Recycling Nanaimo – The Green Bin Program

Recycling Nanaimo - The Green Bin Program

I am so impressed with the organized recycling in Nanaimo.  In fact, it appears that others agree that recycling in Nanaimo is exemplary.  The Regional District of Nanaimo's ZERO WASTE PROGRAM earned national recognition in early 2011 when they won a Sustainable Community Award from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

Recycling in Nanaimo expanded last October when the RDN introduced the Green Bin Program.  The program allows households to compost more food waste than a regular home composter would allow.  With a GREEN BIN one can now compost cooked food, meat, fish, bones, and some paper products.

To encourage even more recycling in Nanaimo; the RDN has purchased four more trucks so that another 17,500 households can participate.

The participating households currently using the green bin have reduced the garbage set out at the curb by an average of 48 %.  In fact, the RDN has calculated that when all single family homes in the district use the Green Bin Program an estimated 6,000 tonnes of food waste will be diverted annually from the landfill.  These are impressive numbers.

Visit www.beyondcomposting.ca to find out more on why recycling in Nanaimo is so successful.  For a list of places to recycle in Nanaimo click here.