Lake Ontario is being Polluted with so Much of our Waste and it’s Time to Change

Looking out over Lake Ontario, it looks so exquisitely gorgeous. You may never expect to find the amount of garbage that it contains. If we take a good close look at Lake Ontario and the province’s growing waste problem, it becomes obvious that something needs to change immediately.

Lake Ontario is being Polluted with so Much of our Waste and it’s Time to Change

This past July, over a two-week period, a team oversaw a search through Lake Ontario for waste. Led by the University of Toronto’s associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, Chelsea Rodham, they found more than 31 kilograms of plastic, food wrappers, toys, and cigarette butts gathered from the mouth of the Don River.

Needless to say, as a Toronto waste management company, we’re really, really not pleased with these findings. The plastics that have been plucked from the Don River would have otherwise been washed out into the Great Lakes which is something we don’t want. The amount of trash that is casually tossed into our waterways is something that needs to come to an end. This is preventable waste that could be otherwise recycled or, at minimum, processed at an appropriate facility. In Canada, we choose to think of ourselves as having the capacity to do better than other nations yet it’s experiments like this that show us that there’s still tremendous work that needs to be done.

Analyzing the plastic that is washed out into our lakes and oceans, almost eighty percent of it comes from land. As plastic production and consumption has increased, plastic waste management has not grown at the same speed sadly. The City of Toronto has made claims of taking steps to keep plastic from our lakes however the results speak for themselves. Ideally, we want to see more done before Lake Ontario and other waterways are polluted to the point of near-no return. The elimination of single-use plastics is an important component to this. There also could be more done to eliminate sewer overflow, which is also a source of the plastic that gets carried out into Lake Ontario.

As a Toronto waste management company, we want to play a role in making our environment better for everyone. Researchers estimate more than 10,000 metric tons of plastic waste lands in the Great Lakes every year. In the Toronto region, the number of plastic particles in the water has increased significantly over the past couple decades. The Toronto municipal government and Canada’s federal government have made many positive moves to combat this, including banning the manufacturing and sale of products with plastic micro-beads. Despite these moves, plastic in our rivers is still on the increase.

When industry is allowed to run rampant, government does not lead in policy, and waste management companies are not provided the resources they need thrive, this is what happens. Consumption of plastic and the spreading of plastic waste in Lake Ontario needs to come to an end. In our waterways, there are plastics as small as micro-beads to materials far larger.

The City of Toronto has the potential to change the amount of plastic in our waterways. As representatives of Core Mini Bins, we hope to play a role in that and continuing to influence the City to invest more into stopping the outflow of plastic to Lake Ontario.

Source : http://www.garbagebinrentals.ca/waste-collection-removal-disposal-blog/576-lake-ontario-is-being-polluted-with-so-much-of-our-waste-and-it-s-time-to-change.html

2 Reasons Why Renting a Dumpster, Waste Bin, or Waste Container makes so much sense!

 Homeowners and businesses rent dumpsters, waste bins, waste containers, and waste management junk removal services every day. If you’ve got a lot of waste on your hands or are suspecting you might need waste removal services of some kind, there’s a lot of reasons to consider it.

2 Reasons Why Renting a Dumpster, Waste Bin, or Waste Container makes so much sense!

The first barrier to why people don’t rent has to do with cost. The unfortunate thing is that those that go it alone, in the long run, see how inconvenient and sometimes how costly that choice is. A close analysis looking at time, effort, and money between renting a dumpster and not renting a dumpster will reveal that you’ll likely save a lot by getting set up with a waste bin rental. For commercial businesses in particular, it’ll be nearly impossible to get by without one.

Receive a Guarantee of Environmentally-Friendly Waste Disposal

After you’ve gotten over the cost, there are two reasons why renting a dumpster, waste bin, or waste container makes so much sense. The first is that you can rest assured everything will be disposed of in the proper manner.

As a waste management company in Toronto, we do our absolute best to maximize and divert waste from our landfills. What we can recycle will be recycled. What we cannot will be disposed of in a safe and legal way.

Never have to worry about disposing of waste wrongfully, possibly leading to penalties or fines. Also, know that you’ll be making an eco-friendly choice by partnering with a garbage removal company committed to recycling. Construction waste, renovation waste, business waste, and others all have strong recycling potential to them. Anything that can be diverted from landfills will be sent to the appropriate facility to be processed and reused in new product!

