17 Jan

[caption id="attachment_496" align="aligncenter" width="300"] 2015 Happy New Year[/caption] “New year’s resolutions.”  Feel that tightening in your gut?  That impending sense of guilt for another year’s resolutions already fading into distant memory?  Okay, so maybe that’s a tad dramatic.  Maybe.  No matter your official view of new year’s resolutions, it’s hard not to yearn for change at the beginning of a new year.  Hard not to think that this will be the year when you finally ______! (fill in the blank)  The problem is that most of us make it way too complicated on ourselves, get overwhelmed, and eventually fall back into our old ways.  Here at Island Return It Recycling Centres we have been helping people realize their resolutions the easy way for 20 years.  That’s right, 2015 marks our 20th anniversary of providing hassle free recycling services to the people of the South Cowichan Valley and beyond! Here’s the trick: simply by recycling...

05:58 / Community / Local / Recycle Me
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17 Oct

 School’s back in full swing (after a bumpy start), which also means it’s fundraising season again!  Chocolates, anyone?  Cookies?  Magazines?  Entertainment Books?!!   [caption id="attachment_480" align="alignleft" width="271"] Photo credit: Cnunes62[/caption] But what if you’re looking to make some money for your organization and save the planet at the same time?  For this, nothing beats a good old fashioned bottle drive.  Except, in order to make yours successful it might be time to do away with the “old fashioned” and bring your bottle drive into the 21st century!     Here are four steps to help make your bottle drive efficient, profitable, and fun: STEP ONE: ORGANIZE Form a small group of people willing to take initiative and delegate tasks to each person in the group.  For example, have one person in charge of advertising, one person in charge of volunteer recruitment, and someone else in charge of sorting the collected containers.  Choose a leader, having one point of...

01:27 / Community / Local / Recycle Me
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05 May

Woot Woot! We're on a roll! Our Earth Month festivities are rolling along, full steam ahead! This past weekend we took a little break after spending two days at the Mayfair Shopping Centre in Victoria and another two days at Kerry Park Arena in Mill Bay collecting assorted electronic waste, small appliances, scrap metal, light bulbs, batteries and whatever is on the accepted list that Island Return It can recycled! We've been having so much fun meeting all of you, answering questions and working with partners like Pacific Rim Mall and  UsedAlberni.com. Now that we are refreshed, relaxed and rejuvenated we're ready to head further North to Port Alberni's Pacific Rim Mall.   We will be collecting small appliances (i.e. toasters, electric toothbrushes, coffee makers, kettles etc.), electronics (i.e. TVs, VCRs, Computers, cables, stereos etc.), batteries of all shapes and sizes, light bulbs, soft plastics, bottles and cans and even small quantities of Styrofoam. For a...

20:06 / Community / Recycle Me
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03 Apr

Annually, Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 in over 192 countries, for over 40 years now. It grew from a small idea in 1970 to the huge international event it is today. Earth Day Events As you might imagine, at Island Return It, we love celebrating Earth Day so we have decided to prolong the fun and hold multiple recycling events in communities up and down Vancouver Island. The first event will take place at Mayfair Shopping Centre in Victoria on April 18th & 19th. Between 10am-6pm. You are invited to bring any old, unwanted computers, electronics, small appliances, light bulbs, batteries, power tools, outdoor power equipments and more  to Mayfair Shopping Centre's parking area at Finlayson and Blanchard. Upcoming Events The second event is the following weekend (April 26th - 27th) in Mill Bay at Kerry Park. Between 10-6pm Followed by Port Alberni on May 9-10th at the Pacific Rim Mall by Staples. And we'll finish...

19:23 / Community / Recycle Me
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19 Mar

As part of our electronic waste recycling program we collect old TVs, along with computers, stereos, video equipment, [caption id="" align="alignright" width="320"] Old broken TV (Photo credit: schmilblick)[/caption] and many, many other electronics.  When TVs arrive at our depots we have a special procedure we take when receiving and preparing them to be sent to processing plants in the B.C. interior because believe it or not, TVs are toxic. Despite international laws designed to prevent this, many developed countries send e-waste overseas to Asia and Africa. Inspections of 18 European seaports in 2005 found as much as 47 % of waste destined for export, including e-waste, was illegal. It is important that you know that when you recycle your electronic waste at Island Return It, we never send product overseas for dismantling. We use only approved facilities in North America. Older TVs Present a Special Challenge In particular, older TVs with CRTs (cathode ray tubes) need to be...

06:15 / Community / Recycle Me
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