There are all these goals and targets to reduce emissions and improve the climate.
All week in the series "The Costs of Going Green" we've looked at how not to break the bank, but what if you just want to live greener?
How about upping your recycling game. According to Cynthia Coates with the Regional District of Central Okanagan a lot of what people put in the blue bin can't actually be recycled.
"It's kind of like wish-cycling; I really don't want this to go to the landfill and I hope it's recyclable when I put it in. It's a nice idea, but it does cause us a few problems for sure. We really have to just stick to what's acceptable in those curbside carts."
Clothing, toys, electronics, and Tupperware are a no go, but empty aerosol cans and foil wrap are blue bin safe.
"Things like your disposable cups, so your coffee cups. Lots of people think those are not recyclable, but in the Central Okanagan and the rest of BC those are. Cartons, so things like your alternative milk products...or those tetra type boxes that soup come in, frozen food, cartons like your ice cream cartons which have kind of that plastic film on them that people think is wax, all of those can be recycled."
Did you know putting something in the blue bin that shouldn't be there poses a hazard for workers at the recycle plant? Coates says things like empty camping propane tanks or lithium batteries are a fire hazard.
"Some of the other innoxious stuff like a garden hose, when it gets to the recycling plant something like that we call them tanglers. They get caught up in all the equipment, it can cause shutdown at the facility. Then other stuff it's time, it's money to sort out all of that stuff and it lowers the value of the overall recycling."
There are a handful of items that shouldn't go out for curbside pickup, but can be recycled at a depot. Things like styrofoams, glass jars, and plastic bags.
If you need some incentive, get your money back by using bottle depots that reimburse for recycling.
Coates says the district has a tool to make recycling easy. "We also have a really great app for the region. It's called Recycle Coach and it has a really great what goes where search feature. So, if you have an item in your hand and you're not sure you can search it up and it will give you recommendations on best options for that, where you can recycle it or if it's not recyclable that it would recommend it's garbage. The app also provides you with your garbage schedule, your recycling schedule, your yard waste schedule, and a bunch of notifications if you want to know about any events we might be having."
The app is available on both apple and android phones.