One of the earliest pioneers in today's recycling movement!

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!

 

Our Free Store         A thriving and very active component of the Hornby Island RecycleDepot is our FREE STORE. Here you can find a new outfit for yourself or your kids, books and magazines furniture kitchen equipment toys gardening tools sewing patterns the list is endless!

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

• 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 Recycling Depots)

• Great Short Film about our Recyling Depoty and Free Store by "Real Things"

• Bob Cain's Recycling Photos
  Bob Cain has been documenting thet Hornby Island Recycling Depot since its incarnation. Here are many more pictures of our little recycling depot.

• 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.
  

• 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

 

June 2019

Greetings from depot hill. Summer is almost here and we are still looking for some extra hands to help us deal with the additional recycling the nicer weather brings. The Beach Access Waste Management contract is up renewal and we will be tendering it very soon so be on the lookout it. Let us know if you want to join our team of recyclers. You can contact us via email hiwmc@yahoo.com, phone 250 335 0550, the free post, or talk to us the depot.

This spring the Free Store was inundated by a large amount of stock from estates that have been left by people’s passing, unfortunately much was deposited in the waste bins. This got us thinking and we are brainstorming ideas to conceive some sort of “guide” on how to dissolve estates in an environmentally consciences fashion on Hornby Island.  If you have thoughts or ideas please contact us.

The CVRD is building a new backhoe shed and hope to have it ready by summer. We are thinking a ribbon cutting ceremony is in order. We will display some recycled art in the new building, have some refreshments and perhaps some music. Let us know if you want to take part.

The diabetes foundation can no longer accept our “RAGS” and only will accept clothing that can be resold/reused. Not repurposed. This means that only clean, not torn or soiled clothing should be dropped off at the Free Store. Torn and soiled clothing is garbage.

You will be noticing some changes in how we collect dead electronics and busted electronic appliances. If you know that the electronic gizmo you are offloading is dead; please don’t drop it of in the Free Store.  Please use the large “Mega-Bags” on the side of the recycling building. If you are unsure ask a staff member to assist you.

We have received a concrete pad adjacent to the recycling building. This will enable us to place a recycling bin on the same level as the recycling building and load the bin without the use of the back hoe.  We are looking forward to from freeing up space in the recycling building and loading the recycling as it accumulates will allow us to do so.  Did you know we ship one of these 40-foot bins of recycling every week? And in the nice weather twice as much.

Thank you again to all the volunteers who show up on their week end to keep the Free Store running, and thank you to the Recycling Committee and the HIRRA Executive for all their volunteer hours.  Thank you to the staff and for their dedication to the recycling cause.

May 2019

HIRRA’s AGM was held in April. For the first time in many years we had more members of the public interested to sit on the recycling committee than we have currently have seats for and there was an election. Kathy Sauve received the least numbers of votes and thus Judith Walmsley was voted in. We would like to thank Kathy Sauve for the many years of service she contributed to the recycling committee and are happy that, although not as a committee member” but at as an emeritus committee member, will still attend our meetings. We would like to welcome Judith Walmsley as our new committee member and are looking forward to working with her in 2019 and onward. Judith Walmsley is one of our Free Store volunteers and we value her experience and contributions.

Spring has sprung here at the Hornby Island Recycling Depot and Free Store. The daffodils and the spring blossoms of our fruit trees are blooming. And spring cleaning is bringing patrons with loads of materials to the recycling depot. As it is usual for this time of year we are inundated with stuff. Much of it is Free Store bound. Unfortunately, there is a lot that is not Free Store stock but garbage. The volunteers are asking for your participation in sorting unusable items from Free Store items and deposit them in the garbage.

We have had news that the Diabetes Foundation can no longer accept our “Rags”. That means the Free Store can no longer accept soiled, cut and dirty clothing. Please make sure that only items in good order are deposited into the Free Store. The volunteers thank you. Also make sure only working electronics are deposited in the Free Store. All non functioning electronics should be placed in the mega bags that are placed outside of the recycling building.  If unsure ask one of our staff and they will gladly guide you.

A reminder that the area behind the donations receiving table is for the Free Store volunteers. They need that space to sort and hang the donations that come in. Please respect their space during the opening hours.

