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Opened in 1978, The
Hornby Island Recycling Depot is
closing in on 40 years of recycling. We recycle and
reuse more
than 70% of our waste
stream.
The Free Store/Recycling Depot Solar Project
HIRRA was pleased to collaborate with the Hornby Island Community Economic Enhancement Corporation (HICEEC) in 2016 to apply for and receive a grant from the Comox Valley Regional District’s Community Works Funding (Gas Tax) for a demonstration grid-tied solar panel project.
A total of 35 solar panels were installed on the Free Store’s south-facing roof by GabEnergy a non-profit group based on Gabriola Island. The Recycling Committee also organized some educational presentations on solar installation. An educational sign, painted by an island artist, was installed at the Free Store so visitors can learn more about the project and see how the panels are performing on a weekly basis.
New Drywall Regulations
All builders, contractors and home-owners should be aware that there are new regulations regarding waste drywall. Specifically, the Comox Valley Regional District now requires a "Waste Disposal Application" for any drywall brought to the Recycling Depot. This short application form is necessary to ensure that the drywall does not contain any carcinogenic asbestos. Some older drywall may contain asbestos, which needs to be disposed of in a safe manner.
Please download and fill in the form for ANY drywall brought to the Depot for disposal.
Dry-Wall-Waste Disposal Application March 2017
Track our Solar Panels
To check how the solar panels installed at the Depot are performing in real-time, visit the Enphase Energy tracking website.
Latest Recycling Info
The 2017 Hornby Island Depot Brochure contains up-to-date info to help you with all your recycling needs.
Hornby Island's New Free Store Opens Its Doors
Hornby Islanders celebrated a resurrection they can call their own, and fittingly, it happened on Easter Sunday, 2015.
Half a year after the original structure’s demolition, The Hornby Island Free Store re-opened.
In 2001 the Hornby
Island Recycling program was presented with a merit award from the
Recycling
Council of B.C. "for outstanding commitment to
waste reduction
in B.C.". The award, a plaque
made
of recycled glass, is on display at the
depot.
The recycling program is directed by the Hornby Island Recycling Committee, under the umbrella of the Hornby Island Residents' & Ratepayers' Association, HIRRA. Comox Valley Regional District allocates funds raised through local property taxation, and, through management contracts with HIRRA, supports the Hornby community in its recycling and reuse initiatives.
Depot Hours |
9am - 1pm |
Summer:
|
Winter: Friday - Sunday |
Hornby
Island Recycling Program Vison and Mission Statement
Vision Statement - why are we here?, what is our future?
Recycling is an excellent way of saving energy and conserving the environment.
The Hornby Island Recycling Program exists to responsibly collect and divert waste while promoting the concept of zero waste.
The Mission of the Hornby Island Recycling Program is:
- To transfer "absolute" garbage and recyclables to the appropriate off-island facilities until our goal of zero waste is achieved.
- To maintain and operate a waste diversion and recycling facility, including a "Free Store", for the benefit of island residents, visitors, local businesses and the environment.
- To manage the diversion, recycling and reuse of the island's waste in a way that is consistent with, or superior to, applicable government regulations, including environmental, health and safety.
- To operate the Hornby Island Recycling Depot in a fiscally responsible manner where cost effectiveness is based on a full accounting of costs and benefits, both monetary and non-monetary.
- To encourage and support a positive, respectful and safe environment at the Recycling Depot for all users, employees, and volunteers.
- To ensure ongoing public consultation and communication among all residents and business operators, members of Hornby Island Residents' and Ratepayers' Association and the Comox Valley Regional District.
- To promote community education and support for continued waste reduction, reuse and recycling toward the goal of zero waste.
- To measure progress toward the goal of zero waste, and revise practices accordingly.
Revised - Nov.2015
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RECYCLING COMMITTEE 2017 |
HIRRA EXECUTIVE 2017 |
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HISTORY
In the late seventies as our population began to expand, the limits of a small island forced us to realize that there was no such place as 'away' when it came to garbage. This realization was a major impetus to the community to become one of the earliest pioneers in today's recycling movement.
One of those pioneers was Kathi Linnman. She explains that in 1978 she
was hired by the Hornby Island Ratepayers Association to set up and run a
Recycling Depot.
