Waste free ablutions - part one

As we enter the final week of our official waste-free month I am noticing that we are running low on things like hand lotion, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush and toothpaste.   I am determined not only to eliminate landfill waste but to also reduce our use of packaging in general.  Which means sourcing bulk materials and making some things from scratch.

Shampoo and Conditioner

I am all about making things from scratch, but when it comes to my hair, I am a bit of a freak. It's not that I have great hair, it's quite blah in fact, but I love my hairdresser and will sacrifice shaggy need a haircut badly for as long as it takes to get an appointment with him over having anyone else touch my hair. Maybe because I hardly wear makeup and my wardrobe is a little dated that I think my hair is something that I can wear that makes me look (and feel) good about myself. And when it comes to shampoo and conditioner, I tend to go with the salon brands over the natural health food store brands, mainly because my hair feels so much better (but who am I to judge).

Brought my hair home to compost

I recently got a haircut and got to chatting with my hairdresser (as you do), Ken, about our family's challenge, partly to explain why I wanted to take my hair home with me.   To make a long story short  Ken has agreed to sell me shampoo and conditioner from his salon, as he buys in bulk already anyways, and didn't think it was a very good idea for me to buy a 5 gallon tub of shampoo.

While we were on the topic of environment, Ken and his boyfriend introduced me to environmentally friendly hair care products made by Kevin Murphy. This australian stylist/ surfer wanted to a professional brand of hair care product that suited his lifestyle and and no impact on the environment, in other words, he wanted to be able to feel good about washing his hair in the river.  His product comes packages in high quality plastic bottles, that are box shaped instead of the traditional cylindrical bottles.  Finally a marketer gets smart and saves all that wasted space - not only in the consumer's shelves, but more impotently in the transportation of goods.  Ingenious!

And that is why I won't let anyone besides Ken touh my hair.  Not only is he an amazing hairdresser, he will accommodate his clients needs and is open minded.  I can now buy salon quality shampoo that is environmentally friendly and safe to use on my baby, and can completely avoid new packaging!

Week 3 - Clumsy Waste Week

Is zero waste even possible?

What a week!  Six broken dishes, a broken measuring cup, a broken pairs of tongs, a broken hair band, a toothbrush, another empty pen, a few other packaging remnants from the freezer (ice cream carton, prawns, bacon wrapping), some gauze I used for cleaning Eli's eye, the plastic seal from a bottle of Children's Tylenol, and some fabric scraps and thread from sewing bulk bags.

I am beginning to think that producing absolutely no waste is next to impossible, least we live on a desert island with no material goods whatsoever. Darn things keep breaking on us. Well actually I accept full blame for the broken plates and measuring cup; I don't know why I put glass things in reach of little hands. But the plastic tongs and hair band... pure low quality plastic crapmanship.

I had thought that last week's purge would have put us in the running for a zero waste week, but that is not the case. Pieces of packaging keep popping up all over the place. I hope that by the end of this month we are able to get rid of all the garbage in the house (at least the packaging material) and then we can start with a clean slate (literally) for another kick at the cow.

Yes, we will continue on this zero waste journey for at least another month. In part to see if we can actually go a month without producing garbage, and also because we are only starting to get a taste of what zero-waste living is all about.  Everyday there is something else that I think, "I should do something about that." Right now I am in search of a sustainable toothbrush.

On another, but related note. A funny thing happened this weekend during our yard sale.  A woman was admiring a mug I had for sale.  Me being a saleswoman said "oh, that is such a great mug to pull out at Christmas", to which the woman replied, "You don't want to know what I'm going to do with it?!!"

I looked at her and then thought, what else could one possibly do with a mug "You are going to smash it aren't you?" The woman nodded in agreement and then went on to describe the bird house she was making, using broken ceramics as tiles, and using the handle for the perch. How clever.

I quickly ran inside and grabbed the box of broken dishes and ceramics from my clumsy week to show the woman.  She seemed as excited as I was about not having to buy and then break perfectly good disheware, and I was more than happy to know that this woman was going to turn our waste into purposeful art.

I am not a very religious person, but I can't help that think that God had something to do with that coincidence.  I mean what are the odds that this woman would appear at our home the very week that I had broken all those dishes. And for the conversation to reveal that she was looking for broken dishes.  I must have told this story at least ten times in the last 24 hours, but I am still in awe about what happened.

