Someone nosing around your blue box? Don't worry, Newmarket residents, it's likely a town employee

Random spot checks are part of town recycling education campaign from Aug. 17 to 27

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 18, 2021
Lisa Queen

Don’t be alarmed if you notice someone taking a peek in your recycling box from Aug. 17 to 27.

Newmarket town staff are performing random spot checks of blue boxes as part of a campaign to educate residents on what is recyclable and what isn’t.

If they visit your neighbourhood, you can expect to see one of two door hangers left at your door.

One will identify that there are items in the blue box that do not belong.

The other will let you know you are doing well with your recycling efforts and encourage you to keep up the good work.

“The Newmarket community has always been committed to becoming a cleaner and greener town with waste diversion continuing to hold steady,” Mayor John Taylor said.

“We are doing well but we are hoping to do better. With more use of disposable items due to the pandemic, it’s important these items are properly disposed of to keep our contamination rate low and out of landfills. By only placing accepted items in the blue box for recycling, collectively, our actions will help Newmarket continue to be an environmental leader.”

Contamination happens when items that are not accepted are placed in the blue box.

That includes many things such as plastic shopping bags, plastic bags full of recyclables, Styrofoam, takeout cups, food left in containers and liquids left in bottles.

Disposable masks and gloves belong in the garbage, not the blue box.

Plastic bags, plastic wrap and plastic sleeve bags used for newspapers are not accepted in the blue box. Remove and discard plastic sleeve bags before placing your newspaper in the blue box.

Remove all food residue from containers before recycling. Wipe or scrape food residue with a paper towel before placing the item in the blue box. The paper towel can be placed in the green bin.

Textiles (cloth items) do not belong in the blue box. Take these items to a textile recycling bin. For more information, visit www.newmarket.ca.

Plastic toys, batteries, medical waste, coffee pods and takeout cups/Styrofoam takeout containers do not belong in the blue box.

Do not overfill your blue box to the point of overflow. Flatten boxes to save space.

Place heavier items on top of the lighter items in your blue box. This should help prevent light blue box materials, such as paper, from blowing out of the bin and littering the streets.

Cardboard boxes must be flattened and in securely tied bundles, no larger than 36 inches by 36 inches by eight inches and can be placed out for collection on your regular scheduled day beside your blue box.

Residents who aren’t sure what goes where, can use the Recycle Coach App at www.newmarket.ca/recyclecoach, or download the app on their mobile device.

Residents can exchange their broken blue box at no cost by calling Green For Life (GFL) at 1-866-421-5625 to schedule a replacement bin exchange.

For more information, visit newmarket.ca/wasteandrecycling.