Flexibility in Planning Drop-Off and Removal

In a lot of cases, we will offer same day service ensuring you receive a dumpster drop-off as immediate as it can be arranged. For commercial or construction projects, we know how much waste these can generate. For this reason, please allow us to work with you to coordinate an appropriate waste removal schedule. So if the responsibility falls on you to get rid of the waste produced on-site, we are more than happy to set up the most convenient and flexible schedule.

The most effective way to deal with waste is usually by waste bin however not all schedules are accommodating. If there’s any concern regarding schedule or bin size, don’t hesitate to mention it. Some bins are big enough to suffice and others aren’t. Receive the most appropriate size of bin to maximize pick-ups and ensure you’re never left without somewhere to put waste. Above all else, ensuring our customers have everything they need to efficiently collect waste is high priority.

For more information on how to rent a dumpster in Toronto, or waste bin, waste container, or to set up a waste removal schedule, contact a representative at Core Mini Bins today. We work with our customers on cost of bin rental, drop-off and pick-up schedule, and finding the appropriate size. Receive the flexibility you need to maximize your waste collection and management on-site. Homeowners and businesses are encouraged to contact Core Mini Bins today to set themselves up with the right waste management accommodations.

Source : http://www.garbagebinrentals.ca/waste-collection-removal-disposal-blog/575-2-reasons-why-renting-a-dumpster-waste-bin-or-waste-container-makes-so-much-sense.html

As eCommerce and Online Shopping Grows, Packaging Waste is a Problem

 eCommerce and online shopping have been seeing big jumps of activity in recent years. In 2017 alone, eCommerce sales jumped by 16 percent in North America. More Canadians than ever before are going to online shopping for its speed, convenience, and savings. It’s so easy to order from a site like Amazon that we don’t often think about the packaging waste that is being created.

As eCommerce and Online Shopping Grows, Packaging Waste is a Problem

It’s estimated that there are approximately 16.5 billion packages shipped every year across Canada. The cardboard used for these packages equate to the tearing down of more than a hundred million trees. All of this packaging waste is an area of waste management that is going unnoticed by the majority of consumers, even in this era of wanting to make more environmentally-friendly choices. Though not all of this packaging waste is derived from online shopping, this is an area where use of packaging has jumped significantly in accordance with market demands.

For years, packaging waste and the cardboard used to ship product could be minimized and recycled. The patterns of purchasing were straightforward and easy. Corporate retail bought in bulk and had the necessary recycling programs in place to maximize the environmental-friendliness of their operations. Today, packaging for eCommerce does not separate product in bulk, instead going out as individual packages for delivery. Also, eCommerce products have up to four times as many touch points than product that go through regular retail.

Knowing that the average online shopping box is dropped an average of 17 times in transit, the packaging needs to be strong enough to successfully carry a product from supplier to customer. In a 2016 expose on online shopping, The New York Times went as far as to describe it as a ‘cardboard economy’.

The eCommerce packaging problem is well understood by those overseeing waste management in the online shopping industry. Thankfully, giants like Amazon are starting to make changes – implementing their Frustration-Free Packaging Program, replacing boxes for smaller shipments with envelopes, and ensuring products are shipped in their original packaging rather than doubling up. From 2007 to 2017, it’s claimed Amazon has cut down on their packaging by 500 million shipping boxes. Similar names in Canada’s online shopping industry have followed, including Walmart, L’Oreal, and others.

Responsible packaging practices are going to have to be a fundamental policy in online shopping moving forward. For those of us that believe in a zero waste economy, packaging waste is an area still in need of attention. As smaller eCommerce companies in Toronto, the GTA, and across Canada continue to grow, this is something to examine. Thankfully, a number of Toronto small businesses have already identified opportunities to cut down on packaging waste, eliminating plastic, re-using cardboard boxes, and more.

eCommerce infrastructure is only going to continue growing. By implementing environmentally-friendly practices today and minimizing packaging waste, that’s sure to produce a healthy future for us all. Leaders like Amazon are doing good addressing parts of the packaging problem however there’s still a lot to be done. Just look at the amount of Amazon Prime boxes found across Canadian cities. Last year, there was millions of items shipped through Prime. As a Toronto recycling company committed to minimizing landfill waste in the city, we hope to continue playing a part in reducing packaging waste and addressing society’s needs for better waste management.