" The motivation for the island to try recycling was economic and I applied for the job for economical reasons too. I didn't want to see all that useful 'stuff' shipped off the island and become inaccessible. Where would we go to find a tail light for our vehicle or a damper for the stove, or a curtain rod , or ? There was little space at the Co-op for hardware, trips to town were infrequent and if your neighbour didn't have what you needed, there was always 'the dump', a great resource for all kinds of things. Here was a chance to organize other people's garbage into something useful to someone else and to keep our stuff out of someone else's landfill..."
Within a few weeks the old landfill site boasted glass and metal collection areas plus a shed for the ever-popular Free Store. A burner was added which has since been retired in favor of cleaner air, and paper recycling. We have grown into a thriving enterprise, gone through many adjustments and changes, including the addition of a composter to handle the large volume of organics we receive in the summer from our campgrounds and restaurants which cater to a thriving tourist industry.
Hornby Islanders should be proud of their achievements. Since opening the Recycling Depot in 1978, Hornby Island has played a leadership role in implementing reduction, reuse, and recycling services and community education programs in its community. Hornby Island residents now generate less than half a kilogram of garbage per person per day, much lower than the provincial average.
The Hornby Island Recycling Centre has generously shared its experience with communities and non-profits throughout BC and as far away as Ireland and Australia. The Centre's success points to the strength of volunteerism and community spirit that define not-for-profit organizations.
Today at least, the rest of the Province seems to be catching up with us, in declaring that it is no longer acceptable for Canada to produce more garbage per capita than any other country except the USA Communities that today are trying to set up systems such as ours have an uphill battle to wean people away from the ease of curbside pick-ups and throw away mentality. We can be grateful to those Islanders twenty-five years ago, who decided to do it the ' Hornby Way'. Thanks to all of them, and to all the people in the community who have been part of the struggle. Mother Earth is watching us, and we hope she approves.
You make choices
when you shop.
Consider the environmental effects of a product BEFORE you purchase it.
Here are some precycling suggestions:
- Buy items that can be reused rather than thrown away.
- Avoid disposals such as diapers. razors, lighters and pens, plastic foodware, paper plates, throwaway batteries. Each of these has a reusable alternative.
- Choose the least packaged item or buy in bulk.
- Buy milk, juice and beer in bottles.
- Tell your store manager when you see excessive packaging. Encourage local businesses to use and sell recycled content products.
- Bring your own grocery bag or box.
Buying recycled is the third step in the recycling loop -- without it, you're not really recycling.
Please do your part to increase market demand for recycled products by purchasing items which have recycled packaging or contents. This way companies will be encouraged to expand their usage of recycled components in manufactured goods.
If you're not buying recycled, you're not really recycling!
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HORNBY ISLAND SOLAR DEMONSTRATION PROJECT ~ 2016
- This past June (2016), a 28 panel solar array was installed on the south-facing (back) roof of our Free Store. Another 7 panels will be installed in February, bringing the array up to 35 panels.
- To date, the solar panel array of 28 panels has produced almost 4 mega watt hours of electricity since the June installation. The solar installation has, in fact, supplied all the electricity needed for the Depot from June through November of 2016!
HOW and WHY:
- Under their Transportation and Energy initiative, mandated by the Hornby Vision Process, HICEEC is working to move Hornby to a post-carbon economy. The steering group wanted to implement a concrete project in year 1 that set a new tone for how we think about a post-carbon infrastructure, while building local knowledge, resilience, and economic benefits.
- As an example: According to MIT Technology Review, Germany, the 4th largest economy in the world, is now the world’s largest solar market. The latitude of Germany is between 48 degrees and 54 degrees. The latitude of Vancouver Island is between 48 degrees and 51 degrees. In 2015, renewables accounted for 1/3 of the electricity consumed in Germany. Germany’s carbon emissions in 2014 were 27% lower than 1990 levels.
- HICEEC / HIRRA applied to the Comox Valley Regional District for Community Works / Gas Tax funding for the project. A feasibility study and system design was completed by Ian Emberton, a local electrician. The project was then approved by the CVRD board in November 2015.
HICEEC AND HIRRA looked at several different commercial buildings on Hornby for the solar demonstration project and selected the Free Store roof as the best location.