What do you think?  Was this woman too nice to say, "No thanks dear, I am looking for a different pattern/ colour/ style."? Did I just pass my garbage onto someone else? Do you know this woman who is making this birdhouse (I forgot to ask for her name and number so I can follow up)?  Is zero waste possible? How much garbage does your family produce a week?

Happy Earth Day

Eli and I celebrated Earth Day with the students and teachers of Haldane Elementary School on Thursday, where I was invited to speak about our family's attempt to live waste-free.  I felt strangely comfortable speaking in front of such a large audience, perhaps it had something to do with over half the school raising their hands 'yes' to my question: "Is it possible live without garbage?"

Haldane Elementary is one of the greenest schools in Canada, having completed over 6000 Seeds Foundation environmental activities under the leadership of a very dedicated teacher (who happens to share her birthday with Earth Day) Brenda Malnechuck. Haldane is a place where one could strike up a  conversation about the depleting Sockeye Salmon stock in the Adam's River, or talk about why more people should walk and ride bikes, and probably learn a thing or two from the eight year olds.  

Earth Day begins every year at Haldane Elementary with an assembly. This year's theme was "Rethink First" - I wonder if it was any coincidence that I was invited to speak?  Students entering the gymnasium  were greeted by the Recycle Queens of the Environmental Mind Grind hosting a game of Green Jeopardy that kept the masses entertained while waiting for classes to arrive and be seated. 

Once the school was assembled, everyone stood, faced the flag, and sang "O Canada". I always get goose bumps around the verse "God keep our land glorious and free", and today was no exception.  It felt so good to be celebrating this special day with these stewards of the planet. 

The students listened patiently as teachers, representatives from environmental associations (Ministry of Forests, TNRD, Ministry of Environment), the town Reverend, the Mayor, and others gave praise and congratulations for their actions to help save the planet.  And as Mrs. Ruddrick's class sang catchy tunes about saving the environment, one couldn't help but smile on the inside.

When it was my turn to speak, I went over  the basic rules of our challenge and listed the contents of our family's garbage over the past three weeks.  Although I had come to the event thinking that I would teach a few things about waste reduction, it didn't surprise me to find out that in fact I was going to be the student at Haldane.

As we broke out into smaller groups after the assembly, one boy suggested we fix the plastic tongs that (my sister Jen) broke.  Another suggested we reuse the six dishes I clumsily broke during a late-night clean out of the dinning hutch as ornaments in the garden.  Hmmm, not a bad ideas, why didn't I think of those?

Students spent the remainder of the day planting trees, gardening, picking up litter, making homemade paper, learning about how to reduce conflicts between bears and people, talking about waste reduction and doing fun activities like recycle relays and waste audits. A group of First Nations mothers hosted a used toy sale to raise funds for Japan relief (I broke one of our rules and bought a set of blocks for Eli, but I feel justified as it was more like a charitable donation than a purchase of material goods - plus the blocks were second hand).

Spending the day with the students of Haldane has put a little light in my heart, the Earth is going to be okay once today's youth are in charge.  These children have no choice but to make the Earth a better place. I'm thankful for people like Brenda Malnechuck who ensure that future generations have the tools to make the right choices.  I just hope that when Brenda retires in the next few years that another teacher will step up and carry on the legacy of Haldane Elementary School.

How do you feel about the fate of our planet? Do you have a story about a school quietly making a difference in your community?  What did you do to celebrate Earth Day?

What a waste!!!

On Saturday I took St. Johns Ambulance First Aid training level 1.  I think that the medical industry is likely one of the most wasteful industries out there. And for all intents and purposes, I can understand the need for sterile materials - I don't want to get contaminated by someone else's disease. But for training purposes?

The first lesson was on how to dress minor wounds. After watching a short video of a guy who cuts his arm trying to remove a jam from a photocopier, we all went into the training room and got to practice dressing a wound on a partner.

"Open the first aid kit, take out a gauze pad and cover the wound" ... rip ... the sound of eight people ripping open a package of gauze.

"Now take another piece of gauze to clean the wound" ... rip ... the sound of eight more packages of gauze being opened. I strain not to say anything.

"Dry around the wound with another piece of gauze" ... rip ... by now my eyes are as wide as could be and the thoughts are racing through my head - can't we just pretend to open a fresh package of gauze every time?

