New Recycling Depot Hours for 2017
Open hours for both the Maple Ridge Recycling Depot and the Maple Ridge Garbage Transfer Station are changing:
Open hours for both the Maple Ridge Recycling Depot and the Maple Ridge Garbage Transfer Station are changing:
In this month’s newsletter, we look back at a full year of events & more in 2016.
Click to view the RMRS December, 2016 Newsletter. This and past newsletters are archived on our website.
Wondering about the recycling pickup schedule for 2017? Mark your calendar now, or download and print the 2017 Ridge Meadows Recycling Pickup Schedule
To find out your recycling pickup day, visit our Recycling Pickup Map!
Click to view our November, 2016 Newsletter which includes our Holiday Depot/Pickup schedule and tips on Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling during the holidays…
In 2016, we are switching from our pdf newsletters to online versions through MailChimp. This allows us to embed links to take you directly to more information. Let us know how it works for you!
Click to view our September, 2016 Newsletter which includes information on World Rivers Day, Fall Brush Chipping set-out deadlines, info on the LAST Committee‘s Free Community Living Month BBQ, & more. Enjoy!
During the month of July both of our summer students participated in the “Plastic Free July” Challenge. The challenge is to avoid using all single use plastics. Any single use plastic (Ziploc bag, saran wrap, takeout cup etc.) that they did use they had to save in a “dilemma bag”.
As July is coming to a close, the “dilemma bags” will become public! On Thursday, July 28th at 11am, Ridge Meadows Recycling will be hosting its first live stream! Visit www.facebook.com/rmrecycling to watch our summer students reflect on their plastic free experience – and go through their “dilemma bags”. Tune in and ask questions or share your plastic free experience!
Here are Annie & Taylor’s perspectives on their experience so far…
Hi! I’m Annie, one of the Recycling Society’s summer students and I am participating in the Plastic Free July Challenge. For the month of July I am trying to reduce (ideally eliminate) my reliance on single use plastic. Any single use plastic item I do use I have to put into my “dilemma bag” which I will post a picture of at the end of the month.
It is now July 15th and I have gone plastic free at the movies, the bar, restaurants, a backyard barbeque and even a first date. So here are my thoughts and reflections on this challenge at our “halfway point”:
Things I finally don’t feel awkward saying:
It’s been two weeks of this challenge, so most of my friends and family know about the challenge (and keep me very honest!). I’m finding I’m not explaining why I have my own cutlery/bags etc as often as I was in the beginning. This may be because everyone already knows, or because I’m starting to become more comfortable with it.
Things I haven’t found plastic free alternatives to, or am finding difficult to go without:
Plastic free things I think I’m doing well- or am proud of:
Hello! I’m Taylor, one of the summer students at Ridge Meadows Recycling. I’m more than halfway through the Plastic Free July Challenge, and I must say, it’s been very interesting. My goal was to eliminate as much single-use plastic from my life as I possibly could. Before starting, I definitely wasn’t aware just how much plastic was being used for my food, purchases, and hygiene. I was confident in my success; I really didn’t think this would be that hard. I rarely took plastic utensils and always re-used them, I already had a re-usable water bottle and containers, and I was pretty sure that my food didn’t use that much plastic.
Boy was I wrong.
I still live at home, and my mother, frustrated by my dietary restriction for the month, asked me to try picking up some groceries. So, I perused our normal grocery store, only to find that all of my favourite foods came with plastic! Tofu, cereal, cheese, berries, granola bars, bread… At your typical grocery store, it seems that almost everything comes in plastic, and then they offer you more plastic to carry it all. I’d never really noticed it before, and I was surprised, to say the least.
Some things I found particularly challenging:
While I’m certainly more comfortable bringing my own cutlery, containers, and bags everywhere now, I must say that this challenge has been a big wake-up call for me. I had no idea how much plastic was needed to sustain my lifestyle, especially my diet. To be honest, as someone who really cares about the environment, I’m kind of ashamed about it.
Some things I’ve done well, and some things I plan on doing:
After this month, I’m going to stop holding on to all my plastic, but I’m not going to give up my goal to reduce my waste in general, particularly my plastic waste. Who knows, I may even start making my own deodorant!
In 2016, we are switching from our pdf newsletters to online versions through MailChimp. This allows us to embed links to take you directly to more information. Let us know how it works for you!
Click to view our June, 2016 Newsletter which includes our Canada Day Holiday schedule, introduces one of our new Summer Students, and highlights our very popular Rain Barrels. Enjoy!
NOTE: Composters & Solar Cones are SOLD OUT for 2016. We will order more in Spring, 2017.
As part of an effort to gain Bear Smart Community status, the City of Maple Ridge will be subsidizing 400 bear-resistant organic bins for Maple Ridge residents. The bins will be available through Ridge Meadows Recycling Society along with our annual sale of Composters, Solar Cone Food Digesters, & Rain Barrels. Residents can pre-order any of these through the online form below, by visiting the Maple Ridge Recycling Depot at 10092 – 236th Street, or by calling our office at 604-463-5545.
“Every year, hundreds of bears in BC are destroyed as a result of getting into garbage or organic bins,” says Dan Mikolay, Wildsafe BC Coordinator for Maple Ridge, “These bear-resistant bins, when properly used, discourage bears from seeking food sources in residential areas.”
“The goal of the Wildsafe BC program is to ‘keep wildlife wild and communities safe,’” Mikolay continues, “Council’s generous subsidy goes a long way toward achieving our goal.”
The containers are also a major criteria to Maple Ridge achieving Bear Smart Community status this year. This special status was created to address the root causes of bear/human conflicts, and, thanks to its investment in the Wildsafe BC program since 2012, Maple Ridge is poised to become the first Bear Smart Community in the Lower Mainland.
With Metro Vancouver’s Organics Disposal Ban coming into effect last year, people are paying more attention to what happens with their food scraps.
The bear-resistant bins, which look like regular rolling totes, have reinforced lids and a locking mechanism. The 120 litre (32 gallon) bins will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Residents will be asked to pre-pay for the bins and either pick them up from the Recycling Depot or request delivery. Retail value of these containers is $200. Bulk purchase price is $150. With the $50 subsidy from the City of Maple Ridge, the first 400 Maple Ridge residents will be able to purchase the bins for $100.
The bins are being sold along with our annual sale of Solar Cone Food Digesters ($125), Composters ($65), and Rain Barrels ($70). To place your order, fill out the form below…
Please place your order below. After your form is submitted, we will contact you to arrange payment & delivery. Thank you for helping keep our planet green!
In 2016, we are switching from our pdf newsletters to online versions through MailChimp. This allows us to embed links to take you directly to more information. Let us know how it works for you!
Click to view our May, 2016 Newsletter which includes our Victoria Day Holiday schedule, info on ordering Rain Barrels, photos from Celebrate Earth Day 2016: ENERGY! and the LAST Committee’s Transition Resource Fair…