Recycling just got a little easier in West Vancouver.
A series of new public recycling bins has been installed in Horseshoe Bay, part of a District of West Vancouver pilot project to measure the impact and benefit that public recycling could have throughout the municipality.
The pilot project kicked off last week when a series of seven triple-stream receptacles – bins for plastic containers, paper and garbage disposal that are grouped together – were installed in public spaces around Horseshoe Bay Village. An eighth triple-stream receptacles is slated for installation.
Data collected by the district over the course of the year-long project will be presented to council next year, who will then decide on whether to install more public recycling in other locations around the municipality.
“We’ve replaced the street-facing garbage cans within the village with three-stream recycling and garbage cans,” said Aaron Bichard, the district’s community programs co-ordinator. “It’s allowing the public the chance to recycle while they’re out in the village.”
Citing data from 2015, Bichard said that 181 tonnes of garbage was collected from district streetscapes and parks that year. Bichard said the pilot project will give district staff a good indication of how much streetscape waste could be diverted for recycling in the future when they have to make their recommendations to council.
A constant challenge in public-space recycling is ensuring the new bins are used correctly, Bichard said.
“It’s so dependent on the user getting the materials into the right streams, because if you put any contaminates in any of the recycling, then that can lead to that entire stream of recycling that’s picked up there ending up going to the landfill,” Bichard said. “That’s why we’re doing this long study to see if it’s something we can do feasibly in West Vancouver.”
The project’s new bins are modelled on the success of the district’s curbside waste collection program.
Horseshoe Bay residents and visitors will notice the new bins mimic the familiar yellow and blue recycling bins they use at home.
