Community Information
Whether you're buying a home, selling your home or relocating to Ridge-Meadows or the Tri-City area, the following information, resources and tools will help to guide your decision.
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RECYCLING
With the steady stream of products entering and leaving our households on a daily basis (not to mention the clutter that can infest our closets, crawlspaces and attics!), and the need to responsibly recycle and dispose of things rather than adding to landfills, we struggle with “What am I supposed to do with this?”. Whether it is the weekly outflow, our sporadic clutter-busting efforts, or the “We’re moving, it’s got to go!” call to action, there are options for a surprising variety of consumer-generated ‘stuff’ and the possibilities are always expanding..
A number everyone should keep handy is the Recycling Council of B.C.: 604-732-9253;
www.rcbc.ca . The website has a handy search tool - select from a list of recyclables, input your
municipality and search for available recycling options. They have a very extensive website with new tips on recycling added every month. Also check out the www.gvrd.com website under recycling for a list of equally interesting options and information and the new “Call 2 Recycle” program’s website www.call2recycle.ca . This last site is targeting cell phones and all batteries under 5kg.
Special Cases
Of special note, all pharmacies will accept for responsible disposal any medication, pharmaceutical or natural, for safe disposal. Please don’t throw medication down the drain or in your garbage.
A note on batteries. Even though responsible manufacturers are no longer putting mercury into alkaline batteries (as of 1998) it is NOT OKAY to throw these in the garbage. There is an extensive program out there for recycling all types of batteries. Please see information below, or check out the “Call2recycle” website noted above.
Depots & Retailers - Who Recycles What
There are a number of places that offer ‘hard to find’ recycling services, with even more on the RCBC website...these are some local options:
London Drugs -www.greendeal.ca Accepting an extensive array of recyclables including
batteries, small appliances, packaging (including PS6 styrofoam from their products), computers
and related parts. If you’ve purchased the item at London Drugs and have the bill, recycling is
free. If the item was not purchased at London Drugs, please check out their website’s “Recycling
Fees” page for items that are free (an extensive list) and items that have a nominal fee attached.
Check out their partner program with Free Geek of Vancouver who offer responsible, traceable
recycling of computer parts. Free Geek also repurposes & sells useable computers and related
items.
Pacific Mobile Depots -www.pacificmobiledepots.com. Specializing in, but not limited to, recycling of a large variety of plastics, many of which are not accepted by anyone else. Their newest mobile depot visits a new site in Maillardville, Coquitlam starting November 20th (3rd Saturday of every month), with other locations on their website. A huge array of items from packing foam and peanuts to acrylics, rigid plastics, styrofoam containers and many other uncommon items such as foil-lined bags and garden hoses are accepted. See their website for separation instructions and any applicable fees.
Mansonville Plastics -www.mansonvilleplastics.com. This company creates expanded polystyrene foam products and will accept (free - no fee!) PS6 packing foam used around electronics, Appliances, etc. Foam must be clean and free of labels - put it into clear blue recycling bags and drop it at their office in Langley. It is an easy drive over the Golden Ears off 200th on 56th Ave. (Surrey). No food containers, please!
Ikea -www.ikea.com. Located in Coquitlam on Lougheed Hwy., Ikea accepts Compact Fluorescent bulbs and alkaline batteries (anyone’s brand) for responsible recycling. Go to the
first floor where the checkouts are and you will find the bins across from the service counter.
Home Depot - Located in Port Coquitlam there is a bin near the front for used CFLs and a
separate bin near the tool coral for used rechargeable batteries. There are usually plastic bags at
the bin for your bulbs before they are put into the bin.
Rona - Has a bins for your cell phone batteries, as well as the ‘curly’ type of CFL’s.
Tom Harris Cellular - Pitt Meadows on the Lougheed. They are part of the “Call2Recycle”
program (www.call2recycle.ca) and have a bin accepting cell phones and all types of batteries.
Encorp Program -www.encorp.ca. Check out their website for locations in Pitt Meadows,
Maple Ridge & other GVRD locations that accept electronics as well as bottles & milk cartons.
Make a note that the Salvation Army thrift in Port Coquitlam on Elgin is also in this program.
