“EMMIE Leung, president of internations) Paper
industries, cheltenges North Shore residents to divert
ancther 10% of material from the waste stream.

“Every pound of
recycled paper is
sold.” .

— Ennis Leneg, Pi

_ “This year we're
~ going to have a phe-
nomenal year...”
— Al Lynch, ASRP

Sunday, December 26, 1999 — North Shore News - 3

INTERNATIONAL. Paper Indusiries Ltd's Andy Sherk takes a last look at a recent edition of the North Shore
News before it continues on its journey to become recycied newsprint. It has bean a-good year for cling
on the North Shore. In North Van City, taxpayers got a break on garbege pickup costs thenks to recycling.

cut.

Michael Becker

News Editor
mbecker@nsnews.com

SOMETHING quite
odd happened at North
Vancouver City hall ear-
lier this month.

Shell-shocked taxpayers
were actually given an-unex-
pected break on something,

It was announced that the
cost to city residents for
garbage collection service was
going to drop by seven dollars
~~ down from $102 per house:

VANCOUVER
PER CAPITA
RECOVERIES
1988
POPULATION

ing he ) pS

—

hold to $95, The reason: an
11% decrease in the amount of

trash going into trucks. Why?

More of what was once consid-

ered garbage is being diverted -

from the waste stream through
individual recycling efforts.

More of us are taking the
time to toss our cereal boxes,
plastics, tins, newspapers and
magazines into yellow or bluc
bags and boxes rather than the
garbage can.

A municipal newsprint blue
box service launched on vic
North Shore in 1983 was the
first of its kind in North

NEWS filustration Norisa Anderson

America.

Emmie Leung, president
and founder of International
Paper Industrie, Led. (IPE),
remembers the cays in the early
1980s when it wes considered a
good month wiwn the pro-
gram collected 150 tonnes of
newsprint from the = entire
North Shore. Tire numbers
have skyrocketed since then.
Today North Shore residents
have the distinction of being
the most conscientious recy-
clers in the Greater Vancouver
Regional Distric:.

In 1998, 155.11 kilograms
of material were recovered, per

ron on the North Shore.
Richmond residents followed
with 138.83 kilograms recov-
ered per capita. In Vancouver
the recovery rate was a compar-

atively paltry 93.02 kilograms -

of recyclable material per per-
son,
Things got serious on the
North Shore recycling front in
1990, when the North Shore
Recycling Program was
launched and IPE was awarded
the contract to provide recy-
cling collection services to the
North Shore. About 38,000
single-family homes on the
North Shore have access to the
blue box program and more
than 95% of multi-family units
have either nulti-material recy-
cling or newspaper recycling in

Last year the pr was
expanded to include mixed
paper, some plastics and curb-
side pickup of yard wimmings.

Said Leung of the garbage
service rate drop in the city, “I
think it’s fantastic. They are
giving credit where it’s due.

“Every pound of recycled
paper is sold. The money is
coniributed back to the munic-
ipality. Every time you go to

transfer station it costs $65

a tonne t> dump.” said Leung.

AJ Lynch, coordinator of
the Worth Shore Recycling
Program, also credits the sup-
pert of the municipalities — in
promoting the pre » and
working to reduce the size of
garbage cans used by residents
— and the enthusiasm of peo-
ple like Leung for the North
Shore recycling success story. _

Added Lynch, “Combine
that with the fact that our
demographics are such that we
have high income, high educa-
tion, We read an awful lot of
newspapers. All that newspaper
is worth a lot of money The
money that we get for it goes
back to help reduce the cast of
the recycling program.” -

For 1999 in the city, recy-
cling and yard trimmings ser-

“vice cost $52.50 per house-
hold. In West Vaicouver it was *

. $57.. In’ North Vancouver
District the cost is rolied into -
the property tax bill. .

Said . Lynch, “This year
we're going to have a phenom. «|
enal year tor the sale of recy- _
clables. Our budget was” /
$460,900 (projected revenue | ~
from the sale of newspaper and.

«mixed paper material in 1999).
Right now I'm projecting. that’
we're. going, to’ get to
$750,000. It’s a huge increase.
That’s atiributable to higher
than normal rates (for paper);
plus the fact that we're recover-
ing more and more tonnage.

The final numbers for’ 1999 *
will be available later’ in 2000.
“I’m hoping for 2001. there
will be an even bigger decrease ,
(in cost to residents). The more
we get out of. the garbage —
stream, the better,” said Lynch.

‘Leung, meanwhile, has a
wish for 2000. “I would like to
have another 10% increase (in.

_ tonnage. diverted ‘from’ the
waste stream). Why’ don’t we .
make that a challenge to North °
Shore residents?” "5: *