Source : http://www.garbagebinrentals.ca/waste-collection-removal-disposal-blog/574-as-ecommerce-and-online-shopping-grows-packaging-waste-is-a-problem.html

5 Ways to get the Most from your Home Renovation Waste without Costing a Ton

 Renovating the home is an act so many Torontonians engage in. For as popular as it is though, renovations are hard, tough, and a big task to accomplish. As much value as it can add to the home, while the renovation work is ongoing, there’s a lot of waste that is likely to come of it. If you’ve never had to deal with household renovation waste before, there are a few ways you can maximize its removal and make the most of the experience. Before you get started on your renovation, read on and consider how you may be able to make use of these materials.

5 Ways to get the Most from your Home Renovation Waste without Costing a Ton

Contact a waste removal service

As a local Toronto waste management and recycling company, hiring Core Mini Bins to collect renovation waste is easy, straightforward, and cost-effective. Please allow us to do all the work for you in sorting, recycling, and transporting waste to the landfill.

Rent a dumpster for your renovation

Another option is to rent a dumpster, waste container, or roll-off. By this method, complete your renovation at your own pace and place any waste into the dumpster. Then, once filled, we can come and retrieve the dumpster to dispose of everything inside. For large renovation projects, a dumpster rental is recommended. Thankfully, there are a wide range of different sizes available from Core Mini Bins. A representative would be happy to provide the most appropriate option, once the details and type of waste are identified.

Take it to the dump

Obviously the simplest thing anyone thinks of when it comes to eliminating renovation waste is taking it to the dump themselves. Though a simple idea, it’s rarely easy. It takes time and money across multiple trips, and to most who’ve done it before, it’s just not worth it. Furthermore, it’s creating waste that might not need to be created. Considering seeking a recycling program locally who might be able to at least sort through the materials you bring. That said, taking renovation waste to a landfill is not something really recommended to do on one’s own.

Donate it to charity

If you are removing items that are still in pretty good shape, such as a couch, and that still have some use to them, donating to a charity organization is an admirable move to make. There’s no reason anything should go to the jump if it still has a use to someone out there. Be sure to call ahead to different organizations in the area to find one who might be willing to take your stuff. There are even some organizations who will take things like cabinets, countertops, and flooring.

Repurposing

Repurposing renovation waste materials is a great way to retain some of your home’s history and original charm. As one of the cheapest and most eco-friendly ways to address the waste problem, it’s very trendy in the Toronto real estate market right now. Consider browsing Pinterest and Instagram for ideas on how to reuse old wood and other materials.

Core Mini Bins can take care of all the renovation waste for you. Specializing in waste removal, junk pick-up, waste management, and recycling, get the most from your home renovation waste with this cost-effective, environmentally-friendly solution!

Source : http://www.garbagebinrentals.ca/waste-collection-removal-disposal-blog/573-5-ways-to-get-the-most-from-your-home-renovation-waste-without-costing-a-ton.html

3 Basic Ways to Recycle in your Home

Recycling in Canadian households is having a tremendously positive impact on waste management. As recycling practices have continued to be implemented country-wide in residential settings, more is being done to protect Canada’s natural resources and to minimize landfill waste. Though each municipality comes with its own recycling rules regarding what products can and cannot be recycled, there’s a lot that households can be doing independent of any local program. In fact, you may already be doing a few of these basic ways to recycle in your home.

Arts, Crafts, and Decorating

Browsing the Internet, on sites like Pinterest and Instagram, there are some great ideas on how to take waste products and turn them into decoration for the home. For example, taking apart old pallets can be used for a wide range of different projects. Tin cans can be repurposed as a candle holder. Bed pillows, old shirts, and other materials can be combined into a throw pillow that uniquely represents your artistic skill. Needless to say, almost any item we throw out in the trash could potentially be repurposed.

Gardening

The act of gardening provides unique opportunities to reuse household items, and to build a relationship between your home and the environment around it. Take inventory of the common items a lot of us throw out. Tin cans and coffee cans, for example, are ideal for plants. Plastic laundry soap bottles can be used as drip trays for the bottom of planters. Popsicle sticks can be used as labelling. Soda bottles can be used as a watering can, simply by poking a hole in its lid. These are just a few of the ways Canadians have reused common products for their gardens.