Take your used electronics for free recycling to the rear of the Elgin St. store during business
hours only, please.
Happy Stan’s Recycling Services Ltd. -www.happystan.com. Located in Port Coquitlam off
Broadway on Langan Ave., they accept a large range of materials including metals, appliances,
glass, paper, electronics, some scrap wood and some blue-box rated plastics. Check their website for any applicable fees, notably on electronics and appliances.
Ridge Meadows Recycling Society & Transfer Station -www.rmrecycling.org. Just a few
minutes away in Albion, this facility takes a wide range of blue-box type items - but more importantly, the society and transfer station also accepts hard to recycle items such as empty paint cans, unused paint, flammable liquids, gasoline, oil, solvents, household and vehicle & other batteries, gypsum (drywall) etc. This is the recycling and green waste depot for Maple Ridge. Please check their website under “What Can Be Recycled”. Please note they only accept plastics marked #1, #2, #4 & #5. Some fees may apply.
Pitt Meadows Blue Box Services -www.pittmeadows.bc.ca Go to Residents, Residential Services, Garbage and Recycling Services for full information. Please note that they have recently expanded their range of plastics to numbers #1 - #7 inclusive. Way to go Pitt Meadows Recycling Services!
Meadows Landscape Supply -www.meadowslandscapesupply.com. If you’re a Pitt Meadows
resident, dropping off green waste here is free! Just stop at the office and show your driver’s license. They also accept sod, dirt and concrete, bricks and rocks for a per ton fee, check with the office as quite small quantities are often no charge. If you are not a resident and you want to deposit green waste, there is a fee.
Changes Recycling Centre -www.changesrecyclingcentre.com. Right next to every Save-On,
these centres accept deposit-related containers as well as ink cartridges and vendor sponsored
packaging.
Trash To Treasure
Yes, one man’s trash is still another’s treasure. Put an ad online with Craig’s List or the
Buy & Sell, or use these avenues to advertise your garage sale or “Free” stuff. If you have good,
used building/renovation items give Jack’s Used Building Materials in Burnaby a call and see if
they’re interested.
Charity Begins At Home...
Have an ‘unsaleable’ vehicle? Give the Kidney Foundation of Canada a call at 604-4082277
(www.kidney.ca) for a free pickup of your unwanted vehicle - tax receipt available.
Other charities who will pick up useable household items (from furniture to silk plants,
clothing and more) at your door are:
Canadian Diabetes - 1-800-505-5525; or book online at www.diabetes.ca
Big Brothers of Vancouver - 604-526-2447; www.bigbrothersvancouver.ca
Developmental Disabilities - 604-273-4332; www.develop.bc.ca
Drop boxes for Canadian Diabetes and Developmental Disabilities are all around town. The Salvation Army, Value Village, Cythera House (Maple Ridge, benefitting women’s shelters) and a variety of hospital & SPCA thrift stores are all keen to have your resalable items.
Reusable building supplies including light fixtures, switches, hinges, doors, hardware, etc. can be taken to Habitat For Humanity Restore ( www.vancouverhabitat.bc.ca/restores) - their closest location is near Gaglardi Way in Burnaby. Their website has a list of accepted items (and maybe you’ll find a bargain just right for your current project!).
Textiles and shoes that have had their day need not go in the trash. Other than use as rags around the house, towels, linens and blankets can be donated to the SPCA, Katie’s Place (there is also a Katie’s Place donation bin in Pet Food’n More in Maple Ridge at 203rd ) as well as the Wildlife
Rescue of B.C. facility in Burnaby (www.wildliferescue.ca). The Gap offers “Recycle Your
Bluejeans” promotions where you can turn in your unwearable jeans and they will send them to a
facility that turns them into insulation for communities in need. Nike stores also offer recycling
for any brand of used athletic shoe - the soles are recycled to create new athletic surfaces, shoes
& apparel. Once again, check out the Recycling Council of B.C.’s wonderful website for this
type of information and much, much more!
Good for the Earth, good for you! Happy Recycling.
*This article was submitted by one of my readers, Darlene Mercer of Pitt Meadows. Thank you Darlene for your contribution.
Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.