If you are interested in joining our team at the recycling depot this summer, let us know. We are looking for help again this year during the months of July and August. We are offering four five-hour shifts. Thursdays through Sunday 8:30 am – 1:30 pm. Current pay rate is $16.39per hour. Leave us a resume in the Free Post, send it to hiwmc@yahoo.com or talk to us in the office if you are interested. 

To finish things of here is a fun thing to with leaky tea pots. Did you know that when the pot is buried in the ground so that the spout is sticking out, bumble bees will move in.  Now isn’t that a fun thing to try in the garden.  Let us know if it works.

April 2019

As this month’s article is being written the electric heater in the office is still working hard. Hopefully by the time this month’s article goes to print we can all welcome spring. The depot gardeners have been hard at work doing their wonderful gardening thing regardless of the temperatures.  You should check out the new garden gate John and Phillis have created. Thank you to Ceridwen Joy for wanting to take on   our overgrown willow fence. We know you will make it something beautiful. Thank you also to Una and Deborah doing that wonderful gardening thing all around the Recycling Centre. All your hard work is very much appreciated.

A Free Store volunteer asked that remind all parents when they are in the Free Store with their children to make sure their children are supervised. Please watch over your children carefully as they are many things that are in the reach. Old dirty shoes, smelly socks, toothpaste and many, many more things.

We have observed that several patrons of the recycling depot regularly refrain from remitting the deposit fee. We just wanted to spread the word that there actually is a fee to deposit garbage at the recycling depot. So tell all your friends :)

Please remember that there is a call out for more volunteer hands. More volunteers are needed in the Free Store. If you are interested in this fun volunteer opportunity, or know someone who might be interested, our volunteers are looking for up to ten more people per week for one to four-hour shifts. For more information you can contact the recycling depot or just show up at the Free Store during open hours and start sorting.

And a reminder that pre-sorting your Free Store items helps the volunteers. It takes so much time sorting thought broken hardware and broken toys, ripped and soiled clothing, molding books and clothing to find things that can be put out into the free store. So if all these items are kept out of the free store the workload of the volunteers would be well reduced.

Finally one last note. The HIRRA AGM will be taking place on April 10, 2019 at the Hornby Island community hall. Committee members are elected and if you are interested in joining the recycling committee this your chance for 2019. You can contact Jan Kennedy our committee chair, Reina LeBaron our HIRRA administrator or talk to us at the office.

March 2019

These past weeks we have been working hard to clear snow from the depot road and parking lot and I especially would like to thank Scott Hardy for going over and beyond of what is expected to make sure that our users have access to the recycling depot. I would like to thank Phil Bailey for shoveling snow and salting the pedestrian accesses areas continually throughout the past two weekends.  Thank you as well to Shawn Jamieson who at a moment’s notice has continuously made himself available for work when staff had called in sick.

Last year we shipped 34 forty yards bins of household garbage, 32 forty yards bins of recycling, 20 forty yards bins of carboard from commercial users, 14 forty yards bins of construction and demolition waste, 12 forty yards bins of scrap metal, seven forty yards bins of wood waste, three forty yards bins of branches and two twenty yards bins of drywall off island.

To date our solar panel array has produced 22.1 Mega watts total of clean energy, and 8.8 Mega watts was produced since last February’s reading.

We have started 2019 with a renewed focus on safety. Last month five staff members completed an Occupational 1^st Aid level 1 training course. This course was taught by John Heinnig at the fire hall.  We would like to thank John for teaching us the course and also thank Doug Chinnery for letting us use the fire hall for the training.  We have installed flags on our parking bollards to help drivers see the bollards as they are backing up towards them. We have installed an Eyewash Station that provides 15 minutes of clean tempered water and thus meets the new ANSI standards. Moving forward, our staff will be re-trained in WHMIS, WVH and other required training.

We would like everyone to know that there is a call out for more volunteer hands. More volunteers are needed in the Free Store. If you are interested in this fun volunteer opportunity, or know someone who might be interested, our volunteers are looking for up to ten more people per week for one to four-hour shifts. For more information you can contact the recycling depot or just show up at the Free Store during open hours and start sorting.

