the ReNews Winter 2009
Some interesting stories about Urban Impact's growth and our commitment to the environment.
- URBAN RECYCLING
- Answering your questions about Mixed Containers
- Commercial Drive has recycling in the bag!
- URBAN SHREDDING
- Watch for a Shredathon Day in your community this Spring
- Protect your business from fraud
- URBAN SOLUTIONS
- Metro Vancouver Sustainability Summit eyes waste planning as a priority
URBAN RECYCLING
Answering your questions about Mixed Containers
Wondering what to place in your Mixed Containers bin?
Any food container or other container made of Glass, Metal or Plastic can go into your Mixed Containers bin.
[please include our standard icons/image for mixed containers]
Do Mixed Containers need to be scrubbed clean before putting them in a recycling bin?
No, your Mixed Containers do not need to be sparkling clean, but at the very least they should be rinsed out to ensure that most of the residues are gone. Food residue inside containers makes them smell and potentially grow mould, and thus makes it more difficult to recycle them. In fact, dirty containers tend to contaminate clean containers, and thus as safety precaution, containers with excess food residue are sorted out and disposed of as garbage.
Is a pop can a Mixed Container?
Yes it is. But remember that here in BC, empty pop cans can be returned to your grocery store or recycling depot for the deposit refund. The same goes for any bottle you paid a deposit on at the grocery store or liquor store. It’s your choice to recycle or return for refund!
How do you ensure your Mixed Containers get recycled?
Rinse containers so that they are free of residue. If you’re having trouble getting a container clean, how about placing it into a hot dishwater once the cycle is done and dishes are out, so it can steam and clean without using more water or energy to clean.
Do not bag your mixed containers before putting them into the blue box (the plastic bag makes it more difficult to sort the materials).
Do not put oversized plastic furniture or toys into your recycling bin. These items might be made of plastic, but oversized objects are in fact sorted out and disposed of.
Do not place miscellaneous plastic packaging, such as bubble wrap, in your Mixed Containers bin. It will not get recycled.
Commercial Drive has recycling in the bag!
In an age when showing up at the grocery store without a reusable bag is akin to showing up at a dinner party without your pants, the type of bag you carry can say a lot about you. Read More…
URBAN SHREDDING
Watch for a Shredathon Day in your community this Spring
Urban Shredding teamed with Vancity in 2008 to host seven Shredathon days at various Vancity locations in the Lower Mainland. With complementary on-site shredding and recycling, fraud prevention tips provided by local RCMP and proceeds delivered to the local community’s charity of choice, the Shredathon days proved to be highly successful and well attended by the general public.
Accordingly, Urban Shredding and Vancity are excited to be planning a series of Shredathons in various communities this spring. We’ll be posting event information on our website in the coming weeks, so check back and watch for more information about a Shredathon day in your community!
Protect your business from fraud
Protect your business and your clients from fraud and identity theft by having your confidential documents shredded, and by following these other simple tips to keep your personal information private:
- Change your bank account and debit card PINs on occasion.
- Review your banking and Visa statements on line to make sure the transactions are yours and report any suspicious activity to your bank or credit card company right away.
- Don’t share your PIN with anyone.
- When purchasing items over the telephone and someone asks you for information that does not seem relevant to the transaction, ask why they need to know – never divulge the information if it does not seem relevant or appropriate.
What Information Should You Safeguard?
- Financial information including payroll records, personnel files, cancelled checks, tax, accounting, credit and loan records, and invoices;
- Personal and employee information such as birth certificates, SIN and other ID numbers and passwords, trade union membership, health and medical records.
For more information on RCMP tips for fraud prevention, visit http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/scams-fraudes/index-eng.htm
URBAN SOLUTIONS
Metro Vancouver Sustainability Summit eyes waste planning as a priority
Metro Vancouver held its inaugural Future of the Region Sustainability Summit in Vancouver on October 7, 2008. Over 400 people from across the region attended the half day session, including business representatives, elected officials, government staff, community advocates, non-governmental organizations, youth and other citizens.
The purpose of the Sustainability Summit was to bring citizens from across the region together to collaborate on setting goals and actions for a sustainability agenda meant to take the region forward to 2011, the date of the next Sustainability Summit. Each three years, this strategic, region-wide event will help establish, report on, and monitor the goals and actions set by participants.
Participants at the 2008 Sustainability Summit were asked to vote on “pictures of success”, select three priority actions that would best help deliver success, and identify how to put the selected actions into motion. Nine topics organized into three streams were addressed.
One the nine topics was Waste. Here are the region’s Waste goals set for 2011:
- Zero-waste, closed-loop systems, waste is a resource
- Shared responsibility and accountability of government, business, and citizens
- Managed locally
- Global example, leader
- Reduce (then) reuse (then) recycle (then) recover
3-Year Actions
- Work with provincial and federal governments to implement incentives and penalties to encourage elimination of waste, including product stewardship, legislation, graduated pricing, tax rebates, and the elimination of non-recyclable packaging.
- Create hard targets for waste reduction and measure performance.
- Strengthen education and awareness campaigns to all sectors about waste and consumption.
For comprehensive information on Metro Vancouver’s Sustainability Summit and our regional goals, visit http://www.metrovancouver.org/region/summits/Pages/default.aspx
Green News & Notes
- Read what Urban Impact’s Nicole Stefenelli has to say about the commodities market downfall in the January 27th print edition of Canadian Business. Online version here
- Urban Impact has extended the nominations deadline for our 2009 Charity Program until February 13th. If you are a charity or know of a charity seeking free recycling services, please apply now at http://www.urbanimpact.com/news/newsarchive/2008-12-03.php
- Didn’t catch our latest Green Tips this week on News1130? You can always find them at
http://www.urbanimpact.com/resources/green-tips.php