North Shore residents are expert recyclers: you know your "3Rs" by heart; almost 100% of you participate in the Blue Box program; three-quarters of you put yard trimmings at the curb for composting; and 80% of all beverage containers are returned to bottle depots.
But do you recycle your food? According to Metro Vancouver, more than one third of the garbage we send to the landfill is food waste of some kind. This typically consists of expired food that we purchased but didn't use, plate scrapings, and food scraps such as fruit and vegetable peels. On the North Shore, a year's worth of food scraps from our single-family homes weighs more than 7,575 tonnes, which is as much as 47 SeaBuses.
We should all strive to reduce the amount of food we throw away. But for what food scraps we do create, North Shore Residents have better options than sending them to the landfill: backyard composting and Green Can curbside collection.
Because backyard composting is the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to recycle fruit and vegetable scraps and yard trimmings, the North Shore Recycling Program sells subsidized backyard compost bins. The Green Can Program, which collects food scraps and yard trimmings curbside, can be used for items which are difficult to compost safely in bear country, such as cooked plate scrapings, meat, grains and dairy. Either way, you will take noticeably less garbage to the curb. To help you recycle your food, The North Shore Recycling Program offers Compost Coaching: free, customized backyard composting and Green Can support for any North Shore resident.
Learn more about recycling your food and book a free Coaching appointment by visiting the North Shore Recycling Program and the North Shore Black Bear Society at the North Vancouver Home Expo.
