BLUE BIN RECYCLING
For a list of what can (and cannot) be recycled in your blue bins through the City of Vancouver, check out: http://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/what-goes-in-recycling-bins.aspx
REFUNDABLE BOTTLES AND ELECTRONICS
If you have more than the 24-bottle limit (as imposed by most grocery stores and BC Liquor outlets), or have electronics – this includes CDs, DVDs, VHS/Beta/cassette tapes, batteries…pretty well anything that you can plug-in or operate by batteries, aside from large appliances (e.g. fridges and stoves) – check-out Encorp’s Return-It depots. The depots closest to the West End are located at:
960 Evans Avenue (off of Terminal Ave) – http://www.return-it.ca/locations/regional-recycling-vancouver/
and
2286 Ontario Street – http://www.return-it.ca/locations/go-green-bottle-depot-recycling/
And, of course, we host Electronics Recycling Events (locations TBA, aside from the July event) every quarter in January, April, July (at our Community Yard Sale at Comox & Cardero) and October. It is free to drop-off your items, but we gladly accept donations.
See our calendar of events for location of a particular event.
CLOTHING
Clothing can be recycled by dropping it in the clothing bin in the alley just south of Guardian Angels Roman Catholic Church at Broughton and Pendrell.
As well, there is a clothing bin in the West End Community Centre just off the south entrance (near the ice rink).
Alternatively, you can opt to donate directly to any of a number of charities which take used clothing (and some other things) and sell it to help fund their operations:
Big Brothers (pick-up/drop-off)-http://www.bigbrothersvancouver.com/clothingpickup/donations.php
Canadian Diabetes Association (pick-up/drop-off) – http://www.diabetes.ca/get-involved/supporting-us/clothesline/
Covenant House (drop-off only) – http://www.covenanthousebc.org/donate/donate-items
Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre (drop-off only) – http://dewc.ca/donate
COMPOSTING
The City of Vancouver is in the process of implementing a system for picking up compostable items from apartment and condo buildings; until that is in place, you can take your compostables to one of two drop-off spots in the West End: every Saturday from 10:00 until noon in front of the West End Community Centre or in front of Gordon Neighbourhood House.
In the past, the GNH location has moved to the farmers’ market (Comox, between Bute and Thurlow) in the summer, so to be sure of the location, check out: http://foodscrapsdropspot.tumblr.com/page/2
If you want to compost on your balcony, check this out: https://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/want-to-compost-but-don-t-have-a-backyard-.aspx
COMPUTERS (and peripherals)
If you have a used computer and/or any peripherals, please consider donating to Free Geek Vancouver. Check out http://freegeekvancouver.org/
MATTRESS and FURNITURE RECYCLING
Please do not abandon used mattresses and furniture by dumping them in the alley; it is illegal and an eyesore. There are plenty of alternatives …
Host a yard sale … weather permitting, of course! Yard sales are a great way to recycle things, meet your neighbours and make a couple of dollars.
OK, so the weather is not that great at the time that you want to get rid of something … try Kijiji, Craig’s List, or Vancouver Reuses, each an easy and effective way to get rid of something you no longer need (and you might even get a couple of dollars for it!):
http://vancouver.kijiji.ca/ or http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/ or http://www.vancouver.reuses.com/?content=recyclopedia.view&recyclopedia_id=2874
Don’t want to deal with the back-and-forth of wheeling and dealing? Then why not contact HomeStart? They will pickup furniture for a nominal donation: http://www.homestart.ca/donations.htm
If you have a used mattress, it can be recycled (for a small pick-up fee, starting at $60):