Plastic bags, glass and Styrofoam are not accepted in curbside recycling

Key Points

• Depots are very important in the fight against waste because our landfill has a limited life span.
• Depots are free and easy to use. One tip is to save up all your depot items and then take them to the depot once a month or so. You will save space in your garbage can, save the environment and save your self money in terms of garbage tip fees and extra garbage tags.
• The Nanaimo Recycling Exchange is a zero waste depot. It's very easy to add the 3 items (glass, Styrofoam and plastic bags) to materials that you already bring to the NRE. Don’t forget Zero Waste means you can recycle bubble wrap and zip seal bags, books and clothing, as well as your light bulbs and batteries.
• Did you know that if everyone used depots and curbside recycling & organic waste bins to their fullest, we could easily divert over 95% of all waste! We currently divert about 64% of waste through the curbside.

Quotes

Quick Facts

• The most common types of contamination in curbside recycling are plastic bags, styrofoam, and glass. These items are acceptable free of charge at recycling depots.
• Plastic bags, styrofoam and glass can only be recycled through the depot because they have to be handled separately from other items. This is because plastic bags become tangled in the sorting machinery at the depot and glass and sytrofoam break into small pieces when put in a curbside recycling truck.

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