Help recyclers
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The Town of Port McNeill must get moving to make sure recycling facilities are provided in the community in the new year.
For more than 15 years, volunteers have done the work of collection, sorting and even transporting recyclables.
Those items have been kept out of the already strained landfill at 7 Mile thanks to the admirable dedication of the recycling society. But those volunteers are understandably tired and it is time for recycling to become a service provided by the municipality.
Alert Bay has curbside pick up for recyclables and other North Island communities already have, or are in the process of establishing, staffed transfer stations to make sure recyclable items collected are properly sorted and that other items - such as batteries and paint - are disposed of in a safe manner.
The self-serve recycling bins the Port McNeill town council is considering are not as efficient since cross contamination can easily take place and could mean a whole load of recyclables still ending up in the landfill.
The day has come when recycling isn’t just something a few people do. It is a part of everyday life for most Canadians. Port McNeill needs to take responsibility and provide a transfer station for the community and encourage residents to use the service.
Yes, there will be a cost in providing an efficient transfer station that meet the needs of the community. But an investment now will reap long-term benefits for the community and the whole North Island.
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