Gibsons Recycling Depot (GRD) is cutting back on the materials it accepts in order to “get lean” and reduce the business’s footprint on the Venture Way property that’s now under new ownership.
Buddy Boyd and Barb Hethering-ton announced late last year that they were selling the land, but would continue to operate the business and search for a buyer.
Hetherington told Coast Reporter this week that the property’s new owner has plans for part of the lot, and that’s one of the reasons GRD is making changes effective Jan. 15. She also said they want to make it clear that the business isn’t closing – it’s just changing how it operates.
The changes include shutting the Zero Waste Reuse Store, and reducing the list of materials the depot will accept. Hetherington said the plan is to focus on material covered under GRD’s current contract with the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) to collect Multi Material BC (MMBC) eligible items and items that can generate a revenue stream.
“The programs that we’re suspending at this time are disposal, reuse, up-cycling and salvaging. Those fall under the ‘resource recovery’ banner, but there have been no resource recovery contracts by our local governments, even though it’s in the [SCRD’s 2011] solid waste plan,” said Hetherington.
Some things, like old tires and used motor oil, are covered under so-called EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) programs, but Hetherington said those programs don’t always cover the cost of collecting the material. “We’re looking at these EPR programs that are not full cost recovery. We’re looking at how much it costs us to do things.”
Gibsons Recycling will continue, at least for now, participating in EPR programs that offer better cost recovery, including computers, small appliances, lights, batteries and paint.
Hetherington said they’ll also continue collecting compostables from household clients but not commercial clients.
When Hetherington and Boyd first announced their decision to sell the property, and eventually the business, they pointed to a lack of buy-in from local governments to the resource recovery and zero waste models.
“Certainly it [accepting less material] is going to impact our community, because both residents and local government assumed that we’d always be there and we’d always solve the problems, without looking at how they could fully support us,” Hetherington said.
For a full list of the materials GRD will no longer accept after Jan. 15, check the Gibsons Recycling Depot Facebook page.
