Sustainability
Customer question: I would like to suggest the Co-op make it easier to recycle #5 containers. I had a bunch riding around in my trunk for a while and eventually had to throw them away to make room for something else. I have some right now and it’s really hard to make it at the exact hours they are being collected. Surely there’s room somewhere, even outside, for a #5 collection bin?
#5 Containers and Recycling Bins: What’s the Deal?
by Emily Neuman, Co-op Sustainability Coordinator
Thank you for taking the time to share your suggestion. We have considered providing drop-off bins in the lobbies for #5 containers, but have decided against it for 2 reasons:
- The strong possibility of introducing mold and odor to the lobbies (we have had previous bad experience with exactly this type of collection),
- The time required for staff and volunteers to sort through the material deposited and pack it into boxes for shipping.
Collection Times
Right now, the best solution we can come up with is to lengthen the collection times in order to make the program available to more members.
- Saturday hours will be longer May – October, when the Hanover lobby collection starts. Those collections will be 1-3 on the second Saturday of the month.
- And, as now, we will continue the third Thursday collections — though they will take place in the Hanover lobby May – October, rather than at the Lebanon Store.
- We are staffing the 10-12 second Saturday collection in the Lebanon Store year-round.
Responding to You
In the past, for shoppers who are having difficulty making it to the regular collections, we have asked them to propose a new collection day/time and then worked with them to trial it for a couple of months and see how the staffing and attendance go. This is how we ended up with the third Thursdays collections, which is new this year.
So far, I’ve had no difficulty staffing those collections with volunteers. So, if you’d like to suggest an additional 2-hour collection window and would be willing to staff the first trial date, we would consider it.
Learn More
- Check out the Co-op’s Recycle 5 program with a schedule of upcoming dates.
- Check out our articles on sustainability.
Got a Question?
Have some thoughts you’d like to share with us? Got a question? We’d love to hear from you! Please email us your suggestion or question or fill out our comment form. Want to sign up to receive Co-op updates by email? Join our list!
