This year, CBC stations in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Gander and Corner Brook did something about just that. They got boxes from a company called Terracycle, and have been collecting exactly this kind of waste.
The boxes aren't cheap: they cost $86 a pop. But John Gaudi of
Labrador Morning told me it was something the program wanted to take on as a campaign for all of November.
Terracycle is a waste management company that specializes in handling hard-to-recycle household items, including wrappers left over from delicious Halloween treats and other snacks.
Before the smoke-free policy, Fanshawe placed numerous cigarette butt receptacles throughout the College’s designated smoking areas. These receptacles were regularly emptied and their contents were shipped off to a specialised recycling facility called TerraCycle, where the plastics from the butts would be turned into items such as park benches and playground equipment.
Considering packaging at the beginning of product development is an idea that would appeal to TerraCycle. Unfortunately, explained TerraCycle’s Anthony Rossi, during the past 70 years, producers reduced the weight of the package, and in the process recycling rates have crashed.
“We shouldn’t ask, ‘Can we recycle it,’ we should ask, ‘Would you want to recycle it?’” explained Rossi.
Don’t want to craft with your candy wrappers? Then recycle them for profit through a
TerraCycle Brigade which repurposes a variety of hard-to-recycle products, including candy wrappers.
TerraCycle's Wellness Natural Pet Food Recycling Program allows any Wellness Complete Health, Wellness CORE and Holistic Select flexible plastic pet food packaging to be collected at participating retailers and other community locations. Once collected, the pet food packaging is shredded and formed into plastic pellets that can be remolded to make new recycled products—everything from lawn chairs to playground equipment.