We also want to spread the word that pre-sorting your Free Store items helps the volunteers. It takes time sorting thought broken hardware and broken toys, ripped and soiled clothing, molding books and clothing to find things that can be put out into the free store. So if all these items are kept out of the free store the workload of the volunteers would be well reduced. And I think they deserve that respect. Don’t you?

Did you know that our most viewed Facebook post in 2018 was the little 40^th celebration video we did with 3259 people being reached and was followed by a picture of the new art work Tessa Mythos painted on our firefighting tank with 2670 views.

 

February 2019

 

The new year has arrived, and we hope everyone had a good holiday season. With new challenges and new energy and we will be working hard again this year to provide the best recycling and waste services to this little island.

 I spend a little time in Hamburg, Germany this past month to celebrate my mother’s 80^th Birthday. While I was there It was interesting to observe how recycling and waste is handled in this large European city. In the small apartment my mother lives she separates her plastics, paper, cardboard, glass and tin packaging and deposits some these materials in the appropriate waste containers in her apartment complex, others she deposits at collection sites close by. Her apartment building’s garbage and recycling waste containers are accessible 24/7 but she has to return batteries and other nasties during regular business hours of the participating collectors. There are recycling collections bins placed at intervals throughout the city for glass and paper/carboard or plastics that she uses.

There is a minimum 10 cent charge per shopping bag so many people in Hamburg carry a reusable bag with them. Germany is big on the Refundables idea. The average deposit paid on any drinking bottle including milk products is 20 cents and most everyone participates in getting their money back. My mother sure does.   Batteries have to be brought to participating collections centres to be deposited. Often a batterie retailer will also be a collection centre for batteries. The same goes for paint, pesticides and other nasties.

It was interesting to see how the concept of recycling has developed in this part of this earth.

I want to that Annie Nagle for holding fort in my absence.  As well I would like to thank Scott Hardy for creating a protective garden around our newly painted firefighting water tank. Our volunteer gardeners are exited can’t wait for spring to do their thing. Check it out the next time you are up at the depot.

A reminder that more volunteer hands are still needed in the Free Store and if you are interested in this fun volunteer job, our volunteers will be offering an orientation session early in the new year. They would like five to ten more people per week for on to four-hour shifts. For more info call 250 335 3229 or email nsnanua@yahoo.ca

We would like to thank 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 a 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 all our staff for their commitment and hard work. 

Thank You.

 

November 2018

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Tessa Mythos whole heartedly for artistically painting our fire fighting water tank. You may have seen her progress this past month as she was working hard on transforming our firefighting tank. We are exceedingly happy with the amazing art work she produced for the Hornby Island Recycling Program.  Next time you are at the depot take a look at her work and be amazed. We would also like to thank HIAC for making this art happen at our little recycling depot. Thanks go out to the CVRD as well as they funded all the prep work and will fund sealing the art work as well. We also thank Lawrence Maude for taking on the job of prepping and priming the old rusted firefighting tank. Thanks to the Hornby Island Volunteers Fire Department for providing the primer for the tank and for updating the tanks valves. What a great outcome form a project that was instigated by Lynn Carmichael, former chair of the of HIAC, over five years ago. Thanks to her as well.

The pilot program Recycle BC started on June 1st,  adding an additional stream of plastics to our collection process is working well. Recycle BC diverts this stream of plastic to a Waste to Energy facility on the main land. We appreciate everyone cooperation and participation. If you want to find out more about this new program you can check out  their website at https://recyclebc.ca/flexiblepackaging/

Currently we are busy preparing the 2019 operating budget and are looking forward to presenting it to the membership at the next HIRRA meeting on Wednesday, November 14, 2018 at 7:30pm at NEW HORIZONS CENTER.

Thanks everyone for their co-operation in refraining from depositing drywall in the wrong places and partaking in the slightly laborious procedure we have been saddled with. This new system is working well and we have been able to divert over twenty yard from the land fill and have this martials shipped to a recycler. This material will be recycled into new drywall here in British Columbia.

We also would like to thank 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 a 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 all our staff for their commitment and hard work. 

Thank You.

