There’s A Storm Brewin’
In case you didn’t know, the Land of Oz wants our garbage as much as China does. So on windy days, it’s important that we take the weather into account when placing our recycling at the curb.
Here are a few tips to help you navigate the weather and your recycling:
Collection Affect-ion
Depending on the severity of the wind, it may affect your recycling collection. Stay tuned to our website and social media for any updates on extremely windy days in case your collection is delayed or rescheduled.
Heavy on Top
Place your heavier materials on top of your blue boxes when wind is likely to be an issue. Put all your glass bottles and jars on top of your paper/fibres box, then put that box on top of your containers box.
Crush it!
Feel free to crush your cans and bottles down in your containers blue box, and your boxboard down in your paper/fibres box. This saves A LOT of space, and will reduce the possibility of material blowing out of your blue box on windy days. Stacking your papers upright in your papers blue box, also helps to stop wind-blown litter.
7 AM
Make sure your blue box is to your curb by 7AM on your collection day. Putting your recycling out the night before is fine, but if wind is expected throughout the night, make sure you wait until the morning.
Wait For It…
If you are concerned about high winds blowing your recycling out of your blue box, don’t put it out. Wait until your next collection if possible. Blue Boxes also blow away easily when empty in high winds, so if your blue box went missing on a windy day, take a look around your neighbourhood. Put your street number on your blue boxes in case they end up in Dorothy’s back yard.
Be a Good Neighbour
If your recycling does blow out of your blue box, please pick it up. If your neighbour’s recycling blows into your yard, pick it up too. In the end it’s about keeping the world a cleaner, greener place!
Watch for Traffic
Another factor to consider, blue boxes blowing into the street can be a driving hazard. This is another reason to wait until your next collection day, especially if you are not home to keep an eye on your blue box.
Visit our Recycling Facility
Remember that our Material Recovery Facility is open Monday to Friday from 8am – 4pm for residents to bring in their own recycling. Please feel free to bring your recycling to us before or after extreme weather days. That way, if you decide to not put it out, you won’t have to wait until your next recycling collection date.
