Recycling personas

Her heart is in the right place, but sadly, her containers are not. She has great intentions and goes by the mantra ‘Surely this can be recycled!’, but the truth is, she doesn’t really know if an item actually belongs in her recycling tote at all.

If this sounds like you:
When in doubt, throw it out! Items that find their way into the recycling tote but are not actually accepted can contaminate entire loads of material. If you are unsure about a material or item, go to squamish.ca/wastewizard, type in the item in question, and find information about how and where to dispose of it in town.

Stanley stacks more than he can handle, from empty yogurt containers and ice cream tubs to bundled plastic bottles, boxes full of cans, and bags filled with other recyclable materials. Stan will do anything to keep his items together. Clearly, he has skills!

If this sounds like you:
While it may not be easy at times, recyclable materials need to be kept loose in your recycling tote in order to be properly processed and recycled. The sorting machines at the recycling facility cannot sort stacked or bagged materials, and for safety reasons, neither can staff. Always keep your items loose in your recycling tote to reduce contamination and maximize the value of your materials.

Morgan does big shopping trips and has a hard time saying no to a good deal. Her tote is always overflowing with shoe boxes, containers and other fun finds. ‘So many containers, so little space!’ she thinks as her tote overflows, making it impossible to close. Little does she know, all recycling must fit in the tote with the lid closed and nothing left behind or collection won’t happen at all.

If this sounds like you:
If finding the space in your recycling tote is a challenge, consider dropping off excess materials at a depot or drop-off location to lighten your load in between collections. Totes that are not closed can damage the arms of the collection trucks and therefore may not be collected.

Life feels complicated enough, can’t recycling be simple?! Anxious Andy assesses materials several times a day, unsure if they can go in his curbside recycling tote. He has not heard about handy tools like the What Goes Where Guide or Waste Wizard and feels all alone in a complex world of household recycling.

If this sounds like you:
If not knowing how to dispose of materials seems overwhelming, or you find yourself making more garbage than you would like, don’t worry, we’re here to help! Let us give you tools and knowledge you need to make recycling easier.