The Thompson Recycling Centre is reminding Thompsonites to keep recyclable material and regular waste separate after cleanup crews discovered a blue bin filled to the brim with dog waste. Should bins be found to contain an inordinate amount of regular waste, they will not be collected until the issue is resolved.
The City of Thompson typically bears a 16 per cent contamination rate among recyclable materials overall. More than likely, every bin has at least one item that doesn’t belong in recycling. However, recycling centre manager Billie-Joe Thompson notes that a stray pizza box will not result in your recycling sitting on the curb for an extra week: they’re looking for the big messes. “We know people are going to make mistakes, and we’re going to find the odd thing in recycling bins that shouldn’t be there,” Thompson assured. “There’s a difference between that and blatant things, like diapers or animal waste, that pose a greater risk to employees.”
Many regular waste items, like hygienic products and rotting foods, represent a potential health risk for recycling center employees, and result in higher costs with the need for more personal protective equiprment, a cost ultimately shouldered by taxpayers. Costs also accumulate from landfill haulage, as well as time lost by downstream workers due to a bottleneck at the sorting site. The effect is greater when one considers that a heavily soiled bin may further contaminate a significant portion of a recycling load when the waste is collected.
Thompson also took the opportunity to note that while glass items are recyclable in principle, they must be dropped off at the recycling depot personally rather than left in bins, as broken glass presents a safety hazard for recycling workers.
The best reason to observe the rules is that the small effort can greatly impact the employees' work environment. “It has a huge affect on morale here; employees get upset, nauseous, and set back in their work,” said Thompson. “With the spring coming, we want to try to nip it in the bud now.”
