Recycling

Take pride in our community. Reuse, Reduce, Recycle!

Green Bin Program

The Green Bins, located at the Transfer Station are part of the Recycle BC Program. Recycling that is placed in these bins, benefits more than the environment. The green bins accept everything that goes into the yellow bins, plus an additional 76 items! In addition, the RDEK gets paid per tonne of recycling collected in these bins, saving taxpayer dollars. Alternatively, the RDEK is charged for every tonne of recycling placed in the yellow bins.

To find out what is accepted in the green bins, view the Elk Valley Recycling Guide and the Recycle BC Brochure.

Yellow Bin Program

If it can be recycled, it isn’t garbage and should be diverted from the Transfer Station. The yellow bin program accepts cardboard, tin and aluminium cans, all mixed paper (including newspaper and magazines) and plastic milk jugs (no cartons).

Household Plastics

Grocery bags and household plastics numbered 1 – 6, along with mixed recyclables (cardboard, mixed paper, newspaper, plastic milk jugs and tin and aluminium cans) are accepted in the yellow bins.  Plastic is extremely sensitive to contamination, so please make sure your plastics are well rinsed. If it’s a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 it will be accepted. Grocery bags will also be accepted. The only exception is Styrofoam – even though it is a 6, it is NOT recyclable.

Recycling Numbers

The recycling numbers are a uniform way of classifying the different types of plastic and it aids recyclers in the sorting process. Note that sometimes other numbers are found on the bottom of plastic containers, but only numbers inside the recycling symbol are valid for recycling purposes.

1. Number 1 PETE - Poly(ethylene terephthalate): Soda bottles, water bottles, cooking oil bottles, and medicine containers.
2. Number 2 HDPE - High-density Polyethylene: Containers for: laundry/dish detergent, milk, shampoo, conditioner, also various toys, and grocery bags.
3. Number 3 V - Poly(vinyl chloride): Pipes, shower curtains, clear medical tubing, vinyl dashboards and seat covers.
4. Number 4 LDPE - Low-density Polyethylene: Wrapping films, grocery bags, and sandwich bags.
5. Number 5 PP - Polypropylene: Tupperware, yogurt tubs, (orange) medicine containers, and plastic caps of soda bottles.
6. Number 6 PS - Polystyrene: Plastic cups, disposable cutlery and cups (clear and coloured), coffee cups, packing peanuts, Styrofoam insulation.  Note that the District does accept plastics #6 for recycling, but NOT styrofoam, peanuts, etc. (these are contaminated by food easily).
7. Number 7 OTHER: They are made of any combination of 1-6 or another, less commonly used plastic.  These are NOT permitted recycled materials in Sparwood.

Prohibited Plastics

The following plastics are not recyclable:

• #7 plastic
• Styrofoam (even though it is marked with a #6)
• Plastics without a number.

Look for the number inside the recycling symbol on the bottom or side of your container.

What You Need to Know About Glass

Because the regular yellow bins are sorted by hand, glass must go in a separate, specially marked bin for GLASS ONLY. These bins are easy to spot because they have a flat top with two holes cut in the top.

These bins are for container glass only. That means only container glass that holds food and beverages such as jam jars; pickle jars, olive oil jars, or wine bottles. These containers must be well rinsed with lids removed before putting glass containers in the recycling bin as metal lids cannot be recycled in the yellow bins.

Prohibited Glass Items

The following are NOT accepted in the glass bins:

• Dishes of any kind (clear drinking glasses, pyrex dishes, corel ware, pottery, plates, etc.) No dishes!
• Shower doors, windshields, window glass
• Lightbulbs
• Picture frame glass
• Glass trinkets

These materials contaminate the whole load and the entire bin has to be landfilled when the wrong glass is dumped in the bin.

Frequently Asked Questions