With the Christmas season winding down, many Edmontonians are left with piles of boxes and wrapping paper to throw away.
Officials at the City of Edmonton’s Materials Recovery Facility expect to see about 400 metric tonnes of material come through the facility every day for the next few weeks.
“This is about double what we’re used to on any average day,” explained plant manager, Riccardo Francese.
As a result, Edmontonians are being reminded of what they can and cannot recycle.
“We see a lot of paper, we see a lot of cardboard, a lot of plastics and tin, which is stuff we love to see,” Francese explained, “Anything cardboard is great, no matter how big it is, as long as you fold it, or anything that can fit in the palm of your two hands is usually what we like to see.”
However, there are a number of items that should not end up in blue bags or bins.
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“Some of the stuff we don’t like to see (are) tires, washing machines, vacuums, big objects that end up either injuring our employees or jamming the equipment,” explained Francese, “We don’t like to see Christmas lights because all this equipment spins, so it jams up the equipment quite readily.”
Francese says items such as these can be taken to one of the Eco Stations in the city.
Another item that cannot be recycled is your Christmas tree.
“Christmas trees can cause problems with the equipment and hurt the workers here so, we don’t want to see Christmas trees in the blue bins at apartments,” said Connie Boyce, Director of Community Relations with the City of Edmonton’s Waste Management Services.
Edmontonians are being asked to place their unbagged Christmas trees next to their garbage bags, on their sides, on Friday, January 11, 2013. Trees will be picked up for recycling within the next two weeks.
Apartment and condo residents are asked to take their Christmas trees to a community recycling depot until January 25, 2013, or to an Eco Station until January 31, 2013. Christmas trees should not be placed in or beside apartment recycling or waste bins.
All ornaments, tinsel, garlands, and tree stands must be removed from the tree in order for it to be acceptable for recycling.
For a full breakdown of what goes where, see the document below:
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