The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Environmentally conscious Flin Flonners spared more redeemable materials from the trash than ever before last year, crushing the previous recycling record for the community. The Flin Flon Recycling Centre processed 420.5 tonnes of cardboard, newspapers, soda cans and other items in 2004, a 20 per cent increase over the previous record year. "What it indicates to me is that even though our population has leveled off to a degree, recycling is still moving forward," said administrator Doreen Murray. "To me, that's very positive." Murray attributes the record year to material coming from the Flintoba Shopping Centre and the recycling program's operation of the Flin Flon Municipal Landfill. The Flin Flon and District Environment Council, which runs the Recycling Centre, took over the landfill early last year to help diminish the flow of recyclables to the garbage heap. Murray noted that attendants recover redeemable materials as they are dropped off and also scour through the refuse to pick out items that can have a new life. With 420.5 tonnes of material processed last year, the Recycling Centre topped its previous record, set in 2003, by over 80 tonnes. Staff more easily handled the additional material after moving to a larger facility, the EECOL Electric building on Timber Lane, last summer. See 'Facility' P.# Con't from P.# "It's been wonderful because we finally have some room," said Murray. The new facility, she said, has dramatically cut down the time required to load processed material for shipment to Winnipeg, where it is sold to companies around the world. Despite the successes of the past year, Murray estimates that only a fraction ÐÊabout five per cent Ð of Flin Flon residents are recycling. "I think that's low," she said. "I would delude myself to think we could have 100 per cent because we never will, but we should be at least to 50 per cent. We'll just keep striving and maybe one day we'll hit that 50 per cent mark." Murray and the board overseeing the centre continue to look at ways to reach that goal, including providing education to the public. Another goal is to bring more residents on board with the centre's residential pickup program, launched in April 2003. It costs just $25 a year for residents to have their recyclables picked up from their property every week. Anyone interested in signing up may phone the centre at 687-6169.
