The Hinton Voice
Tyler Waugh – Thu, Mar 07, 2013
New opportunities to recycle household items at the Rowan Street recycling depot have been well used so far, says the Town of Hinton.
Mike Schwirtz, infrastructure services director for the Town of Hinton, said containers for aerosols, ink, drink containers and batteries needed to be emptied only two weeks after being put in place.
“I don’t know if people just had them stored up at home and didn’t know where to take them, or what the deal is, but the response has been overwhelming,” Schwirtz said, adding that the items can also be taken to the landfill.
“We brought the option to Rowan to see if people would use them if we made it more accessible. We are looking to encourage more reduction, reusing and recycling moving forward and this is one of the steps.”
Bins for collection of small rechargeable and alkaline batteries, print cartridges and non-paint household aerosol spray cans (along with fire extinguishers and small propane canisters) were put into place on Feb. 1.
Schwirtz said that recycling batteries keeps them out of landfills, where heavy metals may leak into the ground when the battery casing corrodes, causing soil and water pollution. Aerosol cans are another way these chemicals are sold to households. Small quantities of hazardous substances can accumulate over time to reach dangerous levels and contaminate the air, water, and/or soil.
Another new addition to the Rowan Street depot is a new trailer solely designated for collection of plastic bags. Residents will have the services of two recycling trailers, one for bags and one for containers, which will enable staff to provide better service to the community. This new trailer will also be available for use at special events for recycling.
“That’s key, we think, making this available to special events like the Föhn Festival or the Wild Mountain Music Festival. Beyond the obvious fact that it will reduce the waste at these events, it will also bring recycling to the forefront at these events,” Schwirtz said.
The Town also secured $19,000 to purchase 11 new bear-resistant outdoor beverage container bins for placement around town this spring.
Schwirtz said the Town plans to kick off a social marketing and public awareness campaign this spring as well. He also said that one thing the general public can do better to maximize resources at the depot is to dismantle boxes and flatten them out before putting them in bins.
“You get two or three large boxes in there intact and it takes up the whole bin. Just a few minutes to break them down will make a big difference,” he said, adding that the cardboard containers are only emptied twice a week. — Hinton, Alberta
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