Some items just can’t be thrown into the Port Coquitlam blue cart — no matter how much you wish they could be recycled that easily.
And that means no hardcover books, pots, pans or scrap metal.
It appears people have been dumping useless items such as old cell phones, rusted chains and even used brake drums into their blue bin, the city says.
But unfortunately, this unwanted junk is limiting the value of recyclables, making it harder to sort and remanufacture them.
Now, Port Coquitlam is mounting an education campaign in the hopes of encouraging people to put the correct materials into their blue bin.
If they don’t, the city could be on the hook for stiff fines from Recycle BC.
"People assess material and assume it is or should be recyclable and it should be placed in the recycling cart," said solid waste manager Tom Madigan.
"Their intent is to do the right thing however the impact of the lack of knowledge or awareness impacts the city’s ability to collect material with a three per cent or less contamination rate."
This week — during waste reduction week — the city is trying to get a message to residents that so-called “wish-cycling” no matter how well-intentioned actually contributes to high contamination rates.
In the past few years, material audits have found that 12 per cent of recyclables put into Port Coquitlam blue bins is contaminated.
The city has been told to cut its contamination rate by 25 per cent or face fines of $5,000 per load of material, for up to $120,000 per year.
In Port Coquitlam’s blue recycling carts, the top five contamination problems are:
- Hard plastics
- ie. Tupperware, plastic toys, tarps, laundry hampers and clothes
- Hard and soft-cover books
- Bags of mixed garbage
- Scrap metal
- ie. Auto parts, chains, pots and pans and hardware
- Electronics
- ie. Cell phones, computers, small appliances and light strings
Contamination occurs when either the wrong items are placed in carts, or when recyclables are not clean and dry.
For information about what to put where, you're encouraged to visit Port Coquitlam's Sort and Report app, linked through the city's website.
