687 replies to this topic

[Jacques Cadé]

#3 may be recyclable, but not economically. Apparently some blue-box programs don't take it: https://plasticactio...by-the-numbers/

Link says #5 is "one of the least recycled post-consumer plastics at a rate less than 1%," but Merlin has said it can and does recycle it.

[Rob Randall]

Crazy. I always throw away #5. 

 

So what happens to the #3 we put into our blue boxes?

 

I don't know what to do any more. I hate the idea of carefully rinsing something just so it can be nice and clean dumped in the landfill. 

[Jacques Cadé]

I don't think you can put many #3 items in the Blue Box in the first place. "PVC is a soft, flexible plastic used to make clear plastic food wrapping, cooking oil bottles, teething rings, children’s and pets’ toys, and blister packaging for myriad consumer products. It is commonly used as the sheathing material for computer cables, to make plastic pipes and parts for plumbing, and in garden hoses. Because PVC is relatively impervious to sunlight and weather, it is used to make window frames, garden hoses, arbors, raised beds and trellises." Source: https://learn.earthe...by-the-numbers/
 

My solution: check the packaging when you shop. If your cooking oil is in #3, buy another brand. Who wants their food to come in contact with PVC anyway? https://clearandwell...stic-food-wrap/

[Wayne]

Greta is not going to be happy (though she never is).

 

"Recycling of plastics has mostly been a crock"

 

https://nationalpost...-sham-all-along

[Mike K.]

One of the things that really rubs me about the mainstream press is this mindset that they think they represent what society knows or doesn’t know, or can and can’t know.

“We can finally admit...”

Dude. You’re a little late to the party here.

[mbjj]

I'm more likely to buy the cooking oil I prefer, or one which I consider healthy. The packaging is the least of my concerns.

[Victoria Watcher]

News 1130:

 

Human remains found in recycling bin off Kits Point coast

The remains were found in a large blue recycling bin in the water off of Kits Point on Sunday, according to Vancouver Police. The Canadian Coast Guard recovered the bin after multiple calls around 11 a.m. Police are asking people and property managers in the area to check if they're missing a recycling bin.

 

 

 

 

police are particularly eager to hear from people and property managers in the area that are missing both their recycling bin, and a family member/tenant.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 19 October 2020 - 12:33 PM.

[LJ]

So today we decided we were going to do a cleanout of the storage room area. We had tons of empty boxes for stuff we had bought, lots of styrofoam packaging and bunches of metal parts and pieces. The only place you can take styrofoam to recycle is down on Ellery St. in Esquimalt. I have never been in that area before but it was a beehive of activity. To drive into the parking lot you have to navigate a pothole that is at least a foot deep. Job done, now we have to go to Schnitzer Steel to get rid of the metal. Never been in that area before either and won't be making a quick return. The steel yard makes every crime scene in industrial areas that you have seen in movies look like parkland.

 

Fun times.

[Cats4Hire]

Doesn't Hartland accept Styrofoam in the recycling area? They list it under "no charge items" so I assume they do https://www.crd.bc.c...c-drop-off-area

 

potentially a long drive depending where you are I guess though. 

[Rob Randall]

Yes, Hartland takes styrofoam. It was nice to get rid of the big batch we had. I'm pretty sure you don't have to pay if all you're doing is bringing in recycling. London Drugs takes styrofoam, too. 

[vortoozo]

Some of the "return it" depots also take styrofoam and other drop off recyclables such as soft plastics. The "Bottle Depots" stopped accepting them, but other depots like the one in Sidney still take them.

[mbjj]

This is sort of a garbage question, I guess. A house I often pass on my walks, over the past six months to a year, has turned into an outdoor garbage dump of sorts. We can't figure out what's going on there. It used to have a lovely tidy garden, but now there are two campers in the driveway, the entire front yard is full of "stuff" - broken chairs, furniture, bins, flower pots, an old couch, bits of wood all over, like an outdoor hoarding situation. The front porch is covered in debris. They have one of those yellow storage things on the boulevard (been there for months), plus a continual supply of garbage bags and broken furniture and household items spreading out on the boulevard. Now I have noticed a van has taken up residence in front (I've seen the female and her dog going into the house). You can't see the yard unless you're on foot, it's 608 Trutch St. Sure is a weird set-up and a huge mess. There was a plastic Rubbermaid bin full of old leaves and water there the other day, the smell was horrible! 

Edited by mbjj, 15 January 2021 - 03:50 PM.

[johnk2]

I pass houses like that, too. I always think its occupied by an unemployable who inherited it.

[Victoria Watcher]

^ ^ any negatives though?  i think houses like that are a real gem.  every neighbourhood used to have several.

 

i like the houses that are shrouded in trees/mystery like this one:

 

https://www.google.c...!7i13312!8i6656

 

or these ones:

 

https://www.google.c...!4d-123.3747216

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 January 2021 - 03:55 PM.

[mbjj]

Oh ya, the house near Fisherman's Wharf. Have often wondered about it. The house on the Meares corner looks like a cool house. Guess I won't be seeing it twice a week as I used to as I can't drive on Vancouver any longer, har har. 

 

As for the other house on Trutch, years ago we knew the owner. He was American and moved back there. He had a cocker spaniel that my daughter used to say hello to. Then it was owned (I guess) by a couple who seemed to run it as some kind of group home. They had a lovely garden. There was a fellow who had suffered a brain injury living there.  We would see him walking all over town. I used to see the owner working out at the Y. There was also a lady, perhaps not capable of working, but "she's all there", if you know what I mean. She is still living there as I've seen her going in, but the workout guy from the Y suddenly disappeared, maybe two years ago? Whoever is in there now hasn't been there more than a couple of years. The negative with this place is it's becoming an almighty mess. Glad I'm not the neighbour as the fence is starting to collapse as well. 

Edited by mbjj, 16 January 2021 - 08:26 AM.

[Rob Randall]

^You may be interested in the play "The Trutch Street Women".

[Tom Braybrook]

https://www.victoria...ylaw-07-050.pdf

[Dexter]

I know the house and the story well, I just rebuilt the fence between the house and the apartment beside.. Older lady who is definitely dealing with hoarding issues, a tenant who likes to build stuff at 3am while high as a kite, now people living in campers in the driveway. City is well aware. Bylaw has fined her and put a stop work order on the back she’d her former impaired tenant was working on. Neighbours are fed up for sure.

Oh ya, the house near Fisherman's Wharf. Have often wondered about it. The house on the Meares corner looks like a cool house. Guess I won't be seeing it twice a week as I used to as I can't drive on Vancouver any longer, har har.

As for the other house on Trutch, years ago we knew the owner. He was American and moved back there. He had a cocker spaniel that my daughter used to say hello to. Then it was owned (I guess) by a couple who seemed to run it as some kind of group home. They had a lovely garden. There was a fellow who had suffered a brain injury living there. We would see him walking all over town. I used to see the owner working out at the Y. There was also a lady, perhaps not capable of working, but "she's all there", if you know what I mean. She is still living there as I've seen her going in, but the workout guy from the Y suddenly disappeared, maybe two years ago? Whoever is in there now hasn't been there more than a couple of years. The negative with this place is it's becoming an almighty mess. Glad I'm not the neighbour as the fence is starting to collapse as well.

[todd]

“Oak Bay residents can now discard of yard waste in green bins“


“The change comes with a switch to GFL Environmental as the contractor curbside organics“: https://www.saanichn...-in-green-bins/

[Mike K.]

It's the most sensible things since sliced bread. My mum's bin is 95% empty when the CoV picks it up. When will they change their rules to accept garden waste?