12 May Think About Recycling as a Lifestyle, Rather Than a Chore

EarthDay comes around every year and is a great reminder to check in and see how we all can level up our recycling systems at home & work. At Island Return It, South Cowichan depot in Cobble Hill, we are passionate about helping you get your returnables to our depot, so you can get your refunds. Plus, materials such as aluminum & glass can be fully repurposed, so recycling those ensures we are diverting these valuable resources from the landfill, while saving on the heavy cost of new natural resources. Glass and aluminum can be repurposed infinitely, so it just makes sense to make sure every bit of it gets to the depot.

Our team at the S. Cowichan depot (not to be confused with Fisher Road Recycling) take pride in our clean and efficient depot, that on top of accepting all your returnables, we also take in other general recycling as well (such as laundry jugs, soft plastics, glass jars etc), which make us a convenient one stop drop off for Cow Bay, Cobble Hill, Mill Bay and Shawnigan Lake residents. AND, we take it all for Free.

Here are a few tips from our team:

1. Wash your returnables as soon as you are finished with them. Conserve water by rinsing them with the last of your dishwater (called greywater).
2. We still accept accurately pre-counted (clear) bags of empties. Make sure alcohol and non-alcohol cans are separated.
3. We recycle more than just bottles and cans. We take old electronics, computers, laptops, electric tools, small kitchen appliances, fire alarms, batteries, lightbulbs and ink cartridges. Next time you visit the depot, pick up our handy rack card with our full list of accepted items, for easy reference.

“Recycling is more important than ever, because as a society we are buying more. Unfortunately, our electronics and appliances aren’t lasting like they used to. Technology is changing so quickly, so when it’s time to upgrade or replace, we’re here to take those old and broken electronics”.

S. Cowichan depot is also collecting donations for local charities (one a month) or you can choose your favourite registered charity, just let the staff know when you check out at the till.

Current Charities for South Cowichan (different than the Duncan depot)

May: SCHFIAS Shawnigan Cobble Hill Farmers Institute

June: Shawnigan Basin Society

July: Rotary Club Eco Society

August: Duncan Dynamics Gymnastics Club

Sept: Senior Lunch Cobble Hill Hall

Oct: Sun Fm – Stuff the Truck

Nov: Sun Fm – Stuff the Truck

Dec: Duncan Chamber of Commerce

Making recycling a part of your everyday life, automatically makes it a lifestyle rather than a chore. At Island Return It, we are here to help you in any way we can. Let’s do our best for the planet and our future, and make every day Earth Day.

Thank you for recycling!

The Island Return It S. Cowichan team