- The purpose of this solar demonstration project is to educate residents about the performance and financial cost/reward of a publicly visible solar project on Hornby. This Project is expected to reduce the Recycling Depot’s energy bill by at least half over the 30 year demonstration timeline.
A further goal of the Solar Project is to educate homeowners about opportunities for local energy production.
- Under the agreement, HIRRA owns, and insures, the solar panels and components, which are installed on the CVRD-owned building. The solar panels cover almost the entire south-facing roof, and will produce about 7200 kwh per year; known as a 7kw system.
- Stan Combs produced a spreadsheet for looking at the financial efficiency of the proposed system. He used conservative production and financial projections. This model is available and can be used for research into other public or private solar projects on the island.
- The cost of the Project was $32,000. This cost included the HICEEC Feasibility Study and an informational sign which will be installed up at the Recycling Depot.
- Tenders were requested for the installation of the solar panels, and of the 4 companies that applied, GabEnergy, a non-profit society located on Gabriola Island was chosen. GabEnergy has done about 100 installations on the Gulf Islands, is a non-profit company, and is passionate about sharing what they have learned as well as involving and training local people. They use very good quality materials and their price was exceedingly competitive.
Our Solar System consisting of 35 solar panels, each with it’s own micro-inverter is “grid-tied”, which means that it feeds directly into the BC Hydro grid and does not require any batteries for storage.
- The Warranty, which is third-party insured, is for 25 years. The Silicon cells used were made in Germany and assembled in Canada.
- As a part of the Project, Dave Neads of GabEnergy, taught a one-day Solar Workshop about how to ascertain if your home would be a good candidate for solar panel installation. The workshop was advertised on Hornby for the reasonable cost of $25, and was attended by 10 Hornby residents.
- Dave Neads put together a great little booklet, “BASIC SOLAR”, which is open-source and can easily be photocopied for anyone that is interested.
He makes the point that the Micro Inverters are “really the heart of the revolution in solar design. They transform the DC power coming from the module into AC power that is needed in the home. ……they do it in such a way that it is fully compatible with the BC Hydro grid. ……..they allow an array that is much more tolerant of shading”, as each module, with it’s own micro inverter, functions independently, in the array.
- Dave also set up a website which you can use to follow the real-time energy production of our system. At enlighten.enphaseenergy.com you will see there the amount of energy being created, and used, as you watch.
- Now, I would like to invite each of you to consider “Conservation of Energy” as this can be seen as our FIRST SOURCE of renewal energy. Reducing your use of electricity can be very helpful before you purchase and set up a solar array for your home.
- In 2014, BC Government and BC Hydro announced a 28 per cent electricity rate hike to take place over five years, beginning with a nine per cent jump in 2014. After this set of increases is completed in 2019, there will be another announcement as to whether more increases will be put in place.
Looking closely at our own use of energy has the immediate benefit of reducing your BC Hydro bill – very lucrative as the Hydro rates are continuing to rise.
I decided last November to do this for our home in Sandpiper. We used a very good book that I found in our local library. “THE HOME ENERGY DIET”, by Paul Scheckel, is available at our Library, and is a very user-friendly guide to how to save money by making your home Energy Smart. It is very comprehensive and easy to use.
- We checked for doors and windows for heat loss and replaced or installed weather stripping.
- We flushed our Hot Water tank and played with the setting till we had the lowest setting that could work for us.
- We replaced all our light bulbs with LED bulbs (soft/warm option) meaning we now use about 1/6th of the energy we were using for light!
- We discussed where we might conveniently locate a clothes drying rack. We found a perfect spot in the landing at the top of the stairs, that we BOTH like to use. A dryer load of laundry takes only about 3 hours to dry, FOR FREE!
It was fun, it feels good, we pay less to BC Hydro, and if we decide to install solar panels, we know we have brought our consumption down and will need fewer panels (less cost!) to meet our electricity needs.
Some other excellent resources are:
“CATCHING THE SUN” is a 2015 documentary, available on Netflix, takes a diverse look at the transition to solar power. It speaks directly to the false idea that clean energy, such as solar or wind, requires sacrificing economic prosperity.