Pets

If you have pets, you know how much they value their own space. Consider reusing some of your household waste to manufacture different products for your cat or dog. Blankets and pillows are easy enough to wash, and then reused as a sleeping bed. Carpet scraps can be cut into a feeding area. A wide range of plastic packaging products also have the potential to be used as food storage items. If none of these options entertain you, feel encouraged to evaluate the household waste you’re producing to identify other materials for recycling by this method.

These are three basic ways to recycle in your home and there are evidently plenty of others. As parents and homeowners ourselves, we know the power of cutting down on waste. To our children, it sends a strong message to be aware of the waste we create. To our properties, recycling and reusing are key opportunities to diversify the aesthetic and create a more environmentally-friendly space for one and all. Before we throw anything away, we try our best to evaluate the possibility of reuse and that’s something we believe that every residential or commercial property should be doing.

For Canadian households interested in implementing better waste management and recycling practices, in need of some junk removal, or who wish to rent a dumpster or waste container to eliminate bulky household waste, speak to a representative today. Core Mini Bins would be more than happy to recommend an environmentally-friendly solution to minimize landfill waste, and create a healthier environment for you and your loved ones.

Source : http://www.garbagebinrentals.ca/waste-collection-removal-disposal-blog/572-3-basic-ways-to-recycle-in-your-home.html

Recycling in Canadian households is having a tremendously positive impact on waste management. As recycling practices have continued to be implemented country-wide in residential settings, more is being done to protect Canada’s natural resources and to minimize landfill waste. Though each municipality comes with its own recycling rules regarding what products can and cannot be recycled, there’s a lot that households can be doing independent of any local program. In fact, you may already be doing a few of these basic ways to recycle in your home.

3 Basic Ways to Recycle in your Home

Arts, Crafts, and Decorating

Browsing the Internet, on sites like Pinterest and Instagram, there are some great ideas on how to take waste products and turn them into decoration for the home. For example, taking apart old pallets can be used for a wide range of different projects. Tin cans can be repurposed as a candle holder. Bed pillows, old shirts, and other materials can be combined into a throw pillow that uniquely represents your artistic skill. Needless to say, almost any item we throw out in the trash could potentially be repurposed.

Gardening

The act of gardening provides unique opportunities to reuse household items, and to build a relationship between your home and the environment around it. Take inventory of the common items a lot of us throw out. Tin cans and coffee cans, for example, are ideal for plants. Plastic laundry soap bottles can be used as drip trays for the bottom of planters. Popsicle sticks can be used as labelling. Soda bottles can be used as a watering can, simply by poking a hole in its lid. These are just a few of the ways Canadians have reused common products for their gardens.

Pets

If you have pets, you know how much they value their own space. Consider reusing some of your household waste to manufacture different products for your cat or dog. Blankets and pillows are easy enough to wash, and then reused as a sleeping bed. Carpet scraps can be cut into a feeding area. A wide range of plastic packaging products also have the potential to be used as food storage items. If none of these options entertain you, feel encouraged to evaluate the household waste you’re producing to identify other materials for recycling by this method.

These are three basic ways to recycle in your home and there are evidently plenty of others. As parents and homeowners ourselves, we know the power of cutting down on waste. To our children, it sends a strong message to be aware of the waste we create. To our properties, recycling and reusing are key opportunities to diversify the aesthetic and create a more environmentally-friendly space for one and all. Before we throw anything away, we try our best to evaluate the possibility of reuse and that’s something we believe that every residential or commercial property should be doing.

For Canadian households interested in implementing better waste management and recycling practices, in need of some junk removal, or who wish to rent a dumpster or waste container to eliminate bulky household waste, speak to a representative today. Core Mini Bins would be more than happy to recommend an environmentally-friendly solution to minimize landfill waste, and create a healthier environment for you and your loved ones.

Source : www.garbagebinrentals.ca/waste-collection-removal-disposal-blog/572-3-basic-ways-to-recycle-in-your-home.html

What Can your Household do to Achieve Zero Waste in the Months to Come – Read Here!

 As an admirable, accomplishable, and controversial goal, ‘zero waste’ is something we’re very passionate about achieving in the City of Toronto. The ultimate goal of ‘zero waste’ is to reduce landfill waste to nothing. To some, this might seem impossible. To us, we see this as something that we can achieve within the next decade.

