The October rains helped slow down business at the Hornby Island Recycling Depot. However our Free Store has been extremely popular and busy. Even our enforced masking protocol does not seem to keep patrons away. The Free Store is happening. So much so that we are dire need of volunteers to sort the donations that keep pouring in.
We would like to take the opportunity to thank all those patrons who attended HIRRA zoom meeting this October and supported our 2022 budget.
In the RecycleBC stream alone, this is most of your packaging made from paper, cardboard, plastics, tin, and glass, we have hade an increase of 30 % from the previous year. This impacts our staffing requirements for 2022 and we need to budget more personnel to process all these materials.
Covid-19 directive from WorkSafeBC requires us to enforces mask wearing protocols in all of our indoor facilities. This includes our beloved Free Store and puts the Hornby Island Recycling Depot in a very difficult position. We now require budgeting for staff to monitor and enforce mask wearing. Without our staff monitoring for compliance, the Free Store would likely have to close.
This has impacted our 2022 wages and benefits requirements considerably and we are investigating suggestions made at the last HIRRA meeting, such as an increase in tipping fees as well as reducing Free Store opening hours to help reduce the tax burden.
Last month we were working together with Rob Zielinski and the Walmsley Brothers on a marine debris clean-up initiative. They delivered 2842kg (one full 40-yard bin) of marine debris to us, which we were able to send off to land fill free of charge.
We are also working together with the volunteer fire department in a branch chipping fuel reduction and compost program. Over 40 yards of Hornby Island brush chips were integrated into our compost and will be available when ready for free to our island’s residents.
Another reminder that the tire stewardship will pay for heaving old tires that patrons to the Recycling Depot dropped off, picked up for free, the tire stewardship does not cover the cost for de-rimming the tires from the rim. The Recycling Depot is charged $5 per rimmed tire, and we will have to pass this cost onto our patrons.
Please call ahead when planning deposit drywall to ensure that our drywall bin is on the island and that there is room in the bin for your drywall before you come to the depot. Ensure that you have your waste disposal application printed and filled out before you arrive at the recycling depot. The waste disposal application can be downloaded and printed at https://recycling.hirra.ca/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Dry-Wall-Waste-Disposal-Application-March-2017.pdf.
Also be reminded again that we no longer are able to stockpile concrete rubble and need to ship that material as construction waste of island. Again we will need to pass this cost onto the customers who need to drop off concrete rubble.
Please note that the CVRD’s Weed Control Regulation Bylaw which includes Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum Salicaria), Japanese Knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum), Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus), Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea biersteinii), English Ivy (Hedera helix), Giant Cow Parsnip (Hogweed) Heracleum mantegazzianum), Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius), Gorse (Ulex europaeus), Dalmatian Toadflax (Linaria dalmatica), Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus discolor), and English Holly (Ilex aquifolium), and we no longer accept these plants in our compost and they must be disposed of in our waste stream.
A final note that household hazardous waste like motor oil, paint, batteries, light bulbs etc. can be only brought to our Product Care Building on Fridays from 9 am till 1 pm only.
Again we want to thank the Recycling Committee and HIRRA administration for their ongoing work and support, and a big thank you to our Free Store volunteer for their hard work and dedication.
…..….See you up on depot hill.
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