“THE LEAP” by Chris Turner, available at our Library, is well-written, well-researched, interesting and informative about the emerging world of cleantech possibility. Definitely a “Good News” book!
2017 New Horizon’s Literary Lunch Talk about the HI Solar Demonstration Project:
Take-aways:
- “BASIC SOLAR – DESIGN AND INSTALL YOUR OWN SOLAR ARRAY” booklet , by Dave Neads, of GabEnergy, Gabriola, BC. This Booklet is open-source and can be photocopied.
- To follow the real-time energy production of the solar array on the HI Free Store roof, go to enlighten.enphaseenergy.com. You will see there the amount of energy being created, and used, as you watch.
- “CATCHING THE SUN” is a 2015 documentary, available on Netflix, takes a diverse look at the transition to solar power. It speaks directly to the false idea that clean energy, such as solar or wind, requires sacrificing economic prosperity.
- “THE HOME ENERGY DIET”, by Paul Scheckel, is available at our Library, and is a very user-friendly guide to how to save money by making your home Energy Smart. It is very comprehensive and easy to use.
- “THE LEAP” by Chris Turner, is available at our Library, well-written, well-researched, interesting and informative about the emerging world of cleantech possibility. A “Good News” book!
2017 New Horizon’s Literary Lunch Talk about the HI Solar Demonstration Project:
Take-aways:
- “BASIC SOLAR – DESIGN AND INSTALL YOUR OWN SOLAR ARRAY” booklet , by Dave Neads, of GabEnergy, Gabriola, BC. This Booklet is open-source and can be photocopied.
- To follow the real-time energy production of the solar array on the HI Free Store roof, go to enlighten.enphaseenergy.com. You will see there the amount of energy being created, and used, as you watch.
- “CATCHING THE SUN” is a 2015 documentary, available on Netflix, takes a diverse look at the transition to solar power. It speaks directly to the false idea that clean energy, such as solar or wind, requires sacrificing economic prosperity.
- “THE HOME ENERGY DIET”, by Paul Scheckel, is available at our Library, and is a very user-friendly guide to how to save money by making your home Energy Smart. It is very comprehensive and easy to use.
- “THE LEAP” by Chris Turner, is available at our Library, well-written, well-researched, interesting and informative about the emerging world of cleantech possibility. A “Good News” book!
LINKS
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THE COAST WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
The Hornby Island Recycling Depot is a member of The Coast Waste Management Association (CWMA), a nonprofit organization formed to represent the waste management interests of government, non-profits, and businesses on Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and Central Coast of BC -
HIRRA (Hornby Island Residence ane Ratepayers Association)
HIRRA, along with our local Island Trustees, represents the interests of islanders with respect to local and regional issues. HIRRA is one of the principal service providers on our island, and has contracts with the Regional District of Comox-Strathcona for the provision of regional district services on Hornby Island. -
CVRD Depots (Comox Strathcona Waste Management Recyclin Depots)
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HORNBY ISLAND
More information and pictures of our beautiful island off the coast of British Columbia. -
RECYCLING COUNCIL OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (RCBC) Canada’s oldest recycling council. Founded in 1974 and registered provincially and federally as a non-profit organization. Starting out as an umbrella group for community based non-profit recycling societies, today the RCBC's 300 members include governments, businesses, non-profit societies, and interested individuals from all parts of British Columbia -- and beyond.
Thier mission is to be a non-profit organization that brings everyone together to work for environmental sustainability. They advocate waste avoidance and resource conservation through education and information services, and through participation in policy development.
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ENVIROLINK
An online environmental community with a wealth of contacts and information for the environmentally aware. Connected to this site is ENVIROARTS, a site featuring essays, poetry, interviews, and portfolios gleaned largely from the pages of the award-winning magazines.
- ECO-CYCLE
A community based program in Boulder Colorado, Eco-Cycle is one of the oldest and is the largest of nonprofit community recyclers in the US Founded in 1976, Eco-Cycle continues to promote a strong conservation ethic.
- ANTI-RECYCLING MYTHS
Sponsored by The Environmental Defense Fund , this rebuttal to the New York Times article, "Recycling is Garbage" is an excellent read.
