There is a consensus that our local recycling depot is doing a great job and that the community is pulling its weight. But on occasion, Bill Carr, past president of the Bowen Island Recycling Depot (BIRD), gets frustrated, for example, the time he had to fish out white plastic boxes and a glass jar from among the translucent milk jugs. Looking around, he spotted a seven-year-old who knew exactly what bins the plastics and the glass were meant to go. Carr considered suggesting that all recyclers be accompanied by a kid to avoid those kinds of mistakes.
"Yes, I believe that we, as a community, are doing a good job recycling," Carr said. "People take responsibility for sorting their recycling and dropping it off so that our municipality doesn't have to go through the expense and trouble to pick it up at the doorstep."
He said, "When people move over here, they are probably used to the blue box which is pretty easy. A few of them might think what a pain in the butt this is to have to go to BIRD. But if they'll take responsibility, they find out that we offer a much broader service to the public [than the blue box] at almost no cost to the community."
Patrick Hawkes, BIRD's vice-presidents, agrees with this assessment. "From the board's perspective, we are very pleased at what Bowen has done with the recycling centre. We feel that community buy-in and consciousness of recycling are very high and that the whole community is making an effort toward a more rational and more environmentally sound way of life." But Hawkes also says that a visit to BIRD will drive home the realization how many packages we accumulate during the course of a week.
Carr estimates that an average of 75 cars visit the recycling depot per day. He said, "When people are finished with their recycling and plan to browse at the Knick Knack Nook, we'd like to ask them to move their cars so others don't have to carry their recycling that far."
Carr has paperwork that shows that a total of 320,110 kg of glass, newspaper, mixed paper, corrugated cardboard, tin cans and plastics were recycled at BIRD in 2011. "In 2009, there were 300,359 kg of combined recycling. The totals for the same items are not substantially different even looking further back. But we know that there are many new homes and households on the island," Carr said. "I believe the explanation is that people are shopping smarter." If there is a noticeable shift, it is away from glass and towards plastic, he says.
About restrictions on waste, Carr said, "In Metro Vancouver, you can't put plastics 1,2,4 and 5 in your garbage. When Metro [Vancouver] banned plastic, we realized that we needed to provide a place for it." Carr recalls being told that there were checks at the transfer station. He said, "If the waste service turned up with banned plastic, there was a 50 per cent upcharge on the tipping fee."
Carr explained that BIRD started in 1984 as a non-profit organization. He said, "Everything you see: the tent, the concrete floor, the equipment, it was all paid for by the society. The initial cost has already been recovered and for a number of years, our only expense has been insurance, electricity and rent." Carr explains that the rent, paid to the municipality, is minimal and the municipality also picks up the tab for hauling the bins away. "It is part of Bowen Waste's contract. The rationale behind that is that [the municipality] would have to provide that service if BIRD wasn't there."
Over the years, BIRD has expanded its range. Carr said, "Now, you can bring rechargeable and ordinary batteries, including car batteries. Those go into the garbage on the mainland. We take compact fluorescent bulbs, ink cartridges and toner cartridges, cardboard milk cartons and cartons of milk substitutes like soy and rice milk. We also take plastic bags and electronics like computers, TVs and small household appliances." Hawkes added, "BIRD has recently begun taking smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and mercury containing thermostats. It is estimated that an older thermostat can contain 2.5 to 10 grams of mercury. It only takes one gram of mercury to contaminate an eight-hectare-lake to the point where the fish are inedible for a full year." Carr added that BIRD isn't paid for any of that but sees it as a service to the island.
Hawkes brought up the issue of volumes of recyclables. He said, "If residents would crush, stack or stomp their cans, milk cartons and jugs, and rigid plastic containers, we would require fewer bin trips off the island. That would generate further savings for the island waste system."
To Carr, it is very important to find out where the recycling ends up. "When I hear a company talk about recycling, I always ask, 'What do you make out of it?'" Carr says. "I'm such a cynic, I need to know exactly where it goes." He has checked with Encorp Pacific, the company that takes appliances, electronics and other recycling, and says, "We were assured that [the material] does not leave Canada, that it goes to a place in B.C. to be dismantled."
"Aluminum is unique as it loses very little of its integrity in the recycling process," Carr says but paper diminishes in quality and plastics cannot be recycled as food containers.
Carr once took a tour at Merlin Plastics on Annacis Island where he learned what happens to translucent milk jugs. He said, "They remove the caps, chip up the jugs, wash them and melt them." Carr says that after the milk jugs run through the machine, they look like dog pellets and are slated to be made into things like highway cones, garbage containers or oil containers. He came away impressed by the facility that runs 24 hours a day and also recycles plastics.
Carr said that for mixed plastic, BIRD is billed around $80 per tonne. He added, "We are also charged a nominal fee for glass. The glass is crushed and used as landfill. It is even used to make concrete. Of the returnable bottles, only beer bottles from local breweries go back to be refilled."
Hawkes said, "I wanted to emphasize, how important returning bottles and cartons is to the local community groups who take part. For many, it is their principal source of outside funding. If Bowen residents want to support local culture and service organizations, dropping their empties at BIRD really makes a difference." He added that the community groups share an income of about $35,000 a year.
As much as Carr appreciates the community effort, now and then he gets frustrated when "people don't play by the rules." He encourages everyone to "read the signs" and put the recycling into the containers where they belong. Hawkes suggests to set up a mini system at home. He said, "There are fewer incidents of misallocation when people organize the recycling in advance."
Carr said, "People have to realize that BIRD provides a service that is not paid for by taxes. We hope for a little more than just shoving a bag [of recyclables] through the door."
Both Carr and Hawkes stressed that BIRD is currently looking for volunteers. Hawkes said, "I often say to people who are new to the island that volunteering at BIRD is perhaps the best and fastest way to get to know the community." Carr added jokingly, "There is no probation period. And whether you're new or have been there for years, the pay and benefits are the same."
