On Saturday, all Waterloo Region residents are eligible to receive a free recycling bin.
All they have to do is show up at Conestoga Mall, Cambridge Centre or The Aud between 7:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., with proof they live in the region.
The giveaway comes as the countdown to changes to the region’s curbside pickup service hits the six-month mark.
Starting next March, garbage will only be picked up every two weeks.
Recycling and green bin waste will still be collected on a weekly basis, in a bid to encourage more use of those bins.
Cari Rastas Howard of the region’s waste management division says she’s heard from a number of people that they don’t mind recycling more, but they don’t have room to store two recycling bins.
In a bid to get past that obstacle, the bins being offered Saturday are noticeably larger than the blue bins most typically used around the region.
While the region does enforce a maximum weight of 23 kilograms (50 pounds) for any recycling bin left at the curb, Rastas Howard says the decline in popularity of materials like “glass and metal and newsprint” mean bins can now hold more items without hitting that mark.
“You can very easily fill up this large container with plastic recyclables … and still be well under the 50-pound weight limit,” she said.
Although the bins are being given away for free, local food banks will be accepting donations at the giveaway sites.
With reporting by Nicole Lampa