"Time to make the dressing, place the butterfly closures over the wound and cover with another piece of gauze. Wrap the elastic gauze thingy (I forget its name already) around the wound... rip ... rip ... rip!!!

When it is my turn to dress my partner's wound, I refuse to use more than a single piece of gauze.  The trainer catches me pretending to open the second piece of gauze and scolds me, explaining that if I were to reuse a piece of gauze in real life that I could cause serious damage and infection. Practice should be a real as possible.

I explained to her that using four pieces of gauze for training purposes was a waste and that pretending to open the package every time has the same effect on the brain as actually opening a package of gauze. She rolled her eyes and said "oh, you're an environmentalist".

I don't know why, but I find the term "environmentalist" almost derogatory. It's like once I get labeled an environmentalist, I am different from the general population (at least in Kamloops, although there is a growing population of people who care about the future) and therefore my behaviour is excused as just extreme environmentalism. Instead of trying to relate to what I am saying - hmm maybe you have a point there, we could just pretend to open the packages of gauze - I get labeled an environmentalist and the rest of the class (except my partner) continues to use virgin material for every exercise.

By the end of the day, our class of 16 had managed to fill all three garbage cans with gauze, dressings, tape, numerous pairs of vinyl gloves (because we had to use a new pair for every exercise), and other unused first aid supplies. I decide that I won't be able to change this woman's mind, but maybe I can bring the issue up with someone higher up in the organization.  In the next few days I will write a letter to the Executive Director of St. John's Ambulance and offer a few suggestions about how the organization might save a few dollars ;)

What do you think? Am I being way too sensitive about wasteful behaviour, perhaps because of this challenge? Do you think that pretending has the same effect on the brain? Do you have any issues about wastefulness? What what are they? Have you ever been called an environmentalist? How does it feel?

Friday Night, Pizza Night

Wow, I am on a blogroll today (two in a row). I meant to blog about this last week but just never found the time.  Perhaps I was secretly hoping that Trevor would take the lead on this one, as it was his idea.

It all started last Friday when I asked Trevor if he wanted to go out for dinner (I always want to go out for dinner on Fridays). He suggested that we make pizza instead, to which I replied, "Do you know how long it takes to make pizza dough??!!" He said that there might be a breadmaker recipe that would simplify the process.

Good ol' google (what ever did we do without google?).  I didn't find a breadmaker recipe that took less than four hours, but I did find recipe that doesn't require yeast (cutting out the three hours or so it takes yeast to do its 'thing').  In total it took less than an hour from recipe search to in the tummy yummy goodness.

Quick and Easy Pizza

We used the Quick and Easy Crust last week and the Breadmaker Crust this week (makes 1 pizza):

Preheat oven to 425 F

Quick and Easy Crust
2 cups flour ( I used a mixture all purpose and whole wheat)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil

Breadmaker Crust
3/4 cup warm water
3 teaspoons skim milk powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons yeast
pinch of salt

Toppings
Pizza sauce (I mixed a little wine - just enough to get the right consistency - with tomato paste and some Italian spices)
Grated cheese (I think we used Havarti as it was all we had)
Mixed vegetables (we used onions, mushrooms, green pepper, and zucchini)
Sandwich meat

Directions
If you have a breadmaker, put all the ingredients into the pan and set to pizza dough (I assume, Trevor did it so I can't say for sure). The dough takes about 3 hours in the breadmaker.  The dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.  Follow the steps for rolling and topping pizza below (or use your own tried and true method).

If you choose to top your pizza with fried veggies, chop them into whatever shape you like (I dice them really small so that Eli doesn't notice). Fry on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add some spices like taco seasoning or chili powder to give them a little extra flavour.

While the veggies are cooking, mix first four quick and easy crust ingredients into a dough.  Roll the dough into whatever shape you want (we have a rectangular stone plate). Place the pizza dough onto the pan and spread as much olive oil as you feel comfortable consuming (I used the full 1/4 cup). The oil keeps the sauce from making the crust soggy.

Next spread the pizza sauce over the pizza. If you want to make an authentic Italian pizza (correct me if I am wrong), put the cheese on after the sauce - before adding the other toppings. Then top your pizza with whatever else you decide. We did half vegetarian and half veggie/ham.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.  While you are waiting for the pizza to cook, count how much money you saved and how much waste you reduced by making your own pizza instead of ordering out.  Let the pizza stand for a few minutes when the crust is golden, and enjoy.

