Organic Recycling

Disposal Ban of Organics in Metro Vancouver

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Vancouver continues to move toward its goal of becoming the Greenest City by 2020. By imagining solutions and opportunities that can help residents and businesses to more effectively deal with household waste, they get closer every year. It’s estimated that nearly 35-40% of everything that we throw away is food waste; if diverted into a composting system, this adds up to a substantial amount kept out of our landfills. Which is why, starting in 2015, Metro Vancouver will be instating a ban on disposing organics and food waste into regular garbage bins.

There are huge community and environmental benefits to composting. As the food waste breaks down through natural processes, it can create valuable fertilizers that can help to enrich the soil with potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus. It reduces overall greenhouse gas emissions and lengthens the life of our existing landfills, saving valuable space and local resources.

For some eye-opening stats on the amount of organic waste produced every day, as well for solutions on how to responsibly dispose of compastable waste visit our past blog Getting Serious About Organic Waste Reduction.  If you are interested  to learn more about the process that your organic waste goes through when it is processed you can check-out Part 2 of our Organic Waste Reduction blog.

Some things that can go into the compost bin:

  • Fruit & vegetable scraps
  • Eggshells, dairy
  • Meat & fish bones
  • Teabags
  • Coffee filters & grounds
  • Breads, pasta, rice
  • Food soiled paper products (pizza boxes, napkins, cardboard egg cartons)
  • Grass, leaves, weeds, plants
  • Cooked food & grease

Some prohibited items:

  • Any type of plastic (including compostable/biodegradable plastic bags)
  • Rocks, soil
  • Diapers
  • Animal waste
  • Wood products & lumber
  • Branches bigger than 10 cm (4″)  in diameter, and more than 0.5m (1.6ft) in length

These developments are very much in-line with the ideology of Green Coast Rubbish. We’ve seen the evidence firsthand of how much these compostable items can add up – in 2013 alone, we diverted 30.39 tonnes of organic material! By actively working together toward creating composting solutions with Metro Vancouver, we can all contribute to the success of this important program in our communities.

For more information about composting and the upcoming ban on organics, check out the Metro Vancouver website, and the City of Vancouver’s Green Bin Program.

Drywall Recycling

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Drywall (also known as gypsum, gyprock or sheetrock) is a highly recyclable and widely used construction material that is originally derived from the common mineral gypsum. A unique characteristic of drywall is that it can be essentially recycled forever with no degradation to the material. Old and discarded drywall can be ground up, turned into a paste and repressed into new panels.

Originally developed in the early 1900’s, it became popular as a lightweight and more convenient alternative to traditional materials of lath and plaster, which were typically used at the time.

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Today drywall can be found throughout the world, and it is typically used when constructing interior walls and ceilings. Though drywall is 100% recyclable, if it’s not disposed of properly, it can have damaging effects on the environment — including being harmful marine life if is dumped into our waterways, or allowed to come in contact with storm drains. It also has the potential to clog pipes or block water flow in those areas, so disposing drywall in environmentally conscious ways is important.

During 2013, Green Coast Rubbish assisted our clients in the Lower Mainland recycle over 53 tonnes of drywall — which is an increase of nearly 60% over 2012. We’ve helped haul drywall and construction waste from residential, commercial, construction and demolition properties throughout the Greater Vancouver area.

After removing the drywall, we work with New West Gypsum Recycling Ltd., who are the world leaders in the safe recycling of these materials. Since the inception of their company in 1985, their facilities have processed more than 4.5 million tonnes of gypsum! Their process involves separating the various components of the sheets, and then grinding the filtered plaster, which is eventually reincorporated into the manufacturing of new drywall panels.

We believe that small steps add up to big improvements. We’re always looking for new ways to keep recyclable materials out of our landfills, and working in conjunction with other like-minded businesses who have similar environmental mandates.

 

Green Building App

Green Building Apps

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Besides our business commitment at Green Coast Rubbish to preserve and clean up our environment, we are also personally excited about new technologies that help people become more aware of their urban surroundings, and ways we can help its preservation. Recently a lot of smart phone apps have popped up that do just this.

Some of our favorites combine fascinating environmental info and architectural facts together. Two awesome examples we’ve found are the ‘Green Building App’, which enables people to discover Green Buildings throughout Vancouver (in proximity to where they are). As well as the ‘Green Building Audio Tours’, which are short podcasts recorded by a member of the design team explaining specific features of that building. You can listen to them at any time by simply calling a phone number. It’s a great way to discover more about each building, and learn more about the neighborhoods they belong to. This tour includes several buildings constructed for the 2010 Winter Olympics — such as the Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre, and the Trout Lake Rink — to name just a few. If you have a bit of time to explore, check out one of these free apps while you’re out. Whether you’re a tourist or a local, you’re sure to gain a deeper understanding about the city, and the innovative ways we’re working to improve it.

Vancouver aims to become the Greenest City in the world by 2020, and it’s taking big steps toward that goal. By constructing buildings that mimic natural processes to help produce/conserve energy and water, and incorporating state-of-the-art technology in the design, we encourage environmental innovation for the future. And thankfully, conserving resources doesn’t have to sacrifice style, as evidenced by the unique beauty and functionality of many of these new sustainable developments.