October  2018

Fall has arrived and things are slowing down once again at the recycling depot. We had a wonderful 40th anniversary celebration on September 8 2018 and want to thank all those who participated and celebrated.   Thank you to Reina LeBaron and her models who organized a fantastic free store fashion show. Thank you to Eleanora Laffin and Morgot Bushnell for displaying your fabulous quilts made from free store materials. Thank you to Don Innes and Catherine Cross for the recycling craft display. Thank you Dave Mills for sharing your recycled art with us. Thank you to Peter Huron, Tony Wilson, and Bill Smith for making some eclectic music for us that afternoon. And thanks to the Kritters for rocking the depot till closing. A special thank you to Jon Laskin for making us a special 40th anniversary cake. Fun was had by all. Thank you to the recycling committee , the free store volunteers and the staff for making this event such a memorable experience.

Thanks to everyone who bought a 40th anniversary celebration T-Shirt. We are almost sold out but  have a few left for sale at the depot.

Tessa Mythos has started to artistically paint our firefighting tank. Come and check out her progress next time  you are at the recycling depot. We are looking forward to see the finished product.

We have switched back to regular pricing and a regular bag of garbage is $3.50 a small bag is $1.75 and a large bag is $6.00. We are also now closed on Thursdays to the public.

Currently we are working on the 2019 operating budget for the recycling program witch will be presented to the HIRRA membership this  fall.

A big thank you to all the volunteers who spent  hours sorting at the free store, making the Free Store possible for the residents and visitors of Hornby Island.

See you all on depot hill.

September 2018

This summer has been a busy one for the Hornby Island Recycling Depot. We have shipped more recyclable and Refundables than in previous years. This is due to an increase in usership during the summer months and a broadening scope of the materials we can ship of the island to be recycled.

We want to thank Pat Hargrave for hosting our annual Volunteer and Staff Summer Party. Fun was had by everyone. The food was provided by Hornby Island Bakery and Pizzeria and was delicious. Thank you, Jon and Jane.

 Our 40th anniversary celebration is on September the 8th at the recycling depot during the regular depot hours. The Fall Fair will also be celebrating "Recycling" on September 9. It will be a full weekend of “Recycling Celebrations”.

Thanks to everyone who bought one of our 40th anniversary celebration T-shirts. We’re almost sold out of and have a few left for sale at the depot.

We would like to announce that the recycling committee selected Tessa Mythos to artistically paint our fire fighting water tank. We want to thank everyone again who submitted ideas to this great little project. We would also like to thank Lawrence Maude for taking on the job of prepping and priming our old rusted firefighting tank.

A big shout out to Peter Huron for lending his voice to our little recycling celebration video. Thanks go to Bob Cain for letting us use his archival photos and thank you Jake Berman for the drone footage he shot for us. Check out our facebook page to see the video if you have not yet done so. There is also a YouTube link on our website if you don’t facebook.

We would like to thank all the commercial customers who adapted to the new “Commercial Cardboard” routine and helped to make this transition as smooth as possible. We understand that it is not always easy to deal with the large amount of recycling that is created during the summer months by a commercial enterprise and appreciate you cooperation very much.

And a tremendous thank you to all the volunteers who spent summer hours sorting at the free store, for no pay whatsoever, making the Free Store possible for the residents and visitors of Hornby Island. A 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.

July - August 2018

 

So it's been one month since we added an additional stream of plastics to our collection process. We now are collecting Stand-Up and Zipper Lock Pouches, Crinkle Wrappers and Bags, Flexible Packaging with Plastic Seals, Non-Food Protective Plastic Packaging (Bubble Wrap) and Woven and Net Plastic Bags. These are all part of the new stream of plastics collected by Recycle BC. Our staff will be available to assist you with any questions regarding this new plastics stream. This is a pilot project run by Recycle BC and we will see if this stream will be permanently added by the end of 2018.

We are now in full swing preparing for the 40^th anniversary this September. Our celebration at the depot will be on September 8^th  during the regular depot day and the Fall Fair will be celebrating "Recycling" on September 9. It will be a full weekend of Recycling Celebrations. If you are interested in being part of the celebration team let us know. We have a sign-up sheet in the office for all those interested. We will be having a band, an art show in the depot garden, some treats, and more. And for those who are wondering………….. There will be cake.