Week 2 - The Purge

Spring cleaning is in the air, at least in our house.  I came home energized from a day of skiing on Sunday night and decided to bite the bullet and remove every piece of garbage (plastic) from our cupboards and closets that I could find.

I started in the kitchen methodically putting everything in glass jars (I won't need to buy any more spices for a loooong time... does anyone have a recipe that calls for lots of cinnamon?). What a difference - more space, everything is visible, and looks so much better (I love the look of food in jars, especially the food I can).

Cleansing our home of all the cheap and tacky toxic leaching petroleum based end up in the landfill or in the middle of the ocean junk could be likened to the squeaky clean feeling you get after a facial, or getting your teeth cleaned at the dentist.  Ahhh. Super clean.

Not that I have anything against plastic, it has its purpose, just not in our home anymore.  I am no expert (yet) on living without plastic so check out this Vancouver girl's blog to find out what life without plastic is all about.

While I was in the cleansing mode, I went through the rest of the house in search of waste.  I am somewhat of a collector so I had to be diligent, keeping in mind that stockpiling is not part of waste reduction, it only delays the inevitable trip to the landfill (or recycler).

Old toothbrushes - see ya, broken pair of ski googles - well maybe Eli gets a new toy for a while, plastic food scale that doesn't work - bye bye.  Ahhh decluttering is so refreshing.  I don't even feel bad about landfilling these things because I know that from now on I will only buy durable, non-plastic products that I can pass along to Eli when the time comes.  Thoughtful purchases only.

We're going to have a yard sale on Saturday April 23.  Hopefully we will find more loving homes for all the plastic items that are no longer welcome in our home (dish drying tray, toys galore, plastic gift bags, birthday party decorations, etc.).

Needless to say, we have much more garbage this week than last week, but in my defence, it was all garbage that we incurred (long) before we started this challenge. I have a separate bin for all the garbage incurred since April 1, which currently holds a piece of plastic wrap that packaged a bunch of forms for Eli's daycare and some dental floss.

Dinner with Aunt Ivy

Aunt Ivy lives in Ontario (I can't remember exactly where) and has come to BC for a visit. I have never met Trevor's aunt, but she seems like a lovely lady - one who sends hand-made gifts for special occasions (Elianna's birth, our wedding).

Aunt Ivy is in town tonight and Mike and Hilary (father and step-mother in-law) have invited us to dine with her. Trevor has informed me that they are ordering Asian food for delivery... great, I don't have to cook. But what about the waste? Technically it isn't our waste (and I can't say for sure whether it will be recyclable or not), but I can't help myself...

"Umm, sweetie, do you think it would be alright if we bring reusable containers to the restaurant and ask them to put our order in the containers?" I look at Trevor as if to say, 'am I taking this too far?'

Trevor rolls his eyes and looks at me as if to confirm 'yes, you are pushing it a little'.  I was not shocked by the his reaction, Trevor is the type of person who doesn't like to impose on anyone. "You can talk to my Dad about it," was his response.

I phone Grandpa Dick (Mike) and ask if it would be alright if we brought containers for the take-away food he was planning to order.  He is so much like Trevor that I knew he would try to appease me, as long as it didn't put anyone else out.  No problem, in fact, we could pick up the food on our way over.

I called Chilli King to make sure that they wouldn't have a problem bringing our own containers for take-away.   I'm not sure if the lady who answered understood what I had asked, but we will find out soon enough.

On the topic of appeasement, I am also the type of person who doesn't like to impose on anyone, or make anyone feel uncomfortable. I think I try too hard to make other people happy, and often at my own expense. I consider myself to be environmentally conscious and responsible (most of the time, although hard-core greenies would find many flaws), but many times I act contrary to my beliefs, to make other people happy.

How stupid is that?  I am sure there is innate rationale for conformity, but why should I feel bad about doing the things that I think are right? Things that have a lesser impact on the environment, like saving a few resources.

This challenge is a good excuse to not conform. This challenge is my scape goat, my expressed justification for putting food in containers at the grocery store, or for asking my father-in-law if we could pick up the food from the restaurant in reusable containers.  I just wish that someday I won't feel guilty for being the person I am. I wish that someday I won't be frowned upon for asking someone to make a little extra effort, for the sake of our children's future.

Is it too much to ask to look beyond our immediate needs (wants) and to think about the consequences of our actions?

