Staff photo by Lizz Bottrell
A jerrycan, seen here in the plastics recycling bin, should go to a landfill because it contains hazardous material.

Staff photo by Lizz Bottrell
Water softener salt does not belong in a recycling bin, especially one for tin. This, as well as other garbage in the recycling bins, puts our recycling program at risk of becoming cancelled.

Staff photo by Lizz Bottrell
Glass should not go to the recycling bins as Red Coat has no way of taking care of them. To recycle glass, take it to SARCAN.

Staff photo by Lizz Bottrell
This is one of the three bags Crown Shred & Recycling brought to the meeting to show people exactly what ended up in our recycling bins. Red Coat picked up this garbage out of the bins on Kipling’s recycling route on May 12.

Recycling program could be as good as garbage
By Lizz Bottrell, Citizen Staff

Red Coat Waste Authority’s newly resumed collection of plastic and tin for recycling could soon end up back in the landfill if everyone does not start using the program properly. Since Red Coat reinstated its collection of plastic and tin on April 1, many of the bins have been overflowing with unacceptable contaminates, or in other words, garbage.

Norm Riddell, Operations Manager for Red Coat Waste Authority; Jack Shaw, Present of Crown Shred & Recycling; and Darlene Geleta, Routing Coordinator for Crown Shred & Recycling attended a public meeting in Kipling on May 12 at the Kipling Community Centre, to talk about issues surrounding the recycling collection for Red Coat. Thirty-one people from Kipling and the surrounding communities came out to voice their opinions and listen to what Riddell, Shaw, and Geleta had to say.

Unfortunately, the people putting the garbage into the recycling bins likely did not attend the meeting. “We knew that the people we really needed to talk to weren’t going to be here,” said Shaw. Therefore, Riddell asked community members at the meeting to go home and tell their friends and neighbors about the situation. He urged people to make note of anyone putting garbage into the bins. “Call if you see someone putting something unacceptable into the bins,” said Riddell.

Sadly, for everyone out there working hard to do their part to help the environment by recycling, there are still those few out there who can ruin it for everyone else. “If we don’t get this right and get it right real soon, all the recycling may only be available during certain times and under supervision,” said Riddell. “And that will come at an unnecessary cost.”

However, Shaw sees the recycling issue a little differently. He says if people do not quit putting garbage into the bins soon, he plans to cancel his recycling contract with Red Coat.

Riddell thinks much of the recycling issues could stem from disgruntled community members still angry over the fact that Red Coat brought items, people thought they were recycling, to the landfill ever since the plastic and tin collection was previously discontinued in July 2006, after a fire burnt down the Kipling Industries’ building. “I think some of the contamination came from the fact that people thought the plastic and tin was just going to the landfill,” said Riddell. However, that is not the case. As of April 1, Red Coat resumed collection of plastic and tin after it worked out a contract with Crown Shred & Recycling.

Glenn McMillan, a resident in Kennedy who’s advocated strongly for recycling in the past, voiced his opinion on why the recycling bins were littered with garbage. “There are a lot of disgruntled people and they believe what they’re doing is justified,” said McMillan.

Now, some people may wonder why Crown Shred cannot just sort through all the garbage and recycling on its end in Regina. The main reasoning here comes back to employee safety. “I can’t let my employees handle this stuff - and they don’t want to,” said Shaw. “I go out and I get the work for them and it breaks my heart when I get it and they don’t want to do it.”

“My employees think it’s Kipling,” said Shaw. “Every time a red coat load comes in, they think it’s Kipling. I apologize for my employees because I know it’s not, I know it’s much bigger than that.” Actually, Kipling makes up a small portion of all of Red Coat’s recycling depots, so all the blame cannot be put onto Kipling. However, even though recycling was picked up on May 12, on May 14, only two days later, the bins were already contaminated. So obviously there is a culprit(s) in Kipling who seem to think recycling here is a joke.

Riddell asks community members to remember, “Red Coat isn’t someone out there coming into your town or village to look after garbage and recyclables. All the towns are Red Coat.” Currently, Red Coat collects paper products once a week, plastic once a month, and tin every two months. To help address the overflowing bins, Red Coat purchased 20 new bins for its locations. Riddell hopes the new bins combat the problem of over flowing bins, however he wonders why the bins are over flowing in the first place. “Is this because more people are recycling or because people are putting unacceptable objects in the bins? If we quit putting televisions and lawn chairs in, maybe we’ll have more room for milk jugs,” said Riddell.

To help ensure Red Coat keeps its recycling contract, Riddell and Shaw both ask that people make sure they put the proper recyclables into the proper bins. “Plastic needs to be from your fridge, bathroom, or laundry room, that makes up all the plastic in the house that you use on a daily basis,” said Shaw. This includes plastics with numbers one through seven and film. Plastic film is a thin sheet that does not hold a shape with unsupported, which includes plastic wrap, bubble wrap, and plastic bags. To find the number for the plastic, look under the container. “Another rule of thumb for plastic is if I can crush it with my hand and it doesn’t break, it’s good for me,” said Shaw.

As for tin, all household tin and aluminum can go into the tin bins. Remember, a person cannot bring Styrofoam to the recycling bins as there is currently no means of recycling that product. To reuse Styrofoam, Shaw suggests using it as a compost aid or in the soil. Lastly, to fit more cardboard into the bins, make sure to flatten them.