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1 1 economists sunsuntribune environment saturday nov 29 2003 waste not residents try to help recycle what region wont or cant bymikeadler staff writer watch the receiving line long enough at the miller waste recy cling facility in markham and youll see car parts diapers takeout food containers clear bottles for dish soap and plastic milk bags with milk still in them ive had a real rash of diapers recently general manager george south said ninetenths of unacceptable materials are left in blue boxes at the curb he said but a lot still piles up each day at the woodbine avenue plant which receives recy- clables from most bfyork region the rejected stuff goes to a land fill but in other municipalities things york forces people to trash including takeput containers dish soap bottles and milk bags are made into useful items of the six most common plastic resins york recycles only polyethyl ene terephthalate pete marked with a 1 and highdensity polyeth ylene hdpe stamped with a 2 we just need to find more ways and better ways to do this sort of thing but the region only takes hdpe containers with a screw top reject ing ice cream tubs and other items with a 2 because manufacturers use a different process to make them neighbouring peel region takes types of plastic york doesnt warn ing its residents only against plac ing plastic toys or used plastic food wrap in blue boxes by 2005 york should have anew recycling plant equipped to handle all plastics numbered 1 or 2 as well as aluminum foil paint cans aerosol cans and juice boxes but even then it doesnt plan to collect the other plastics until resale markets improve said andy campbell the regions director of solid waste if you cant sell it you dont want to take it plastic bags and plastics stamped with the numbers 3 to 7 account for a few per cent of house hold wastes mr campbell said since there is a market for pete and staff photosteve somerville regional general manager for miller waste george south left and rodney iabby plant supervisorvshow items that cannot be recycled including plastics with food remnants still in them various other chemical prod uct containers and diesel fuel containers hdpe it is worth collecting them to stimulate blue box use in lowpar ticipation areas such asvaughan but some people in york already try to help recycle what the region wont or cant east gwillimburys environmen tal services committee hosts drop- off days for nonbluebox plastics four times a year accepting items such as broken plastic garden chairs pool covers and containers for potted plants chairperson eatween redmond said the committees volunteers give the droppedoff plastic toys to shel ters and ask for donations to cover recycling costs which have risen to 700 for each event theres ho one answer and theres no easy answer ms redmondsaid we just need to find more ways and better ways to do this sort of thing jim priebe head of a volunteer group that runs a recycling depot in whitchurchstouffville said hes searching for companies that will take plastics numbered 3 4 or 5 we just need to keep looking and find someone who wul do it at its four recycling depots the town of markham collects plastic bags and polystyrene the white foam packing material you find around a new vcr and sends them off to separate companies for recycling customers want recycling a p stores in the region also collect used bags shipping them to an american company producing a material for plastic decking the recycling program was something customers wanted said tammy smitham communications man ager for a p canada industry groups such as the environment and plastics industry council epic point out many products can be made from all types of used plastic pete is recycled into fibre for fleece jackets insulation and car peting epic spokesperson cathy cirko said huge industries have developed because of that0y s but jed goldberg president of the environmental group earth day canada said we should place more responsibility for reducing waste on manufacturers and the consumers who buy their products the more municipalities collect now in their blue boxes for recy- cling he said the more money they lose its a ridiculous equation mr goldberg is spokesperson for target zero canada a campaign arguing wasteful packaging can be eliminated and empty containers returned to the source for reuse as beer bottles are in ontario why cant that model by used elsewhere he asked for more on plastics and recycled plastic products see vmwplasticscaepic for more on the target zero campaign go to wwwtar- getzerocanadaorg for information on the stouflville recycling depot visit wwwwdr- knoiescomonstoumle 1 polyethylene terephthalate pete used forbeverage food and nonfood bottles 2 high density polyethylene hdpe harder and a little heavier than pete its used for beverage food and non- food bottles and containers such as itubsfor ice scream 3 polyvinyl chloride pvc or vinyl 5 clear and used for deli food packag ing bottles for shampoo or cooking 5 4 low density polyethylene ldpe a less common but tougher material used for squeezable bottles and vari- pus plastic foils and bags kiight and used for margarine and dairy tubs r food storage mhtaihersm s v 6kpojystyrene ps rigid and used in plastic or styrofoam cups packing material for appliancessi apply a 7 because the jujgs have drf- ffererit resin layersandare riot recy- ciablev v- yy- sources environment and plastics industry council recycling council of ontario town of manham ti supm bhhwpwi ps jtktian lestautant 39 main st north markham 9054715670 experience otw j3ew look new years eve dinnerdance reservations required catering available special set menus also available