What Can your Household do to Achieve Zero Waste in the Months to Come – Read Here!

Just think of the kind of waste we create. Every household has the opportunity to use compost organizers to reduce their food and drink waste to nothing. Every business has the opportunity to either compost, contribute to a waste management company with a composting relationship, or to donate unused food and drink items.

The various building materials we throw away can be recycled and reused. There’s plenty of ways to recycle paper, plastics, metals, and more. To put it simply, there are few things that we cannot recycle or reuse in some way. That said, the infrastructure and recycling facilities may not necessarily be built to accommodate that level of recycling just yet.

As individual households, there’s a lot each one of us can do to achieve a zero waste future. In fact, you’re likely already doing some of the things we’ll mention here. If you separate your waste into ‘recyclables’ and ‘non-recyclables’, that’s a huge benefit to zero waste. The other thing is limiting single-use items, such as plastic straws. Any disposable, single-use products can usually be limited or eliminated altogether in residential households.

Next, there’s packaging. Small businesses and corporations need to step up if we’re going to achieve a zero waste future because they are the ones using single-use, wasteful packaging that goes straight to our landfills. As independent households, if it’s possible not to buy products with wasteful packaging, we would recommend trying this. As long as we continue to support, manufacture, and buy single-use non-recyclable packaging, zero waste will be impossible to achieve.

There are a number of smaller things we can do that can make a sizeable difference, including switching out plastic bags for reusable bags when going to get groceries, choosing healthier foods over pre-packaged foods, going with paperless billing instead of receiving paper mail every month, donating any household items you don’t want instead of throwing them to the curb, and shopping at local, second-hand shops.

Consumer power is something that we need to remember we have. As individual households, where we spend our money sends a clear message. Every dollar we spend on products and services is an investment. For companies that are unwilling to adapt to fulfill a zero waste future, they’re going to have a tremendous time getting through government regulation, distributing relevant product, and marketing to an increasingly savvy Canadian population.

In terms of what we can do as individuals to mitigate climate change and limit the garbage we put out into the world, this is the answer. As a Toronto waste management and recycling company, and supporter of a zero waste world, we believe zero waste to be the future of the environmental movement and the next step we need to take to achieve our green dreams. For consumers, what you buy, how much stuff you buy, and the attention paid to product’s recycling potential is already sending a message to governments, corporations, and the world.

Source : http://www.garbagebinrentals.ca/waste-collection-removal-disposal-blog/571-what-can-your-household-do-to-achieve-zero-waste-in-the-months-to-come-read-here.html

How Do we Recycle Glass in Canada – all the answers found here!

 Recycling glass in Canada is not the easiest. As a material, glass presents numerous challenges to recycling programs across the country. Glass is highly abrasive on recycling equipment, its weight drives up transportation costs, and it can be very difficult to separate into single-stream. At times, the market for recycled glass has proven to be difficult for some municipalities to access. Despite these problems, glass remains as one of the key materials sought after for recycling.

How Do we Recycle Glass in Canada – all the answers found here!

How we recycle glass in Canada begins with collecting it and sending it to a recycling facility. Though it can be difficult to separate, some facilities are implementing new technologies to make it easier. For example, some of the latest tech employs a vacuum to separate paper from glass, leaving only the glass behind and doing so rather quickly. After glass has been separated and sorted through this method, it may undergo another cleaning and refining process to remove other contaminants. Some of Canada’s more advanced recycling facilities may include air separation systems, mechanical screenings, metal detection, and other steps.

Then, the glass is separated according to color and is sent off to local manufacturers who can then use the glass to make bottles. Before long, you’ll see the old glass re-manufactured into new bottles and similar glass materials. Compared to other recycling materials such as paper, glass has a strong recycling rating in terms of being able to be recycled without losing much of its material reliability. The market for glass marketing is also rather healthy in Canada and the United States, and more manufacturers have expressed interest in opening their own glass recycling facilities.