Week 1 - (almost) waste-free

Me, Trevor and week one waste!

We celebrated our first week by tallying up our waste.  Blaine from inKamloops.ca Magazine sent me an email asking if we had managed to go waste-free.  Well, not quite but pretty close, here is a breakdown of our first week's waste stream:

Week-1 garbage (8 oz):

• dental floss
• blister packs from medications
• an empty pen
• plastic seal from wine bottle
• mesh bag from 3-pack of garlic
• plastic packaging from spaghetti 
• used band-aide
• plastic film from the window of a spaghetti box
• plastic film from ground veggie meat
• tape from a parcel that was delivered (the box was recycled)
• small pieces of scrap nylon fabric that I used to make bulk bags

Week-1 diversion:

• 3 totes of recyclable material (newspaper, flyers, plastic containers, cans)
• 3 ice cream pails of compost

The perfect waste-free pet

Elianna has lots of love for Friday.

Friday is our cat and he is a natural when it comes to waste-free living.  He was Elianna's first birthday present, a gift that will last maybe not our lifetime, but a long time, and the best cat a young, waste-free family could hope for.

Eli loves Friday, and he must love her too, because he puts up with all the "love" she gives him. Her love comes in the form of hugs and tail tugs.   But Friday is a good cat and just takes all the love (sometimes I can even hear him purr).

Anyways, I digress (yet again) from the point of this story. Friday is a waste-free pet. Cats are known to be quite finicky, especially when it comes to their diet.  The vet told me that when I change cat foods brands, I should slowly introduce the new brand my mixing a little of it each feeding.  Sorry Friday, we waited too long.

I spent a good part of the day searching for cat food.  No Name brand was the only brand I could find.  It came in a boxboard box with no plastic coating or seal.
I don't have anything against buying No Name brand, my pantry is quite yellow in fact.  But cat food? I am not informed enough to say for sure that it isn't a good choice, but he is part of our family and I want to make sure he gets a healthy diet as well.  I bought the No Name brand anyways and some fancy canned food (which we never buy) to mix with it. Friday must be an anomaly, he ate the food without a fuss.

He is the perfect waste-free cat, not only does he put up with whatever food brand of cat food I feed him, he doesn't even use the litter box. He is an outside cat and does what I am sure most outdoor cats do, finds a nice garden bed to do his business. 

It was obvious that he would not be a 'safe' indoor cat the day I brought him home. He meowed incessantly at the window, as if to tell me, "Please, don't listen to what they told you at the SPCA, just let me go outside. I need to be outside. I won't let you sleep until you let me GO OUTSIDE!"

I can appreciate that people love their cats and want them to be safe.  But cats are meant to be outside.  It is in their nature.  Yes, I have lost two other cats to forces of nature (a street dog in Thailand, and the other I'm not sure but I suspect maybe a coyote), but if you want to cut one more chore out of your busy life, then think about it. Outdoor cats are happy cats.

Milk Cartons Are Recyclable

Milk Container Recycling Program

This will be a short blog.  I wasn't surprised to see that only 68% of people who voted on my poll thought that milk cartons were recyclable.  Not exactly a reliable statistic because only 16 people voted, but it goes to show that there is a need for some awareness about the fact that milk cartons are recyclable. In fact, all containers used to hold milk or milk substitute beverages are recyclable.


In Kamloops, milk containers can be recycled at the following bottle depots (which by the way have amazing customer service as well):

• General Grants North Shore Bottle Depot*, 611 Fortune Drive
• Full Refund Bottle Depot, #115-805 Notre Dame Drive
• Lorne Street Bottle Depot*, 270 Halston Avenue

Click here to find locations outside Kamloops to recycle your dairy containers.

*These locations also recycle electronic waste.

If it's Broke - Fix It

As I sat fixing my brother and sister-in-law's bike trailer on Sunday afternoon, I said to Trevor, "I'm going to blog about this."

"What does this have to do with waste reduction?"

Since Trevor started his new job we have been searching for a daycare (thank goodness for grandparents).  We finally found two different daycares downtown, Mondays and Tuesdays with Janet and Fridays at St. Paul. One small problem, Trevor needs the car for work at 7:30 am and Eli doesn't start until 8 am.

I decided to ask Kim and Colin if I could borrow their bike trailer. I could use the exercise and I'm sure Eli wouldn't mind the change of scenery.

