Peter from Metro Vancouver alerted me to this handy little resource a while ago, and I keep meaning to spread it to the masses. I think the greatest question we have as consumers trying to reduce our waste is “where can I recycle this?” Well, if you live in Metro Vancouver, your prayers have been answered.
It’s called Metro Vancouver Recycles (It may not be the most catchy and inspiring name, but at least it cuts to the chase), and it’s a handy little online tool that tells you where you can (responsibly) ditch you recyclables and household goods.
“Wait a minute,” you may be thinking. “Didn’t you already tell us about that?”
What I told you about a few weeks back was the RCBC recyclepedia which covers the entire province and deals mainly with recyclables and toxics (ie. paint cans). It not only tells you where to recycle it tells you a bit about what the product is (ie. What is plastic #2 and what do they recycle it in to?), so it’s a great resource regardless of where you live.
Metro Vancouver Recycles is for Metro Vancouverites only (sorry to our other readers, but it’s always good to get ideas on what other regions are doing isn’t it?). It doesn’t give the product definition details and it is somewhat simplified (for example you would search “plastic bottles and tubs” instead of the specific plastic number), but it does have some great, user friendly features:
First, you can type in your address not just your city to find locations.
Second, it covers more than recyclables. You can learn about different places that will take everything from your plastics and organics to your used clothing, antiques, collectibles, medication, and children’s toys. It encourages reuse first (mostly through thrift stores and charities) which I think is great.
Third (and fanciest of all), you can specify the distance you are willing to go, and it will give you a Goggle Map of exactly where to take your stuff.
So if you’ve got some slightly used maternity clothes, burnt out light bulbs, electronics, packing peanuts or even an animal carcass (yup, that is a category and I did get an answer), take a look at http://www.metrovancouver.org/MetroVancouverRecycles/ and maybe even bookmark it for when you’re doing you spring cleaning.
The Clean Bin Project Blog 
we heard about this on the CBC radio and have found the sites very good. It’s still hard to find where to recycle used microwaves and batteries, though. Actually, Future Shop take batteries, old rechargeable shavers etc. Good work, you guys, Keith
The Recycling Council of BC has an even more comprehensive on-line ‘Recyclepedia’ that provides thsi sort of information for the whole province of B.C.
http://www.rcbc.bc.ca
We also offer live telephone hotline operators to answer your recycling questions at 604-RECYCLE.
Thanks for the batteries tip Keith. I know the province is expanding its electronics recycling, so pretty soon anything that has either batteries or a cord will be covered. Pretty exciting, but I’m still waiting fo rthe official rollou.
Mairi – thanks for the reminder. The RCBC site is a great one (I mentioned it in this post as well), but I forgot to add about the recycling hotline which is definitely one of my favorites. In this internet-obsessed culture sometimes it’s nice to talk to a real person.
Thanks for posting our website!
We’ve been improving the Metro Vancouver Recycles database and have created an easy-to-remember URL – MetroVancouverRecycles dot org.
We’ve added some new features to make it easier to find the information you need and have expanded our listings for things like electronics and computers.
Check out the improved tool at MetroVancouverRecycles.org