There’s another point that is worth making on the subject of glass recycling in Canada. Contrary to how we sort most recycling materials, glass is a material that would benefit greatly from single-stream. Single-stream recycling is separated recycling bins, specialized to individual materials. For example, a single-stream recycling program might include a bin for paper, a bin for plastic, and one for glass. When glass is collected via single-stream, it means that the material will come through cleaner and thereby require less processing. This is one possible scenario Canada may want to entertain to maximize its glass recycling operations. Another is to set up central drop sites for consumers to bring their glass to. In some provinces and municipalities, this is has already been done for years.

Fortunately, the future of recycling in Canada looks promising. New recycling facilities are developing, new glass-friendly recycling technologies are being developed and released to the market, and as we move to limit our landfill waste, glass is a material that can fulfill so many different roles.

Much like how we recycle other materials in Canada, producing localized solutions will be key. Regions such as the GTA provide great opportunity to establish localized recycling solutions and to demonstrate a proven marketplace for glass recycling. Needless to say, this is not a material to forget about. As we move ahead in the years to come with recycling in Canada, glass continues to have a lot of economic potential. Across Canada, we along with so many other waste management companies encourage municipalities to examine potential localized solutions.

For more information on glass recycling and how to maximize your waste management, speak with a representative at Core Mini Bins today.

Source : http://www.garbagebinrentals.ca/waste-collection-removal-disposal-blog/570-how-do-we-recycle-glass-in-canada-all-the-answers-found-here.html

Can we Overcome Contamination in Recycling and Waste Management in Toronto – We say Yes!

The fight against recycling contamination is going to be a difficult battle to win. After all, different municipalities in Canada come with different recycling rules. Newcomers to the city, either from other areas of Canada or from abroad, are usually not educated in what’s expected of them living in Toronto. Even some Torontonians are not clear on what’s recyclable and what isn’t. The result of these variables is recycling being contaminated.

Can we Overcome Contamination in Recycling and Waste Management in Toronto – We say Yes!

Years ago, recycling involved spreading out simple materials like paper, aluminum and plastics into individual material streams. Recycling these materials was far easier as there was no cross-contamination and rarely would someone dump other products inside. For the last two decades, the recycling industry has changed predominantly to ‘single-stream’ which puts all recyclables into a single bin. Establishing single-stream recycling stream boosted participation significantly to the point now where recycling is at its highest levels.

The difficulty with this rise of single-stream recycling is that it opens the door for people to be a lot less thoughtful with what they’re putting in. A product we might expect to be recycled is not necessarily recyclable. As products and packaging diversified in the last few decades, this led to a rise in new materials or variations on materials that do not qualify for recycling. Now, we face a landscape where there’s inclusion of plastic bags, organic matter, wires, and low-grade plastics – all of which will contaminate recycling material. Contamination rates have subsequently risen steadily.

The average contamination rate in Canadian communities sits at 25 percent. That’s how much recycling materials are having to be thrown out, creating stress on existing recycling infrastructure and frustrations among waste management professionals. There are two big problems that contamination has on recycling. First, it increases the cost of processing. This puts the financial health of a recycling program at risk. Second, it impacts the quality of recyclables that are enter the marketplace. For example, organic matter than destroy paper and cardboard, effectively turning recycling materials into trash.

The lower the contamination rate, the more financially rewarding recycling will get. There’s a role for all of us to play to limiting contamination. As a major Toronto recycling and waste management company, we’ve taken the time to educate ourselves to ensure we’re making the most from our materials. So many Torontonians have done the same.

Numerous other stakeholders are playing a role in tackling contamination in recycling, including building new infrastructure and recycling facilities, developing new markets and expanding existing markets for recycled products, seeking new ways to improve sorting to get contaminants, out, and to finance public education to advise consumers on how to recycle In Toronto.

Having spoken with hundreds of small businesses across Toronto, we know they want to find better ways to recycle as well. For some, this involves cutting down their recycling to some basic rules – recycling all empty bottles, cans, paper, and cardboard; ensuring food and liquid is kept out of recycling; and keeping plastic bags out of recycling.

At Core Mini Bins, we strongly believe Toronto can achieve a far lower contamination rate in its recycling. As more of us invest in working together, we know we can overcome contamination in recycling. For more information on how to make your recycling for environmentally and economically sustainable, please speak with a representative today.

Source : http://www.garbagebinrentals.ca/waste-collection-removal-disposal-blog/569-can-we-overcome-contamination-in-recycling-and-waste-management-in-toronto-we-say-yes.html