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Have a question about recycling? Here are some common questions and answers:
What are the Lunenburg Regional Community Recycling Centre's (LRCRC) Hours of Operation?
April – October: Monday to Saturday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
November – March: Monday to Friday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm & Saturday, 8:00 am – 12:00 noon
I would like to bring waste to the LRCRC, what should I do before I load my vehicle or trailer with waste?
All waste must be sorted properly. Unsorted waste fees are not provided as an option to Site users. Household waste and construction and demolition waste must be separated or easily dropped off at assigned areas, unmixed, while on-site. Please read the Recycling Guide and Construction and Demolition Waste Sorting Guide. Household waste such as blue bag recyclables must be rinsed and organics must be separated before dropping off waste at the site. Staff and facilities do not exist which allow recyclables to be rinsed or organics to be separated from other household waste. Source separation is the waste disposal system which the LRCRC operates upon. This means that residential and business wastes must be separated before they are disposed of. In the case of recyclables, they must be cleaned before they are delivered to the LRCRC.
Tipping Fees are applied to most residential and commercial wastes delivered to the site. To review the LRCRC's tipping fees, click here.
Waste streams such as construction and demolition waste, organics, landfill and recyclables (blue bag, paper and cardboard - one weight required) must be weighed separately to provide accurate volumes for each of the Municipalities* which own the facility. These weights are recorded each time site users cross the weigh scales. The weights are required in accordance with Provincially-issued operating permits, the LRCRC's Site Regulations and each of the owner municipalities to calculate the costs of waste disposal, processing and transportation. Not all waste materials can be accepted by the facility. For more information about acceptable waste materials, review the LRCRC Site Regulations or call (902) 543-2991.
*The partner municipalities which own the facility are the Towns of Bridgewater and Mahone Bay and the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg. The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg is the municipality which oversees operation of the facility.
How can I report illegal dumping or waste burning?
Illegal dumping and burning can be reported to the Bridgewater Nova Scotia Environment office at (902) 543-4685. Under the Nova Scotia Environment Act, Inspectors have the jurisdiction to investigate reports and issue fines and/ or order clean up of dumped materials.
Where can I find Spring and Fall Clean Up information?
Spring and Fall Clean Up dates and information for the Towns of Bridgewater, Mahone Bay and the Municicpality of the District of Lunenburg is available by clicking here.
My dog food bag has a layer of plastic inside, where does this go?
Garbage. Doing a simple rip test will tell you if the bag contains a plastic liner. Just rip the bag down the side and look closely to see if there is a web of plastic where the rip ends. If there is, then this means that paper is lined with plastic, a combination which cannot be recycled.
Where do potato chip bags go?
Potato chip bags, granola bar wrappers and candy wrappers all go in garbage. When you buy in bulk, you produce less packaging waste. Individual packaging creates more waste.
Where does cat litter and other pet waste go?
Garbage.
What can I do with old toys?
If they can't be given away or sold at a yard sale, they must be placed in the garbage. They cannot be recycled.
Where do egg cartons go?
If the egg carton is cardboard and clean, it can be recycled with your paper; if there are eggshells or a broken egg inside, it can go in your compost. If the egg carton is Styrofoam, it goes in the garbage regardless of whether it is clean or dirty.
What is boxboard and where does it go?
Boxboard is a paper product which is used to make cereal boxes, tissue boxes and frozen food boxes. Boxboard should be placed in a clear bag or plastic shopping bag with other paper recyclables. Unless heavily soiled with food, boxboard should not be placed in the green cart.
What do I do with ashes from my stove?
- Cool the ashes for 3 weeks in a fireproof container, sitr and check them before putting them in the green cart.
- Store the ashes well away from any buildings.
- Wet them down and stir them to make sure the embers are fully extinguished before putting them in the cart.
They can also be scattered around the garden to improve soil composition or sprinkled on driveways to increase traction on ice and speed the ice melting process.
Where do I take left over paint and paint cans to be recycled?
You can return leftover liquid paint to your local ENVIRO-DEPOT™ at no charge. ENVIRO-DEPOTS™ will accept latex and oil-based paints including aerosols, as well as stains and varnishes. Empty metal paint cans, or paint cans containing dried-up paint can go out for metal clean-up or be brought to the Household Hazardous Waste Depot at the Lunenburg Regional Community Recycling Centre for free. Two other Enviro Depots which accept paint are Oickle's Bottle Exchange on High Street, Bridgewater and Corkum's Recycling Ltd. in Lilydale.
Where can I take computers, printers, televisions, personal or portable audio/video systems, vehicle audio/video systems or non-cellular phones to be recycled?
The Atlantic Canada Electronics Stewardship (ACES) has organized drop - off locations for electronics throughout Atlantic Canada. Corkum's Recycling Ltd. in Oakhill and Lilydale will accept "e-waste". For information on their hours of operation, please call 640 - 3117. Log on to www.ACEStewardship.ca for information about the program and accepted items, and additional drop - off locations. An Electronics Handling Fee (EHF) is applied products recognized by ACES. The EHF is used solely to fund the recycling program and is not remitted to the government.
Where can I take my cellphone and cellphone components to be recycled?
Recycle My Cell is a national program which has been organized by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CTWA) to recycle cellphones, smartphones, batteries and pagers, regardless of brand or condition. For more information on the program and drop - off locations, please visit www.RecycleMyCell.ca. Cellphones may be dropped off at the Lunenburg Regional Community Recycling Centre's Household Hazardous Waste Depot at 908 Mullock Road in Whynott's Settlement.
Why do I have to pay an environmental fee on new tires?
