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Materials Recovery Facility
The Materials Recovery Facility is designed to sort the dry recyclables, such as paper and blue bag recyclables. The separation process includes conveyor belts to transport material, hand sorting and regular inspections of waste.
How it works
Recyclables are collected in blue bags from curbside collection. At the Materials Recovery Facility, the blue bags are broken open by hand and dumped on the conveyor belt.
The recyclables then travel along a magnetized conveyor belt which removes any steel cans; they then pass over a shaker screen that removes any small debris or broken pieces. All of the remaining plastics and tins are sorted by hand, sent to a bailer to be compacted then sold to various markets. For example, pop bottles go to NovaPet in Amherst and our paper products go to Scotia Recycling in Bridgewater and Dartmouth. Enviro-Age Plastics in Prince Edward Island turn plastics from your blue bag into recycled lumber!
Composting Facility
Organics are things such as yard waste, lawn trimmings, meat, fish, bones and food scraps, and soiled and wet paper products that can be processed into valuable compost.
The organics you place in your green bins are delivered to the Community Recycling Centre, and go through the following process:
How it works
First, the organic material is dumped onto a tipping floor and an employee inspects and removes any contamination (items that don’t belong and will compromise the composting process). The material then travels along a conveyor belt, where a visual inspection is done to ensure that all contaminants have been removed before the organic material is shredded.
Next a large paddle is used to mix the raw material in a vessel. This encourages the growth of bacteria. As the microorganisms begin to flourish inside the pile, heat is generated, destroying any harmful bacteria. The microorganisms break down the food scraps into compost. It is our job to create just the right amount of air, food and moisture for these microorganisms.
The organic material remains in the vessel for five weeks, then it is then passed over a shaker screen and piled into windrows where it will remain for 4-6 months. Windrows are long piles of composted materials that are aerated by turning the pile periodically.
The compost we produce here at the Community Recycling Centre is relatively high in organic content and nitrogen, and is comparable to commercial products used to improve the quality of soil.
Click here for more information on composting.
Construction and Demolition Site
Construction and demolition waste will be accepted at the Community Recycling Centre, but it must be sorted as follows:
- Brush and clean wood
- Wood, painted or with small amount of metal, and chipboard
- Asphalt shingles
- Drywall
- Old bricks and concrete
- Metals, including appliances, empty drums with one end removed, and metal tanks that have been cut in half and drained
View our construction and demolition waste sorting guide for more details.
Household Hazardous Waste Depot
Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) is waste generated in our homes which poses a risk to health, safety, or the environment. Throwing HHW in the trash or pouring it down the drain can be dangerous to your family and our environment.
Look for hazard symbols on packaging which indicate whether a material is corrosive, flammable, reactive or poisonous. If unsure, please conatct the Community Recycling Centre at 543-2991.
Please note, this service is for residents and their household waste only. We do not accept commercial hazardous waste. For a list of commercial HHW disposal companies read or print our HHW brochure.
The Community Recycling Centre accepts the following HHW free of charge:
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- Large Household batteries
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Used oil should be dropped off here at the Community Recycling Centre, at your nearest oil retailer.
Leftover household paint can be dropped off here at the Community Recycling Centre or returned to your nearest ENVIRO-DEPOT™.
Transfer Station
A waste transfer station is a facility where garbage is stored on a temporary basis until it is trucked to a landfill.
Why a transfer station?
The Province of Nova Scotia established environmental regulations that required all landfills in the Province to meet very stringent environmental standards by January 1, 2006. Our old landfill did not meet these requirements, and to build a new landfill site was a very expensive proposition.
The Municipality of the District of Chester was moving forward with a second generation landfill at Kaizer Meadows, so we partnered with them to dispose of our garbage.
We constructed a transfer station here on site, and on January 1, 2006, began trucking garbage to Kaizer Meadows. This change was seamless to our customers. Garbage is still picked up curbside, and customers can still bring garbage to the Community Recycling Centre.
For more information on Kaiser Meadows, visit their website.
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