If you’re new to the Quinte area, chances are, you’re not used to separating your recycling. And if you’re not used to our type of system, you probably have a bright green sticker on your bag or blue box.
If you’ve moved to the area from Toronto or Northumberland County, you’re used to being able to throw all of your papers and plastic together in a bag, box, or cart. There are a few municipalities within Ontario that operate this way. Quinte however, does not. And we are not alone. Many municipalities operate in the same manner. With municipalities running different programs, there is often a learning curve when a new resident moves in.
Yes, now that you are a proud resident of the Bay of Quinte region, you need to start separating your plastic containers, from your papers. But don’t worry; it’s not as difficult as it sounds.
Although you can use one blue box to sort, we recommend two blue boxes (click here for info on where to purchase blue boxes). In one, put all of your paper products such as newspapers, cereal boxes, office paper, etc. And in the other box, put all of your plastic and metal containers. Glass bottles and jars go on top of your papers, as does your bag of plastic bags. That’s it. Check out this video for more info:
By asking residents to pre-sort their recyclables into two categories, your municipal service saves a lot of money. If we had an all-in-one type system in place, our taxes would be much, much higher, as multi-million dollar optical sorting machinery, a complete plant redesign and more would need to be budgeted for, and to be completely upfront, that isn’t going to happen any time soon.
When residents understand that our system is more cost effective than others, they tend to take pride in recycling, and become diligent recyclers, as we all should. Recycling is an environmentally responsible service that saves trees, oil, energy, landfill space, and money, and that affects all of us now and in the future.
All residents, new and current can contact us at 613-394-6266, 1-800-210-0762, info@quinterecycling.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
