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Sunday 28 June 2015

A Zero Waste Method

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a very pleasant associate Vanessa Farquharson, the communications manager for a recycling organization in Toronto called TerraCycle.
Their first claim to fame was selling liquified worm poop fertilizer in a recycled plastic pop bottle.
 How eco friendly can you get ?

Well you can start up a new section especially for garden tools and wayward artifacts such as naughty garden gnomes that just don't hold their own in the garden any more !
Garden hoses that have seen better days ...bird baths, ceramics .. garden art that can't be recognized for what it is anymore, so too embarrassing to donate or pawn off to your friends,ugh !
Garden related junk that needs to be gotten rid of in general .. hence the name :
"Lawn and garden Equipment Waste Box"
In Vanessa's words "It allows ANYONE in Canada to recycle ANY gardening tools, pots, bird baths, ornaments (yes, all those garden gnomes and ceramic stones that say "Dream" on them), hoses, trays, etc.. that are broken, beyond repair or just used to the point of being way too disgusting for Goodwill or other donation centres.
 It's the only solution of its kind available across the country, and we think it'll really appeal to gardeners who care about protecting the planet, which in my experience tends to be pretty much every gardener."

So we chatted a bit through email and she sent me a small box to try it out .. when they are bought through Staples or other distributors the shipping cost (getting rid of in other words) is included.

This is what I set up to give you an idea of the size of the box and material you can cram in !
This is the small box .. they come in small, medium and large.

It has loads of information on the box itself ... sort of dummy proof .. phew!
I like the plastic liner a lot! 
You never know what those naughty gnomes might do, shut in a box, but we won't go there. 

So I have a 6 ft. hose .. metal lantern ... broken frog (one of my favorites, darn it!)
Plus the gnome from Travelocity, sorry to see him go but he is a mess,must have been one of his trips that did him in .. gnomes are VERY naughty creatures .. maybe a stag party? 

So there it is.
Packed up and ready to be handed to a strapping young man? from UPS with it's prepaid shipping label ... too easy !
There on, the recycling goes into high gear and magical transformations occur. 
You never know where you might just "see" your errant gnome again.
He might even be stalking you in another form .. from shipping pallets to just about anything.

No, I don't get paid for doing this post in case anyone is wondering.
I just thought I could give other Canadian gardeners (sorry my US friends, but I know you have access to many recycling opportunities) a chance to know about this method.

8 comments:

Buttons Thoughts said...

Wow that is fantastic. I love that there are so many ways to recycle here. This one I did not know about.
"Stag party" still laughing with the image in my head:) Hugs B

Nadezda said...

We have no such boxes Joy,it's pity.I have many things to go to recycling.Now your gadgen looks clean and you have more space for new purchases.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Grace girl !
Hey I am too happy to make you giggle : ) That gnome is one crazy character !
Yup ... lots of ways to get rid of "junk" !

Nadezda girl I really enjoyed your "Fair" post ... made me miss Holland a lot.
Yes .. the shed always seems to need a tidy up .. I swear it has parties at night all week long .. haha

Victoria Williams said...

This is a really cool idea!

GRACE PETERSON said...

That's a great idea, Joy. It sure takes the guilt out of getting rid of things. ... Thank you for the info on the Astilbe. That is definitely the one. I have no idea where I would put it but I sure like it and it will go on my wish list.

Your banner photo must be the finished pathway. It looks wonderful and your garden is so beautiful. It needs to be in a magazine. So beautiful.

Barbarapc said...

Isn't that a scream! As you were describing what you were packing in was thinking of my own offending bits and pieces, and of one of Kevin's clients who must have had over 30 gnomes, the most frightening one I discovered when I pulled back the family room drapes and there he was - a peeping gnome - I think if I was in charge, he'd be the first to go! B.

Jennifer said...

Interesting idea. How are the items recycled? Are they broken into pieces or reused as is and made into something else? Lucky for me my major "waste" product in the garden is plastic pots. I am glad my municipality has started to include them as an item in our blue box program.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Victoria and thank you for dropping by ... best wishes for your son's recovery, he is a brave lad !

Hello Gracie girl : ) Yup it is one of the easier ways to get rid of junk.
Those astilbe are just about my favorite ones .. mine are beginning to change to that beautiful pink in that dropping manner .. they are beautiful!
I planted two on either end of my Buddha corner ... hope to see plumes next year on them!
You are too sweet with all the compliments girl .. I am blushing ! LOL

OMG Barb girl you do make me laugh ... that picture in my mind about the peeping gnome is just AWFUL !! LOL .. I can't imagine having that many gnomes ... must be a Freudian thing??LOL

Hello Jennifer girl .. they are recycled to all sorts of things according to Vanessa .. from pallets to heaven knows what ... I never thought to try and get rid of my pots with our plastic pick up .. but then they have a direct deposit at our dump and that is where my Garden PA takes them for me .. phew !