Portage and District Recycling Inc. (PDRI) has unveiled a refreshed look and significant convenience upgrade at its 24/7 recycling drop-off depot.
The facility's large collection bins now sport a fresh coat of paint, old sorting labels have been removed, and a prominent new sign stands above them, clearly outlining acceptable materials. The most notable change, however, is the shift to a single-stream system, eliminating the need for residents to manually separate their recyclables before dropping them off.
Christine Major, General Manager of PDRI, clarifies the movie, saying that recycling dropoff will henceforth be "a single stream commingled stream," adding that, "You can just drop your recycling off in any of the bins."
Purpose: making recycling easier
The primary driver behind these changes is simplicity for the community. Major emphasizes the goal of reducing confusion and barriers for residents wanting to recycle correctly.
"The reason we wanted to make these changes is we want to make it easy for the homeowner to come and just drop off recycling," Major states, adding, "I know it can be very confusing trying to sort your recycling and trying to figure out what plastics are accepted and what plastics are not. So, we just want to make it easier for the homeowner to just drop off."
This move to commingled recycling means residents can combine accepted paper, cardboard, plastics, and metals into one bag or bin and deposit everything together into any of the large depot containers. PDRI staff will handle the sorting internally once the bins are full.
"The forklift operator will come when the bin is full and empty it into our plant to be processed," Major notes.
Community impact and free bins
PDRI reports positive trends in local recycling participation, crediting residents for their efforts.
"We do see that at the curbside when we do pick up the homeowners' recycling, it's very clean recycling. They know what is accepted and what's not accepted in the blue bin. So I think they're just doing a fantastic job," Major observes.
Reflecting this increased engagement, Major highlights a key service offered by PDRI, sharing, "We do offer free bins if the homeowner does need a bin, we are seeing an increase over the last couple of years in residents coming to inquire about bins or inquire about what they can and cannot recycle. So, we've definitely seen our volumes increase."
While focused on the current upgrades, PDRI remains forward-looking. Major confirms the organization continually explores new opportunities, stating, "We always have some ideas that we like to entertain. For example, we're always looking on our radar for different items that we can accept or different stewardships that we can partner up with."
The repainted bins and new instructional sign are now in place at the PDRI depot, located at 700 Philips Street, offering Portage la Prairie residents a cleaner, simpler way to recycle around the clock.
Residents needing a free recycling bin for home use are encouraged to contact PDRI.