Sunday morning we visited Kim, Colin and Spencer for breakfast.

"Sure you can borrow the trailer, but the straps are broken.  They broke the day we bought it off kijiji which is why we have never used it." Looking at the trailer I saw that the straps holding the seat of the trailer had been completely ripped. Being the daughter of a sewing teacher I was up for the challenge.  I could always pull the "Mom..."

"It has everything to do with our project" I responded eagerly.  The trailer had already sat unused in a garage for a year.  If it wasn't fixed, where do you think it would end up? Plus, by fixing this trailer, we are avoiding buying a new one - the second R of waste reduction - Reuse (or borrow as the case may be).

The project took longer than I expected because I replaced the straps rather than just sewing them back together.  I felt better knowing that children riding in the trailer would be a lot safer. I probably saved  time in the long run anyways.

Our society is so consumer  driven.  Why bother fixing something? Save time, save money, save effort (I was a marketing student, I know the mantra) - buy it new.

We put such high value on our time, and now that we import everything from China where the value of average Chinese person's time is a fraction of  our own, it is so easy to justify throwing away something that could be fixed given a little time, effort, and some creative thinking. 

It is so rewarding to make/ fix something. It may not look as good as a new product, but for me, the uneven stitching lines and bright green thread (its what I had) that replaced the  perfectly straight, hidden matching stitches are just as good, if not better. I feel proud towing that trailer knowing that it was my efforts that made it all possible.

Big thanks Kim and Colin for making this story possible and for the exercise and fresh air and all the other benefits that will come of this.  You can have your trailer back anytime (once Trevor finishes this job, please).

Me and Eli going for a test ride. Note the homemade flag made from old undies and bamboo stick.

 

"Recyclable" is a relative term

I have done some research to determine what exactly is recyclable in our area (Kamloops).  The goal of this project is not to produce any landfill waste, so if we put something into our recycle bin that isn't actually going to be recycled, then that we don't really achieve our goal.

Worse yet, by putting non-recyclable materials into the recycle bin, we are in effect shipping our garbage further away, increasing carbon emissions, and making our garbage some other jurisdiction's problem, one which may not have the landfill capacity that we have in Kamloops.

So what is recyclable in Kamloops?

I called the local material recovery facility (MRF), Emterra  (formerly International Papers Industries) to find out because they handle all the curbside recycling from City of Kamloops.

When I asked the receptionist what materials are recyclable (I was really interested in plastics in particular), she told me that paper, glass, metal, and plastics 1, 2, 4 and 5. Hmm, interesting, the City of Kamloops website says plastics 1-7 but no styrofoam (#6) and no durable plastics (like toys, CDs, lawn chairs, or other material goods).

I was curious, "what happens to plastics 3, 6, and 7 that end up in at Emterra? Are they separated out before they are shipped to Vancouver?" I asked the receptionist. She put me on hold so that she could ask the manager.

"No, we don't sort here, they would be shipped away."

Hmm, even more curious I decided to make another call to Emterra in Surrey to try and find out what happens to plastics 3, 6 and 7. It was like asking a question to a politician, very hard to get a straight answer. I will share with you the best answer I got, which was from their marketing department.

It all depends on what the customer wants.  If a customer requests all plastics, then all plastics (I assume) will be recycled in some way.  But if the customer requests only plastics 1 and 2, then the order is filled and shipped away.

"What happens to the materials that aren't sold?" I asked, even more curious to find out exactly how serious the problem is (the problem being the fact that people in Kamloops and the TNRD are told to recycle all plastics when they aren't actually being recycled). The woman in the marketing department referred me to the operations manager.

The operations manager told me that not much manual sorting takes place at their plant. But technically, what isn't sold is landfilled (or so I think that is what he said in a round-about/ indirect way).


In case you are not familiar, Vancouver sends about one third of their waste to the Cache Creek landfill. Which could potentially (and I have not verified where Surrey waste goes) mean that a lot of "recyclable" material in Kamloops takes a trip to Vancouver, gets processed in some way, and then takes the trip back to the Cache Creek landfill, about 45 minutes drive West of Kamloops.

The worst case scenario is that the "recyclables" get baled and shipped to Eastern markets, only to be landfilled there.

Question: What is recyclable (in curbside bins) in Kamloops?
Answer: Paper. Metal packaging. Glass packaging. Plastic 1, 2, 4 and 5 packaging