Discover how to take care of your waste if you live in one of the buildings
After changes in the recycling and garbage collection processes in St. John’s, with new bag colours and sorting rules, students living at Burton’s Pond may have questions on how to proceed. Since January, the City has required that recycling waste goes on the curbside (outside the cart) and inside see-through blue bags, and regular garbage must be thrown out in clear bags and inside the cart. The scenario is different for Burton’s Pond residents since the buildings are inside the campus, where the streets are considered private.
Students in these residences have a green bin for regular garbage in front of each building, where they can place recycling and non-recycling waste all mixed since there is no selective collection for now.
Justin Dearing is responsible for the Office of Sustainability and Climate Action at Memorial University and explains that this collection process is about to change. According to Dearing, there is a project on the way for Burton’s Pond waste management. Studies are in place to install recycling bins for the buildings and work with the company in charge of garbage collection on campus for the proper destination. The project’s first phase will be a public hearing for opinions and ideas among residents. Further, the office will provide information such as the type of bags and methods of separation.
The final destination follows the city waste process at the Robin Hood Bay Waste Management Facility, which receives all waste types and processes them. Kelly Maguire is the speaker for waste management in the City of St. John’s and says that many recycling materials have Canadian end markets, and other products go outside of Canada. In both cases, the material gets transformed into new products, such as cans, bags, and boxes.
If you live at Burton’s Pond, wait for an online survey in the following weeks about the matter. Dearing also asks students with ideas or ecological concerns on campus to reach out to the MUN Office of Sustainability and Climate Action.
