This article is contributed by Lakehead University (Orillia) student Izzy Nolan, on behalf of Sustainable Orillia.
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Ever wonder what happens to your paper and plastic after curbside pick-up?
While each item has its own journey, most end up in our landfills due to inconsistent recycling practices. While Canadians produce approximately 3.3 million tons of recycling per year, only 9% is recycled, resulting in over 2.8 million tons either burned for energy or dumped in landfills.
If recycled properly, items such as aluminum cans, plastic containers, glass, and cardboard can be melted or broken down into new products including cookware, fleece, fiberglass, garden supplies, or even parts for bicycles, cars, and airplanes.
On the other hand, if these items are placed into the wrong bins or sorted incorrectly, they can take hundreds of years to decompose.
Here in Orillia, waste should be properly sorted before pick-up. To ensure that items are sorted correctly, follow the local waste collection guide, which demonstrates what is and is not accepted by the city’s disposal center.
Unlike many other municipalities, Orillia will accept Styrofoam packaging and plastic grocery bags, although it is important that these items are placed in a bag and tied at the top to avoid being mixed among the other recyclable content.
The City of Orillia asks citizens to “place the tied bag of bags [or bag of clean Styrofoam packaging and trays] in or beside your recycling box for paper” to ensure proper disposal.
Orillia does not accept:
- Coffee cup lids (hard to sort due to small size)
- Single serve coffee pods
- Bubble/stretch wrap
- Chip/snack bags
- Meat/cheese wrapping
- Cereal box liners
- Light bulbs
- Ceramics
- Window glass
- Mirrors
- Drinking glasses
- Foam packaging peanuts
- Diapers
- Toys and electronics
When recycling, it is important to look for the numbers labeled on each item. For example, plastic bottles are often labeled with a “1” and are easiest to recycle into more bottles or polyester fibres.
Other plastics such as laundry detergent or milk containers are often labeled with a “2” and are also fairly easy to break down. Numbers 3-7 are much more difficult to recycle, so it is imperative that they are sorted and disposed of properly.
Usually, any item that has a number can be placed in the blue bin for curbside pick-up. If an item does not have a number (such as a plastic hanger, children’s toy, or toothbrush), it cannot be recycled.
The colour of your recyclable items is also important to take note of, as brown and black plastics are very difficult to recycle.
Since Orillia uses machine-sorting, dark colours often blend in with the conveyor belt and are therefore misplaced into the garbage pile and sent to local landfills.
While the City of Orillia asks for black plastics to be placed in the blue bin, Simcoe County’s “Waste Wizard”, an online tool with recycling recommendations, suggests placing black plastics into the garbage rather than attempting to recycle them.
Either way, try to avoid purchasing items that use dark plastics such as Tim Hortons cup lids and take-out containers.
No matter the item that is being placed in a bin, it should always be separated (i.e. lids and cups, caps and bottles) and cleaned out before disposal. If you are unsure where an item belongs, research your local municipality or call your local waste-management team.
Here are some helpful links:
Orillia Solid Waste Collection Guide
For more information on Sustainable Orillia, visit their website.
