is time for a replacement. However, asking yourself if you really need to is the first step to making sure mattresses stay out of landfills. Mattresses take up a lot of landfill space, and it takes about 80 to 100 years to fully decompose. Materials inside the mattress, from the springs to the fiber, can also leak into the soil and groundwater. These chemicals can be toxic for the environment, and for us.

2. What condition is my mattress in?

This is one of the most important questions to ask. Depending on the condition of your mattress, transfer stations or recycling centers might reject it. Keeping your old mattress in good condition and unsoaked is the best way to save money, as it often costs more to recycle a wet or soaked mattress than a dry one. If your mattress has bed bugs in them, there are specific steps you need to take before a recycling center or transfer station is willing to pick it up. This is due to cross-contamination and facilities working to reduce the spreading of these pests.

One of the best ways to avoid unnecessary hassle is to take good care of your mattress while you use it. When you start thinking about replacing your old mattress, store your old one away in a clean and dry environment. Then days, weeks, and months after, when you finally decide to recycle your mattress, you can do so without a lot of hassle. The better you take care of your mattress, is the more likely it can be recycled. Thoughtful planning and use of your items can help save a lot of headaches down the road!

Fun fact: did you know up to 95% of a mattress can be recycled?

3. Do I need my mattress picked up?

When you’ve decided to recycle your mattress, think about whether you need a pickup service or have the ability to drop off your mattress at a nearby recycling facility. If you need a mattress picked up, what would be the best day or hours? Take a look at your schedule to see what works best. We are all busy individuals, but conserving our environment can be as simple as taking the time to schedule a mattress pickup for recycling instead of taking it to the landfills or throwing it on the side of a road.

Did you know: you can be fined for dumping a mattress by a road or an alley.

4. Can I drop-off a mattress?

You can also drop-off mattresses depending on the facility you choose. This is a good time to start planning how you can get there, at that time, to avoid rushing. Perhaps you can find a time outside of rush hour to drop it off. If you are also looking to reduce your carbon emissions while driving, you can also offer to drop off your neighbour’s mattresses. Certain recycling centers offer discounts for mattress drop-offs, and you will able to save on pickup fees.

5. Can I donate a mattress?

Maybe you don’t want to drop off a mattress for recycling or hire a pickup service. That’s okay too. Think about ways you can avoid letting your mattress end up in landfills. One of the ways you can do this is by asking your friends and families if anyone is looking for a mattress. Some of the drawbacks about giving away a mattress is the condition that it is in. People can be afraid of mold, bed bugs, and contaminated mattresses. So keep yours in good condition if you’re thinking about giving it away later! If not, you may have to consider recycling your mattress, instead of donating.

Find this post helpful? Share it on Facebook and Twitter and add your own tips and tricks when it comes to getting rid of your old mattress. Rather than throw your mattress away, let’s reduce, reuse, and recycle, and help protect the environment around us.

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Canadian Mattress Recycling is a 100% locally-owned BC company with a team of employees dedicated to customer service and environmental preservation through recycling. We are located in the middle of Metro Vancouver on Annacis Island on Delta, BC and serve the entire Lower Mainland region and beyond. We are winners of the Green Business of the Year in 2016 by the Delta Chamber of Commerce.

Like our Facebook Page: @canadianmattressrecycling

Follow us on Twitter: @cdnmattrecycler