4 Key Challenges to Apartment and Condo Recycling in Toronto
Recycling is one of the fundamental components of Toronto’s waste management strategy. It’s environmentally and economically beneficial. Many residents of the city enthusiastically do their part for the recycling effort. In many cases, it’s much easier for homeowners to take part in recycling programs. Pickup is typically much better structured for houses than it is for apartments or condos. There are many other factors that stack up to make recycling practically impossible for some apartment dwellers. Here are some of the largest challenges to apartment recycling.
Service Providers
There are many waste disposal companies that shy away from providing recycling services for multi-unit buildings. Handling so many different sources in one pick up site is unique challenge that some companies aren’t set up to handle. It’s not unheard of for companies to offer dedicated recycling services for multi-unit buildings, only to throw all of the recyclables in with the trash. It’s difficult to coordinate the separation of trash from recyclables for apartments and condos. Unless every last occupant is on board the mix of recyclables and trash won’t be suitable for pickup.
Space
Homeowners who recycle might not realize how much space the process takes up. Separate bins for the different categories of recyclables can take up a significant amount of space in smaller dwellings. Most apartment buildings weren’t designed with recycling in mind. They don’t have dedicated nooks or closets for recycling bins. Even today most apartments aren’t designed with this in mind. Apartment construction companies need to start taking this into consideration. Implementing recycling for apartments requires thought and effort at every level of the process.
Enforcement
There are many rules and regulations that are meant to keep recyclable materials out of the landfill. These rules are poorly implemented when it comes to apartments and condos. The rules provide a number of guidelines and penalties for dealing with waste coming from a single-family domicile. It’s difficult to apply these to multi-unit buildings. A major problem is that these rules don’t target apartment and condo management. There are no regulations that require management to provide recycling services to tenants. Without this pressure, most landlords don’t put in the effort.
Anonymity
While some landlords don’t put in the proper effort to develop recycling programs for their buildings, many do. These landlords face a challenge unique to multi-unit buildings. It is often extremely difficult to determine the specific source of trash and recyclables within a building. Buildings that have a trash chute or dumpster have all trash from all units come together. Landlords aren’t able to single out which residents are putting recyclables into the trash. This can also result in residents putting trash into recycling bins, contaminating the recyclables so they can’t be used.
These are some of the big problems that multi-unit building residents and landlords face when trying to recycle. Many of these problems are at the planning level. Implementing space for recycling is essential. Requirements need to be put into place for building owners to implement recycling programs. Proper education of residents and landlords on recycling programs could alleviate many of these problems. Diligence from both parties is required to properly implement multi-unit building recycling programs. Do you have waste management and recycling needs which aren’t being met at your apartment or condo in Toronto? Call Core Mini Bins today.