When a new tire is purchased in Nova Scotia, a one-time environmental fee is applied at the point of sale. Retailers submit the fee to RRFB Nova Scotia to support the costs of collecting and processing the tires.
You can return up to four tires at a time, to any tire retailer in the province, at no cost. The tires must be taken off the rim and free of mud and debris. It is recommend that consumers leave used tires at the tire retailer when new tires are purchased.
RRFB Nova Scotia's tire recycling program diverts about 1 million tires from Nova Scotia landfills each year!
Where do pizza boxes go?
Pizza boxes go in the green cart. They usually are covered in food, and are therefore too contaminated to place with clean, bundled cardboard.
How do I recycle telephone books?
Telephone books can be placed with paper in a clear bag or shopping bag during regualr collection.
Why do I have to pay deposit on beverage containers?
Consumers pay a $.10 deposit on each liquor or non-liquor beverage container purchased and collects a $.05 refund for each container returned to an ENVIRO-Depot™. The other $.05 is used in part to administer the waste systems in NS and pay the operators of the Enviro–Depot™. An annual amount (little over $.02 from that remaining nickel) goes back to Municipalities in the form of diversion credits to help offset the cost of collecting and processing recyclables and compost. Nova Scotia has one of the highest return rates for beverage containers in North America.
Can I recycle my coffee cup or beverage cup?
Styrofoam cups are not recyclable—they go in the black bag with garbage. Paper cups, such as Tim Hortons cups and lightly waxed McDonald's beverage cups are compostable and should be placed in the green bin. The lids go in the blue bag with recyclables.
Do I really have to empty my bottles and cans before I recycle them?
Yes. Full or partially full bottles and cans are considered contaminated, and can spoil a whole load of recyclables. They must be rinsed. Left over dishwater is a great way to rinse recyclables while conserving water. Bottle brushes and a quick soak help to get even pet food cans and peanut butter jars clean!
Where do used tissues or napkins go?
They go in your green cart. Harmful pathogens are destroyed during the composting process, which is provincially-regulated.
Do I have to remove paper clips and staples myself?
No, paper clips and staples don't have to be removed. Windows in envelopes and pages covered with tape can also be recycled, these pieces do not have to be removed.
Can I recycle my batteries?
Residents can drop off rechargeable and car batteries at the Household Hazardous Waste Depot (LRCRC) for free. Non-rechargeable batteries go in your black bag.
Where does Styrofoam go?
All Styrofoam goes in the garbage in Nova Scotia, regardless of whether it has a recycling symbol on it. There are no facilities in Nova Scotia yet that are capable of recycling Styrofoam.
Where do Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs) go?
Seal CFLs and other lightbulbs in a box and place with regular household waste. Please label box as 'broken glass' to help prevent injuries. Do not place inside a bag. Waste collectors could be harmed if they are unaware of lightbulbs or tubes which have been placed in a bag.
What do I do with syringes and other sharps?
Syringes, sharps, retractable needles and lancets for blood testing all go in specially designated sharps buckets which are given out by pharmacies and local Diabetes Supply Centres. Once the sharps bucket is filled, it can be returned to a local pharmacy and they will dispose of it safely and for free. Syringes should never be placed in garbage bags or blue bags! Glass jars and plastic food conatiners are not acceptable containers for disposal. Waste collectors and LRCRC staff have been stuck by sharps as waste is collected and processed by hand. Workers are unsure whether they've been infected by a needle stick for a year as they are often unaware of where that needle originated from. This is a very serious matter!
Click here to read more about the Safe Sharps program.
Residents can also drop off filled sharps buckets at the Lunenburg Regional Community Recycling Centre's Household Hazadous Waste Depot for free.
If products such as bags, packaging or cutlery say biodegradable or oxy-biodegradable, does that mean I can put it in the green cart?
While these products may break down in other municipal composting systems which process organics longer, we ask that such items are kept out of the green cart in the Towns of Bridgewater, Mahone Bay and the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg.
Compostable products which bear the US Composting Council's label break down the fastest. A number of products with the US Composting Council label have been tested at the Lunenburg Regional Community Recycling Centre's Composting Facility.
It is preferred that residents and businesses do not use green cart liners. The green carts issued by the Towns and Municipality are designed to contain organics without a liner. For green cart tips, click here.
Paper take out food bags, plates, paper/lightly waxed paper food wrappers go in the green cart.
How do I dispose of my Christmas tree after the holidays?
Residents of the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg and the Towns of Bridgewater and Mahone Bay can click here for Christmas tree collection dates. Trees cannot be collected during other times of the year.
Where does wrapping paper go?
If it cannot be reused, non-metallic wrapping paper can be recycled with regular paper. Ribbon and bows must be removed and placed in the garbage. place in a clear bag or shopping bag at the curb.
How do I get a green cart for my organics (food scraps and wet or soiled paper)?
Please call the numbers listed for each area:
Municipality of the District of Lunenburg: 1-855-530-3324
Town of Bridgewater: 902-541-4370
Town of Mahone Bay: 902-624-8327
I have a question which wasn't covered in this list, what number can I call for information?
Call the Lunenburg Regional Community Recycling Centre with questions about your waste at (902) 543-2991. Sorting brochures are also available on the homepage of this website at www.communityrecycling.ca.
My business/ apartment building needs information about proper waste sorting, what number can I call for assistance?
The Public Outreach department at the LRCRC can arrange free waste education sessions with businesses and management of multi-unit buildings for employees and tenants. Please call (902) 543-2913 to arrange a convenient time. Waste sorting signs and brochures are available. This service is provided by the Towns of Bridgewater and Mahone Bay and the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg.
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