Beverage container recycling bins to be installed downtown and in City parks

NEWS RELEASE - Distributed August 14, 2015 10:10 AM

Summary

The City of Nanaimo has partnered with Encorp Pacific to provide recycling bins in high traffic areas of the community. This week 15 of the new bins were installed downtown and in the Old City Quarter. The remainder of the bins will be installed in parks later this month.

The new blue bins have been placed next to existing litter bins and aim to help residents make the right decision when disposing of their beverage containers while they are out and about. The bins are designed only to take beverage containers and are “self servicing”. This means they are never locked so anyone who wishes can open up the side door to retrieve the “booty” and return it for deposit.

Link to Strategic Plan: The introduction of recycling bins to downtown areas and parks supports the City's ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability

Key Points

The City will be installing 50 recycling bins. They were provided free of charge by Encorp Pacific (the people behind the Return-it campaign).
The bins are already a success in other areas of BC including Vancouver, Victoria and Port Alberni, where they have reduced the amount of beverage containers going to landfill by 99%.
The City will track the success of the project in Nanaimo by auditing the number of beverage containers being placed in litter cans.
An audit under taken before the installation of the recycling cans found 39 beverage containers in the 15 litter cans that now pared with a recycling bin. The City hopes that the next audit will find zero beverage containers in the litter bins.

Quotes

"It's exciting to introduce recycling bins to our downtown areas and parks. Our community has asked for these bins for sometime now. We would like to remind residents that the new blue bins are only for depositing beverage containers; please use the regular litter bins for any other waste. The City will be monitoring the usage of these bins and hope that we experience success similar to other areas of BC. It is important to recycle beverage containers; by recycling we prolong the life of our landfill and save valuable natural resources."

Charlotte Davis

Manager Sanitation of Recycling and Public Works Administration.

City of Nanaimo

Images

-30-

Contact:

Charlotte Davis

Manager of Sanitation, Recycling and Public Works Administration

City of Nanaimo

250 756 5307

charlotte.davis@nanaimo.ca

Print News Release

Is there anything wrong with this page?

Help us improve our website

Don't include private or financial information in this form.

Email Address

What you were doing

What went wrong

Collection and use of your personal information

Information collected on this form is done so under the general authority of the Community Charter and Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA), and is protected in accordance with FOIPPA. Questions about the collection of your personal information may be referred to the Legislative Services Department at 250-755-4405, or via email at foi@nanaimo.ca. Please also see our Privacy Policy.