We also wanted everyone to know about our new 40^th Celebration T-Shirts that are now on sale at the recycling depot. We wanted to thank everyone who submitted ideas. We are very happy with the design that was created by the super talented Tyler Mason from a design idea submitted to us by Reina LeBaron. THANK YOU!

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 also wanted to apologize to all the artist who have submitted a design for the Get Tanked project. We have made some mistakes in the original call for proposals and now, to satisfy all of HIACS requirement, we will be issuing another call for submissions soon. We are working hard to have the next call for submissions contain all the requirements HIAC requires. Again, our apologies and look out for the new call for the Get Tanked project at the recycling depot.

Thanks to Doug Chinnery and the Hornby Island Volunteer Fire Department for helping us out with upgrading our Fire Fighting Tank and donating all the paint to have it primed for our little art project.

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.

June 2018 

Get ready to recycle even more. As of June 1, 2018 we will be adding an additional stream of plastics to our collection process. We will be collecting Stand-up and Zipper Lock Pouches, Crinkle Wrappers and Bags, Flexible Packaging with Plastic Seals, Non-Food Protective Plastic Packaging (Bubble Wrap) and Woven and Net Plastic Bags. These are all part of the new stream of plastics collected by Recycle BC. Our staff will be available to assist you with any questions regarding this new plastics stream.

You may know already that the recycling depot and free store will be having its 40th anniversary this September. We will be having a celebration at the depot on September 8th. If you are interested in being part of the celebration team let us know. We have a sign-up sheet in the office for all those interested.

And for those who are wondering………….. There will be cake.

As we are writing this article we are still looking for some summer staff. We are looking for material handlers and are offering part time positions at 20 hours per week. The current rate of pay is $17.22/hour and we are looking for people to work Thursday through Fridays. If you are interested in joining our team of recyclers stop by at the office, call us at 250-335-0550, email us at hiwmc@yahoo.com or drop us a line in the Free Post.

Currently our regional district is researching “Waste to Energy” solutions for our region. Your recycling committee is requesting the HIRRA membership to write a letter in opposition to WTE solutions to the CVRD board. If you feel strongly about this topic, please get in touch with our committee members and let them know your views. They are Jan Kennedy, Kathi Sauve, Barbara Baird, Ilze Raudzins and Alsoon Brine. You can also talk to our HIRRA executive members President Rob McCreary, Vice President Linda Manzer, Treasurer Lynn Nunley or Secretary Anita Lewis.

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.

May 2018

The first quarter of 2018 has been business as usual at the Hornby Island Recycling Depot.

We collected and shipped five 40-yard bins of household garbage, two bins of construction waste, two wood waste bins, three scrap metal bins and eight bins of recycling of the island. We shipped twelve skids of “Product Care” materials so far.  Our drywall diversion program collected one 20-yard waste bin full of dry wall scraps and old drywall

We are collaborating with HIAC on having our firefighting tank painted artistically this year and we are looking for ideas and artist to help us to complete this project. We hope to convert the tank, so our volunteer firefighters can easily connect their equipment at the same time. The cost for prepping the tank would be covered by the CVRD and HIAC has some monies available for the artistic component. If you or you know someone that wants to get involved in this project? Contact us. Submission deadline has been extended to May 15^th, 2018.
Recently we updated our website and it is now easily accessible through the HIRRA website or by going directly to www.hirra.ca/recycle/. We want to take this opportunity to thank Bob Cain for letting us use his pictures on our history page. As many of you know September 2018 will be an important date for the Hornby Island Recycling Depot for it marks the 40^th anniversary of Reducing Reusing and Recycling up on the hill. We are planning a celebration for this important event. We are currently talking to musicians, artists and volunteers to participate. We hope to have a T-Shirt available for sale as a fund raiser to help cover celebration cost and the recycling committee is researching other funding avenues. We would like to thank all the volunteers who spent countless hours sorting at the free store, making the Free Store possible for the residents and visitors of Hornby Island.A big thank you to the “Recycling Committee” and the “HIRRA” executive for dedicating many volunteer hours to the Recycling Depot., also we would like to acknowledge Scott Hardy, Scott Sweeney Annie Nagle, Phi Bailey and Shawn Jamison for their hard work and dedication.

See you all up on depot hill.


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.

 

Advocato shells serving as starting pot