Recycling collection to multi-family buildings serviced by the City's contractor, Waste Management, will continue uninterrupted during the Olympics. Buildings within the contract area should continue to receive service on their scheduled collection day (see WM/contractor schedule). However, because of planned street closures and no-stopping restrictions, service times will vary. The City's noise by-law has been relaxed during the Olympics to allow service vehicles to complete their work sooner and be off the road before the afternoon. Please note if you are required to set carts out for pick up, the carts must be out before 5 am (if your building is in the downtown core) or before 6 am (if your building is outside the downtown core) on your scheduled collection day.
Check out the 2010 collection schedule for residential garbage, recycling (blue box), and yard trimmings collection programs as well as apartment recycling program.
Paper copy will be mailed out to all residential household in January 2010.
As of January 4, 2010, the garbage rate at the Vancouver South Transfer Station and Vancouver Landfill will increase to $82/tonne, and the yard trimmings rate to $59/tonne. The new rates will be consistent at all publicly owned disposal facilities in the region. All other rates including the minimum rates will remain the same.
Metro Vancouver has recently created a directory of reuse and recycling services designed to help you answer the question “Where do I take this?”. The database contains over 1,300 locations within the Metro Vancouver region to donate, recycle or appropriately dispose of those items you no longer want.
Please visit Metro Vancouver Recycles for more information.
The challenge is how to divert more of our garbage from disposal in landfills or the waste-to-energy facility while the amount of garbage we each produce increases every year. Learn more about the Zero Waste Challenge
New material disposal bans took effect in Metro Vancouver starting January 1, 2008. View the banned materials tip sheet (PDF).
The City sells backyard composters for $25 (half the retail price) to residents. Buy one soon and receive an aerator (stirrer) at no additional charge (while supplies last). Short web videos about backyard composting in Cantonese, Mandarin and Punjabi are linked on the web page below. Backyard composting at Grow Natural.
A new provincial electronics recycling program started August 1, 2007. The program covers items such as desktop computers, printers and televisions. For details, call Encorp Pacific at 1-800-330-9767 or visit www.encorp.ca/electronics.
Acoustic ceiling tiles, vermiculite insulation and blown-in insulation are not accepted at the Vancouver South Transfer Station (VSTS). These materials may contain asbestos and can be disposed of at the Vancouver Landfill in accordance with the Asbestos Policy. See the 'Suspect Asbestos Containing Materials' section. All other types of insulation, i.e. fibreglass, must be double bagged for disposal at the VSTS. Max. 10 bags per load.
Instead of throwing your empty cartons of milk (or milk substitutes like soy or rice milk) into the garbage why not take them to a participating Encorp Return-It Centre where they will be recycled. Please note that since there is no deposit paid for milk or milk-substitute containers, there will be no deposit refunded when you take them in. For more information, including a list of depots, call Encorp Pacific at 1-800-330-9767 or go to their website.
Recycling isn't just about newspapers, cardboard and empty soup cans. To find out where you can recycle items that aren't accepted in the City's blue box or apartment recycling programs call the Recycling Council of BC's Hotline at 604-R-E-C-Y-C-L-E (604-732-9253) or e-mail them at hotline@rcbc.bc.ca. The RCBC Hotline service provides up-to-date information on waste reduction, recycling, disposal and pollution prevention throughout the province. For more info, visit www.rcbc.bc.ca.
to make Vancouver the cleanest, greenest, healthiest city in the world. By making small changes in our homes and how we move around the city, we can play a big part in reducing energy consumption and cutting down harmful emissions. Find out more at www.onedayvancouver.ca.