Halifax region and recycling

[bornagainbiking]

I was in town about 2 weks ago. It seems Halifax in not really into waste reduction. I was at a huge apartment building in Armdale area and NO blue boxes. and No green box.

Terrible shame, I am so brainwashed with our set up in southern ontario.

[someone123]

HRM has a recycling program and was one of the first cities in Canada to have green bins. If you walk around in the city you'll also see separated garbage bins.

[Jonovision]

The only problem is the large apartment buildings are not required to provide green bins. I believe they all must have blue bins though. I know some do now have green bins as well. But most people living there can't be bothered. It's easy to throw garbage bags down the shoot. It takes time and effort to bring recyclables and compost down to the basement and separate it.

[halifaxboyns]

Wow Jono; I couldn't find any rules in the Peninsula and Mainland Bylaws at all - here I was thinking that was wrong.

I know when I worked there; most developers for new buildings provided waste and recycling areas; but if it wasn't through the LUB it must be through some site servicing requirements.

In Calgary; the LUB has provision for garbage/recycling facilities in the general rules for all Multi-residential buildlings. However this only applies to new developments approved under 1P2007 (after June 1, 2008):

Garbage
566 (1) Garbage containers and waste material must be stored either:
(a) inside a building; or
(b) in a garbage container enclosure approved by the
Development Authority.
(2) A garbage container enclosure:
(a) must not be located between a building and a public street;
and
(b) unless specified in subsection (3) must not be located in a
setback area.
(3) Where the main residential building is a Multi-Residential
Development a garbage container enclosure may be located in a
setback area from another parcel provided that:
(a) the wall of the enclosure is constructed of maintenance free
materials; and
(b) there is no overhang of eaves onto an adjacent parcel or
lane.

567 Recycling Facilities
567 Recycling facilities must be provided for every Multi‑Residential
Development.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by bornagainbiking

I was in town about 2 weks ago. It seems Halifax in not really into waste reduction. I was at a huge apartment building in Armdale area and NO blue boxes. and No green box.

Terrible shame, I am so brainwashed with our set up in southern ontario.

Quite the opposite actually, we are ahead of the rest of the country.

Recyclables are picked up by the city and we also have compost bins...

[Wishblade]

I live in a multi unit building and there certainly is recycling bins and green bins outside.

[halifaxboyns]

Originally Posted by Wishblade

I live in a multi unit building and there certainly is recycling bins and green bins outside.

It was my experience when I worked for HRM that most new buildings were putting them in; that was 7 years ago.

[bornagainbiking]

So sorry, it must have been where I was. I sorted my papers, cans and plastics and went downstairs and outside and not a blue box in sight.
Yes, Nova Scotia was yrs ahead, in the late 80s in the Annapolis valley we had weekly pick up by the parents of the scouts and they took it to a local guy, who paid them and sorted and shipped it out.
Funny I like the bottle depot concept in a way, as in Ontario you have to wait in long lines to turn in empties and resupply.
However, consider the individual without a car. You have to take your empties one place and buy in another, For example drop off on Herring Cove Rd and pick up at the Sobeys. They should be side by side or very close and 2 min walk.

[Keith P.]

HRM (and NS in general) wastes huge amounts of money on recycling and composting boondoggles. We certainly lead the country in that category.

[phrenic]

Yeah, a huge waste of money that achieves nearly 50% waste diversion from landfills and has been a model for many jurisdictions in Canada and around the world.

Huge waste...

Contrary to what the resident right-wing cynic will tell you, recycling and waste diversion is one thing that, overall, Nova Scotia really, really excels at in comparison to other provinces and is generally one of most effective programs the provincial government spends money on. We actually should be quite proud of what we've accomplished having achieved 50% waste diversion rates more than once and never less than 40% since things kicked into high gear in 1995.

The problem is despite our overall success in diverting waste streams from landfills, every municipality seems to have different standards for what is acceptable and what isn't, what can get recycled and what can't, etc.

There needs to be more streamlining of that process. For instance, until recently, you could only properly recycle CFL bulbs in the Annapolis valley as the recycling plant there was the only one that had the equipment to remove the mercury from the bulbs - you had to throw the bulbs in the trash in every other municipality.

[phrenic]

Originally Posted by Jonovision

The only problem is the large apartment buildings are not required to provide green bins. I believe they all must have blue bins though. I know some do now have green bins as well. But most people living there can't be bothered. It's easy to throw garbage bags down the shoot. It takes time and effort to bring recyclables and compost down to the basement and separate it.

This. Composing is not mandatory, but every building is supposed to provide bins for separating bottles and paper. Many provide composting bins as well, but some don't bother.

If yours doesn't have blue bins you should bring that up with your super.

[Phalanx]

Unlike curbside pickup, I'm guessing it's pretty hard to enforce recycling rules in apartment buildings. Especially with the old, pre-recycling requirement infrastructure (single, undivided garbage chute). With curbside pickup, things can be rejected if not sorted properly, at least.

Are newer apartment/condo structures built with recycling in mind at all?

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by phrenic

Yeah, a huge waste of money that achieves nearly 50% waste diversion from landfills and has been a model for many jurisdictions in Canada and around the world.

There have been more than a few suggestions that a lot of stuff that residents expend unpaid labor to separate and organize and gift-wrap for the garbage police all actually ends up in the same place in the end - the landfill. Especially so now since there is no market for many recyclables.

[Jstaleness]

I have heard the same about this. I hope that it is not true.

[phrenic]

It's not.

People make some pretty broad assumptions based on the recyclables market being softer than usual. Stuff tends to build up longer in the storage facility lately before being sold. That's all.

Keith, you are right in one aspect - there is an issue with work redundancy in HRM with public trash/recycling bins. Despite asking people to place different items in different bins, all bins are often dumped into the same space during pickup and are re-sorted by workers later on. However, this would arguably have to happen anyway as many people don't take the time to put the proper items in the proper bins and they end up a mess regardless.