BURNABY
FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2015
NEW WESTMINSTER
info@rew.ca • 604-435-7977
Looking to BUY or SELL a home? To assist you in making the best decisions, a professional Realtor can provide the most up to date information on the real estate market, price, financing and comparative properties in your area.
R E A L E S TAT E W E E K LY
Find your EXPERT Real Estate professional right here in REW.ca!
Vancouver’s Food Scraps Ban:
Is Your Condo Building Ready? Vancouver’s war on waste is ramping up. On January 1, 2015, the City said “no” to food scraps in the garbage by banning all organic material in the regular trash. Now, items such as veggie peelings, bones, fat and even pizza boxes must be placed in special bins for commercial composting. From hard-core environmentalists to eco-savvy millennials, the general consensus is that this is a long overdue move in the right direction toward green. But for many condo dwellers, the logistics can appear daunting – even with a six-month grace period before violators will be slapped with a fine. The Big Picture The City of Vancouver has already been implementing its food scraps system in about 1,800 condo buildings. Those buildings should already have new food scrap bins and be participating fully in separating food from garbage. However, like everywhere else, there is a six-month grace period
GO TO
REW.CA /NEWS TO READ THESE STORIES AND MUCH MORE REAL ESTATE NEWS AND ADVICE
before spot checks and fines come into play on July 1. Strata councils in the remaining 3,900 or so condo buildings not serviced by the City’s program are obliged to renegotiate their contracts with their current recycling providers to include a food scraps program. This must be done by July 1 when the grace period ends. Stratas will be slapped with a fine if during a spot check their landfill garbage is deemed to comprise more than 25 per cent food scraps. The Practical Issues The next issue is where to put the bins? Most residential towers were designed with dedicated garbage/recycling rooms, but smaller condos are often tight on storage space. Some buildings could fence off one or more existing parking spots for additional bins. But in many neighbourhoods, low-rise apartment blocks are already forced to store recycling bins in back alley alcoves.
Vancouver Will See Slowing Price Growth in 2015: Survey
For these condo dwellers, Nichole Stefenelli, founder of Urban Impact Recycling, says smaller containers with more frequent pick-ups may be the only route to go. Her company will sometimes even negotiate a floor-by-floor service to eliminate the need for daily trips to the recycle room. “It’s definitely important to make it easy for people,” says Jonathan Meads, Concert’s development and sustainability manager. He explains how Concert’s “recycling lounges” are constantly washed and have walls painted to correspond with the colour of each type of recycling bins – blue for paper, red for soft plastics and brown for organics. The company has also committed to providing every purchaser in upcoming condominium projects with a sleeklooking, compact organic waste bucket for their kitchen. Defeating the Yuck Factor Arguably, though, one of the greatest challenges in gaining consumer acceptance will be taming the “yuck
Ask the Expert: Are Multiple Units For Sale a Red Flag?
factor” – the perception of bad odors and increased interest from fruit flies and vermin. “Clean, well-sealed containers that can be washed easily and frequently are key — both in the kitchen and in the outdoor bins,” Stefenelli stresses, adding that Urban Impact washes every bin on location, every time it’s emptied. In her own home, she uses an “attractive,” well-sealed container to store her organics before taking them to the recycle bin once a day. One creative solution is to keep an old five-litre ice cream pail in your freezer and fill it with scraps – no unsightly mess and no smell. However, buildings serviced by the City should be warned that collectors will not be cleaning out the communal bins on emptying them, which could prove an unpleasant and challenging weekly chore for strata members. Complete information about the City of Vancouver’s organic recycling program is found at www.vancouver.ca/ organicsban.
Your Complete Home Maintenance Task Calendar for 2015