Lets Talk Trash - 7 R's

LTT - January 2023 - 7 R’s

Happy New Year Lasquetians! When it comes to waste management, most of us are familiar with the guiding concept of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” but there are (at least) 7 R’s of Sustainability. Perhaps 2023 will be a year for adopting more of them. 

1. Rethink. Become conscious about the kind of consumer you want to be and what that means to the environment. Often we opt for convenience but, for example, do you really need a box of individually wrapped snacks or could you make an equivalent at home. Stand back and notice your habits.

2. Refuse. Also known as Resist! Say no to single use plastics. Buy products that do the least harm to the environment (ie: produced close to you, not shipped from far away). Feel empowered to go against consumer culture and don’t buy at all.

3. Reduce. Buy less. Buy products that have little or no packaging and that will last a long time. Borrow instead of buy. 

4. Repair and refurbish. Try to fix items before trashing them. Mark has a little Repair Cafe set up at the Recycling Depot and will do his best to fix appliances and tools.

5. Re-use. Repurpose. Re-gift. Get creative with the stuff you no longer want or need. Sell or donate. Pass it along if it’s in good shape. 

 6.Rot. This applies to the organic waste in your world. It can all be returned to the earth as compost. 

7. Recycle. This is the last effort in the dream of a circular economy. We are lucky in BC to have an amazing recycling system but recycling places low on the sustainability list as it takes lots of energy to turn waste products into something new. For decades now, plastic manufacturers have run a disinformation campaign about the virtues of recycling. This has resulted in what psychologists call an “illusory truth” effect. We’ve been sold the idea that recycling makes a big difference on the individual level when in fact not buying plastics, switching to clean energy (that’s us off-the-grid folks), eating a plant based diet, living car free and flying less, are much more effective ways of caring for the planet.

This being said, recycling is better than landfilling and Recycle BC is now accepting more items beginning January 2023. You may have been including some of these in your recycling already, so I’ve underlined ones to pay particular attention to.  We’ll go through these in future articles, no doubt.

Under the Paper category: paper party decorations, paper gift bags, paper lunch bags, moving and storage boxes, and paper gift boxes.

Flexible Plastics: Sandwich and freezer bags, plastic reusable shopping bags, squishy cushion packaging, plastic wrap, plastic drop sheets and plastic recycling bags.

Containers: aluminum foils trays and pie plates, plastic food storage containers, plastic cups, plates and bowls, disposable hangers, plastic pot plants, metal storage containers (for candy etc), plastic utensils and straws.

The other big item in Lasqueti waste management news is the increase in tipping fees. The qRD sent out this notice.

A minimum fee of $7.50 will be charged per bag and $37.50 per truck load.

“qRD Municipal Solid Waste” means refuse that originates from residential, commercial and institutional sources but does not include Construction, Renovation and Demolition Waste, Prohibited Waste, Recyclable Materials or Stewardship Materials.

“Construction, Renovation and Demolition Waste” means waste produced from the construction, renovation, and demolition of buildings, and other structures and may include, but is not limited to asphalt, bricks, concrete, roofing materials, wood, plumbing and electrical components.

“Prohibited Waste” means gaseous, liquid or solid waste prohibited from disposal and may include, but is not limited to asbestos containing materials, propane canisters, waste oil or petroleum by-products.

“Stewardship Materials” means any waste or recyclable materials in an approved stewardship plan as defined in the Recycling Regulation of the Environmental Management Act (B.C. Reg. 284/2016) and may include, but is not limited to paint, batteries, electronics, waste oil, residential packaging and paper product.

Island Trash Removal: The 2nd Wednesday of every month is the trash removal day at False Bay barge ramp. January 11th is the next scheduled date. 10:00 am until the barge is full.  Any changes due to weather will be posted on the email list and FB Lasqueti Hotwire. Please call Mark if you have any questions. 8601 or 250 240 9886

Recycling Depot: Fall/Winter Hours  October 1st to March 30th.

Mondays 10 am - 2 pm, Thursdays 1 - 5 pm

Closed on Statutory Holidays. All recycling is monitored. Please bring materials clean, dry and sorted.

Free Store: Fall/Winter Hours  October 1st to March 30th.

Mondays 10 am – 2 pm and Thursdays 1 - 5 pm 

Please respect signs. Drop donations during open hours. Clean, usable clothing and household items only.  Please, no food, garbage, recycling, TV’s, soft foam, batteries, electrical devices, mattresses or hazardous materials, ie: chemicals, fluorescent light tubes, prescription/non-prescription drugs, or pills in general. There are recycling programs on Vancouver island for many of these materials.

Recycle BC Website: www.recyclebc.ca/what-can-i-recycle

Return-It Beverage Depot: Open 24/7. Front left of the Free Store. No refundable glass (ie: beer, wine, hard liquor) bottles, please take these to the nearest Return-It Beverage depot yourself.  Yes to aluminum beer, cider, pop cans, coconut water cans, boxed wine cartons (leave them intact) and tetra juice packs, including (rinsed) milk and milk substitute containers. Please leave the caps on and push the straws in and do not crush containers. Labels can be left on.

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions for me and the qRD Let’s Talk Trash team, please get in touch. jennyv [at] lasqueti [dot] ca or 8601