14 Nov How Is Island Return It Funded?

Upon first glance it doesn’t make any sense does it? We never take your money, in fact we are usually giving out refunds for empty beverage containers. We sell cases of wine and beer bottles for less than the cost of a bottle of wine and we save huge bags of empty egg cartons and give those to local chicken farmers for a $1 a bag. Never mind the thousands of dollars we donate to community organizations, charities and local sports teams every year. How are we still in business?

I’m so glad you asked! It works like this:

Our depots are funded by product stewardships. A stewardship is an environmental management strategy that operates under the principal that whomever is creating, producing, selling or using a product should be responsible for minimizing that product’s impact on the environment. This is usually manufacturers and producers (i.e. Pepsi and Coca-Cola) or Consumers (this is the environmental fee you pay at the point of purchase). This legislation was implemented by various governments.

At the end of its life, a product like say, a TV can be pretty harmful if it’s left in a landfill. Metals corrode, toxins are released and some products have components that are flammable. By bringing your old batteries, light bulbs, light fixtures, electronics, small appliances, paints, power tools, cell phones etc into an Island Return it Recycling Centre you can rest assured that we will recycle each item in a safe and responsible manner.

A side note about recycling in a socially responsible way: Nothing that you bring to Island Return It ever gets barged overseas for dismantling. We do not send unprocessed products to impoverished nations. We work with approved North American processors who dismantle products properly and safely, so you can feel good about recycling with us, after all, for us it’s not just a business – it’s a lifestyle!