For further
information
Contact Recycling Program Manager
Stani Veselinovic
EMAIL: hiwmc@yahoo.com
Phone: 250 335-0550
April 2018
Notes from the Depot………………………….
The Hornby Island Recycling Depot wants to get tanked. More precisely we want to artistically have our water tank painted. We are working together with the Hornby Islands Arts Council and their tank painting project “Get Tanked” that has so magnificently beautified the island fire fighting tanks. We are currently looking for an artist and idea for the tanks artwork. There is some money available form the Hornby Islands Arts Council for this project’s artist and the dead line for submissions is April 30, 2018. If you are interested and need some more information please contact us via the Free Post, email at hiwmc@yahoo.com, phone 250 335 0550 or at the depot office.
We wanted to thank everyone for all the wonderful design submissions for our 40th anniversary T-Shirts and we will unveil the winning design shortly. Many of you have seen the contenders on the recycling depots FaceBook page. We hope you enjoyed the pre-view. Will your favorite be chosen?
The 40th anniversary of the Recycling Depot and Free Store is coming and closer. We may bee looking into hiring a “Co-ordinator” to make sure everyone’s great ideas come to fruition, and if you think that you have the stuff to “Co-ordinate” this fabulous event talk to the Recycling Committee or the manager at let us know that you are interested. We have laid some ground work already. We hope that there will be band of musicians making some noise with instruments made from recycled materials. Now wouldn’t that be fun.
A reminder that the elections for “Committee Members of Hornby Island Committees” is approaching fast and if you are interested in being part of our great little recycling committee let HIRRA, our committee members or the management know that you would like to be part of a great thing.
Our website has received an update and you can check it out at hirre.ca/recycle/. There you find important information about the new drywall processing requirements and links to pertinent forms.
We would like to remind everyone again that we are now accept interact and credit card payments. We hope that this service will serve everyone well making it more convenient to pay for your garbage.
Thank you to all the volunteers who spent countless hours sorting at the free store, for no pay whatsoever, making the Free Store possible for the residents and visitors of Hornby Island. And thank you to the “Recycling Committee” and the “HIRRA” executive for dedicating many volunteer hours to help run our little depot. And a big Thank you to the staff for your commitment.
See you all up on depot hill.
March 2018
Notes from the Depot………………………….
Winter seemed to be on the way out as last months article was being written. In February however we were stuck in the snow for good. We had to close one Sunday as we received so much snow that the roads where not cleared in time for us to make it to the depot. Only Scott Hardy, hardcore as he is, walked all the way to the depot so he could clear it of the white stuff in time for us to open the following week. So, a BIG hearty “Thank You” Scott Hardy for going the extra mile.
As we have been mentioning before, the 40th anniversary of the Recycling Depot and Free Store is this upcoming September. We are planning a celebration and are looking for your input, ideas and help. We may bee looking into hiring a “Co-ordinator” to make sure everyone’s great ideas come to fruition, and if you think that you have the stuff to “Co-ordinate” this fabulous event talk to the Recycling Committee or the manager at let us know that you are interested. We have laid some ground work already. We hope that there will be band of musicians making some noise with instruments made from recycled materials. We have spread the word that we are looking for a T-Shirt design and are happy to say that they are coming in. The deadline for the T-Shirt design submissions is the 31st of March 2018. So, if you have an idea share it with us. Who knows it might be used and someone in Hawaii may be walking around with a T-Shirt that you designed. (We know many Hornby visitors and residents hang out in Hawaii at times.)
The annual elections for “Committee Members of Hornby Island Committees” is approaching fast and if you are interested in being part of our great little recycling committee let HIRRA, our committee members or the management know that you would like to be part of a great thing.
We would like to remind everyone again that we are now accept interact and credit card payments. We hope that this service will serve everyone well making it more convenient to pay for your garbage.
Thanks again to all the volunteers who arrive every weekend and do their thing to make our “Free Store” unique and a wonderful thing. Countless hours are spent by these volunteers, for no pay whatsoever, making the Free Store available to the residents and visitors of Hornby Island. And thank you to the “Recycling Committee” and the “HIRRA” executive for dedicating many volunteer hours to help run our little depot. Thanks to you all. See you all up on depot hill.
Stani
Advocato shells serving as starting pot