We were cleaning out our garage during the past few weeks and we didn't want to throw stuff in the garbage. So we wanted to recycle, donate or give away some of our things. Thought I'd do a repost of our recycling blog last year as well as add some new info.

It's easy enough to recycle your newspapers, paper, cardboard, bottles, cans and plastics into your household recycling bins, but what about some common household items that you really don't want to throw into your garbage? I was trying to find places to recycle my used batteries, light bulbs and plastic bags. 

Recycling rechargeable batteries and cellphones have been established for quite some time now. You can drop them off at several locations, the most common places are: Home Depot, Rona, Future Shop, Best Buy and London Drugs. For more info check out www.call2recycle.ca.

Home Depot has bins that will recycle alkaline batteries and cell phones, used power tool rechargeable batteries, CFL bulbs and fluorescent tubes.

It was a bit harder to find places that would take used light bulbs. Many places will take fluorescent tubes such as Home Depot and Rona but I just want to recycle the plain light bulbs! Edmonds Recycling will accept all types of light bulbs and batteries Their locations are in Langley, Surrey and Burnaby, open on weekdays during business hours - www.edmondsrecycling.com.

I wasn't able to find a specific recycling program that accepts used plastic bags but some grocery stores have a bin in front of their stores to recycle bags such as Wal Mart and Superstore.

The general recycling depot that accepts all kinds of electronics, batteries, computers and more can be found at 120-13065 84 Avenue in Surrey, open on weekdays. This is for all of Greater Vancouver. Their website contains the items they recycle at www.electronics-recycling.com. The Recycling Council of BC has a plethora of information as well. There is a drop down menu on the right hand side of their website where you can select the items you want to recycle and where you can find a place to recycle them. That's very useful. The website is www.rcbc.bc.ca.

Thanks to some of our Facebook friends we received some info about other recyclables:
Packaging styrofoam can be dropped off at the main gate at Mansonville Plastics (19402 56 Avenue, Surrey, 604-534-8626) between 9-4pm Mon to Fri. Styrofoam must be clean, no tape, labels or staples, bagged & tied.
Food & packaging styrofoam can be recycled on the 3rd Saturday of each month via Pacific Mobile Depot at Douglas Park Community Centre (5409 - 206 St, Langley) between 9am-noon. See their website for more info http://www.pacificmobiledepots.com/.
Styrofoam packing chips and peanuts can be recycled at UPS locations.

We had a client that wanted to get rid of her deep freezer without throwing it away. The South Vancouver Transfer Station recycles ferrous/non ferrous metals including other household appliances. You can drop off for free at 377 West Kent Avenue North 7 days a week from 7am-7pm (604-326-4600).
 
If you are going through your childhood trophies and awards and don't really want to keep them anymore (as we did), you can use a hair dryer and butter knife to pry off the plate. When you don't have any names on the awards, you can donate them to Value Village or Canadian Diabetes.

Hopefully that helps those of you looking to recycle some of these common household items. If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to contact us at greg@holmesteam.ca. Thanks for reading! Liz

For all your real estate needs, contact Greg and Liz Holmes - The Holmes Team to help you buy and/or sell your home! Call us at 778.834.9929 or email us at greg@holmesteam.ca.