The City of Peterborough is reminding residents to sort their blue boxes properly or recycling will not be collected.
The warning comes as a new contractor, Emterra Environmental, begins recycling collection and processing for the city on Friday.
“While the recycling program remains the same, you’re going to see an emphasis on proper sorting of recyclable materials in our public education campaign and enforcement,” stated Dave Douglas, the city’s waste diversion section manager.
“The market for recyclable materials has become much stricter on the quality of materials. To be able to divert these items from landfill, we need to make sure that materials are sorted properly for processing and marketing.”
Douglas advises resides to sort blue boxes properly to ensure recycling is collected. If not, re-sort the items and put them out again on the collection day the following week.
Alternatively, sorted recyclables can be dropped off at the recycling facility at 390 Pido Rd.
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Blue boxes ($3 each) can be purchased at Peterborough GreenUP at 378 Aylmer St., city hall at 500 George St. N or at the recycling facility.
The city also has an online sorting guide.
Reminders for residents include:
- If there are non-recyclables in a blue box, recycling will not be collected.
- Place recycling materials curbside by 7 a.m. on collection day and no sooner than 6 p.m. the evening before.
- Place recyclables loose in blue boxes, separating containers (i.e. plastic, metal, glass, and juice boxes) into one box and paper products (i.e. cardboard, boxboard, newsprint and office paper) into a separate box – do not mix the two streams together.
- Some fibres can be bagged in clear bags, specifically shredded paper or loose pieces of office paper. Ensure that such bags are left untied to make emptying them easier.
- Container items in clear plastic bags or “see-through” blue bags will not be collected – container items need to be loose in blue boxes for collection
- The City of Peterborough has a two-stream (container/fibre) collection system in place. It is extremely important that we all adhere to this so that our material meets recycling marketplace specifications.
- Styrofoam is not accepted (meat trays, plates, cups, etc.)
- Cardboard needs to be flattened and tied in bundles (to a maximum size of 30 inches by 30 inches by eight inches).
- Do not put needles, syringes or lancets in your blue box or garbage; contact a pharmacy or doctor’s office for proper disposal advice.