12 - Friday, September 28, 1990 - North Shore News When in doubt check it out N. Shore slow to learn recycling savvy WHAT DO a leaky jug of motor eil, a plastic rum bottle, a pizza box and a drinking glass have in common? You got it, None of them belong in a blue box. Oh, that’s easy, you scoff. Everyone knows that. Oh, I reply. do you think so? Then spend a day crawling through drop-off depots, curbside blue boxes and multi-family recycling bins and you will substantially revise your theories on human intellect. A few days ago I donned my eco-snoop hat in company with North Shore Recycling Program coordinator Al Lynch and toured the local recycling hang-outs, notepad in hand. And while I was shocked and dismayed at some of the sights we encountered, it was, unfortunately, all stuff that Al had seen before. “It makes me sick,’’ he barked, kicking a discarded cardboard box halfway across the very messy Park Royal depot. ‘‘People are using this place as a garbage dump.” It’s not just the Park Royal depot that’s experiencing prob- lems. There are ongoing con- tamination problems at the Bewicke Avenue depot, to the ex- tent that it may be closed off at night to (hopefully) prevent the dumping of garbage and other contaminants in the recycling bins. That day at the Park Royal depot, the problem wasn’t so much what was in the bins as what was lying around the ground outside them. People, sometimes from nearby companies, bring garbage to the depot and leave it there, whether or not the garbage container is already overflowing. On Wednesday, we encountered tins of paint, phone books, card- Peggy - Trendell-Whittaker ¥ ECOINFO board boxes, old shoes and other garbage piled on the ground. We also found a stack of mail and papers apparenily left there by an Ajan S.... Watch out, Mr. S., you may be getting a phone call from your friendly neighborhood recycling coordinator. From the depots we went on to four North Shore apartment com- plexes that are the pilot project sites for the multi-family recycling scheme. These received mixed reviews from Al, ranging from the highly favorable to the moderately upsetting. The major problem with the apartment blocks, especially the Woodcroft buildings, was plastics contamination. Under the signs reading ‘‘Plastic milk jugs and pop bottles only’’ were containers half-filled with every type of plastic you can imagine. “It musi be that people think plastic is plastic is plastic,"’ Al said. People may be wishfully throwing in mouthwash bottles, hoping that someone on the other end will find some way of recycl- ing it. But it ain't so. Those someones on the other end do their best to weed out the con- taminants (which are thrown out) and if is too difticult entire loads have to be landfilled. Atallat the aparunents, cans, bottles and jars were left in pretty good condition, although too muny lids were left on the glass bottles and jars and too many containers weren't rinsed out. The best muhi-family site by far was at [4th and Duchess in West Van, of which Al commented “There's a good example of management helping the recycling program out.*” Someone frem the building had placed a hand-writ- ten sign on the plastics bin saying: “This bin is a mess. Do not put (cardboard) milk cartons, yogurt or other containers in here. Please read instructions."' From the multi-families we went on to tour some single-family res- idential blocks in Dundarave that were awaiting pick-up of their blue boxes. (Yes, 32 km worth of fossil fuels were consumed in our eco-quest, but I thought it was for a good cause.) There was much good news on this front; kudos are in order for the folks in the 2300-block of Duchess Avenue, most of whom had problem-free boxes. One reminder. though: please do not put your boxes out until they are full. The 2300-block of Lawson merited an “Overall, I'm very pleased,’* comment from the recyling coordinator. The area cast of Lonsdale that we toured didn’t seem to be as en- thusiastic about recycling — one home in the 300-block of East 3rd is even using their blue box to store garbage in. Like the saying goes, ‘When in doubt, check it out’? — if you’ve gol any questions about recyclables, or about the blue box program, call IP! at 929-3416. Jail-N-Bail judges announced Drop off hazardous waste NORTH SHORE residents are be- ing encouraged to save up materi- als tor the household hasindous waste drop-off being held in North Vaneouver on Saturdays and Sunday, Oct. 27 and 28 trom y¥ am. tod pom. Sponsored by the GVRD and the provincial yvovernment, the drop-off sites will accept paints, solvents, household cleaners, aerosols, pesticides, batteries, Propane tanks, pharmaceuticals, used motor atl, anti-freeze and other poisonous and flammable material. The collection depot will be located at CanOxy Industrial Chemicals, 100 Amherst Ave., one block cast of Riverside off the, Dollarton Highway (near the transfer station). HUMBERSTON EDWARDS fene ant Presents GRAEME S AN EXHIBITION AND SALE OF RECENT PAINTINGS SEPTEMBER 29-OCTOBER 7, 1990 OPENING RECEPTION SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 29 10:30 A.M. TO 5:00 PM. ARTIST IN ATTENDANCE OPENING DAY 1360 Marine Drive, West Vancouver, B.C. V7T 1B6 Tel: (604) 922-7934 © Fax: (604) 922-0183 ALL PAINTINGS IN THIS EXHIBITION SUBJECT TO PRIOR SALE HOURS: TUESDAY-SATURDAY 10:30 TO 5:00 PM, SUNDAY 12 TO 4 PM THE NORTH Shore units of the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) have selected the judges for the 1990 Jail-N-Bail fundraising event which will be held on Oct. 2, 3, and 4 at Park Royal South. Some of the justices proved so clever and quick witted during the 1989 Jail-N-Bail that they have been asked to return to the bench. They include Peter Black, Peter Black and Sons; John S. Brock, John S. Brock Limited; Jeannie Ferguson, West Van Board of Education; Doug Hayhurst, Price Waterhouse; Bill Soprovich, Tidal Wave Hair Design; and West Vancouver businessman, John Pozer. New to the court will be Norma Sharp, former president of the CCS West Vancouver unit, and Cheryl Taylor, former district and regional coor- Did you know... that your Autoplan coverage is related to the use of your vehicle? If you generally use your vehicle for purposes other than those specified on your insurance papers you may not be covered in case of an accident. Check with us to be sure your vehicle is rated correctly. SECURANCE Now open at 163 West Esplanade North Vancouver 985-S870 dinator for the CCS. “We're back, stronger and bolder than ever be- fore,’’ said Justice Black. ‘‘Anyone that stands in our way is in for a tough time.’? There were no dissenting opinions. Jail-N-Bail is a fundraising event where, for 2 $25 arrest fee, honest citizens can swear out an arrest warrant for friends, family and werk associates. The accused is picked up in a paddy wagon, hauled off to a kangaroo court where the unfair judges try, convict and sentence. The accused then has an hour in jail to raise bail. Arrest warrants may be sworn out by calling the Jail-N-Bail hotline at 872-JAIL. All proceeds go to CCS cancer research, education and patient services programs. Did you know... that you can have your Autoplan renewal picked up free of charge at your home or office anywhere on the North Shore. Securance will process your licence and insurance documents and return them promptly to you. Simply call... 985-6870 (24 hrs.) ¥ ou may have seen EcoHeroes featured in the biweekly EcoUpdate column by Peggy Trendell-Whittaker. You can nominate your favorite Eco-Hero, the person who has taken that first small, but important, step to making a difference in the world around us. The North Shore News thinks it’s important to recognize the EcoHeroes in our communi- ty. If you know an EcoHero, please submit his (or her) name to this newspaper and and your nominee will have a chance to win an EcoHero button and a Going Green on the North Shore coffee mug. Submissions should be sent to EcoHero, North Shore News, 1139 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, V7M 2H4. Nominations can also be telephoned to Peggy Trendel! Whittaker, 985-2131 from Tuesday to Thursday. 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