Walking the Talk: Managing Waste

Camp Fircom aims to run a low-impact, sustainable outdoor centre, but what does that really mean?  We try and be cognisant of how much waste we create and recycle and compost what we can, but it is very hard to be zero waste.  

Last May we did a big site clean-up getting ready to open our doors again and when we ran out of time with the rental truck a bunch of miscellanous items got piled in the Lakeview hallway outside our office. We finally got the clutter out two weekends ago.

I’m sure you have all been there. You have a bunch of stuff you want to get rid of, but you are short on time and yet don’t want to throw it in the dump so it just sits in your closets.  It took us NINE HOURS to find our old junk the proper disposal spots so we wanted to share what we learned.

Large Wood Desk

 This was a dilly of a pickle. While we love anything made out of wood, antique and recycled, this desk just didn’t work for our office space. Everyone uses computers and it was short on leg room making people twist and turn to sit at it giving them back and neck pain. After trying the Value Village on Hastings, the Salvation Army on 12th and Main, we finally found a thrift store willing to take large furniture – the Value Village on Victoria and 49th.  Along the way we dropped off clothes and items from our lost and found that had never been claimed.

Old Computer Towers

We already knew what to do with these. Free Geek is a local non-profit in East Vancouver dedicated to responsibly recycling used computer goods, whether they work or not. They were also took two ancient 16mm projectors full of dust, and probably spiders, and disassembled them to recycle the scrap metal.

Air Vent

We had finally ended up at the North Van dump. We were light on goods, but had not found a home for an industrial sized air vent and rusted push-style lawnmower. Luckily on our way in the man told us we could leave these at the scrap metal lot next door. Hooray! Nothing went in the dump! Ron later pointed out that we could have sold these for money at a scrap yard. Live and Learn.

Broken Shredder

 The man at the dump also told us that the Return-It Bottle Depot near Park & Tilford in North Van that would take small appliances like the shredder. We were hesitant as we had already tried the Return-It Bottle Depot on Powell Street in East Vancouver recommended by Free Geek, but they had said no. The North Van one said yes and we returned home with an empty truck.

Do you have any hidden gems of recycling spots? How do you try and manage your waste?

Margo

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