Green Living Places to Recycle Things in Vancouver

A lot of them time I find that it's not the easiest thing to find out how to properly dispose of or recycle items like electronics, light bulbs, batteries, etc. So let's share this info.

I know that London Drugs takes in a surprisingly large array of objects that they take in for recycling.



They take the following items for free:

* AC Adapters
* Battery chargers
* Circuit boards - Video card, Sound card, Mother board, etc.
* Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) Bulb
* CPU's
* External & Internal drives
* Fluorescent Light (FL) Tube
* Laptops & Tablets
* Media storages - CD, DVD, Floppy Disk, Tape cassette
* Mice, Keyboards
* Monitors
* Networking devices - modems, routers, hubs, switches, etc.
* Power supplies
* Printers
* Scanners
* Servers
* TV's

They charge a recycling fee for the items below, but they will waive it if you bought the item at London Drugs and still have the receipt.

Fee of $4:
* Binoculars and telescopes
* Calculators
* Camcorders
* Car stereos/decks
* Clock radios
* Digital cameras
* Digital frames
* Film cameras
* Phones - corded and cordless
* Speakers - mini, medium, tower and sub-woofers
* Two way radios

Fee of $5:
* Audio components - amplifier, tuner, CD player, receiver
* Coffee Grinders
* Curling Irons
* Gaming systems - Atari, Playstation 1, Nintendo Cube, etc.
* Hair dryers
* Hand Mixers
* Irons
* Mini stereo systems
* Video components - VCR and DVD players/recorders.

Fee of $6:
* Battery backups
* Blenders
* Coffee Makers
* Foot Spa's
* Hand Held Vacuums
* House Hold Fans
* Humidifiers - Small
* Toasters 2 & 4 Slice

Fee of $10:
* Bread makers
* Carpet Cleaners
* Digital Projectors
* Food Processors
* Humidifiers -Large
* Microwave
* Stand Mixers
* Toaster Ovens
* Vacuums

Fee of $45:
* Refrigerators and Freezers size 9.0 cu ft or less
* Air Conditioners size 12,000 BTU or less

More info on the program: http://www.greendeal.ca/earthday/index.html

 

Tons of Encorp Pacific locations accept electronics, won't bother trying to list them all because you can search them here: http://www.encorp.ca/cfm/index.cfm?It=902&Id=1&Lo=300,17&Se=40&Sv=depot

Depending on where you live though, it might just be easier to drop by London Drugs.

The following items are accepted at the Encorp Pacific Recycling centers free of charge:

Computer Towers
Desktop Servers
Computer Related Cables
Computer with Built-in Monitors
Thin Clients
Keyboards
Mice
Laptop / Notebook / Netbook Computers
Tablet Computers
Desktop Inkjet Printers - personal sized only, no large commercial or industrial units
Desktop Laser Printers - personal sized only, no large commercial or industrial units
Dot Matrix Printers - personal sized only, no large commercial or industrial units
Desktop Printer Combinations
Fax Machines
Photo Printers
Label/Card Printers
CRT Monitors
LCD Monitors
Plasma Monitors
CRT Televisions
LCD and Plasma Televisions
Combination TV/VCR
Closed Circuit Monitors
Combination PC/TV Displays

The following is NOT accepted: <-- Some of these items are taken by London Drugs, either free or for a fee (eg: media, CDs, video game systems)

Computer Monitors with Broken Screens
Electronics that are heavily damaged
Cash Registers
Rack Mounted or Floor Standing Servers
External Routers and Modems
Medical Equipment - ECGs, X-ray machines, etc.
Video Game Systems - Nintendo, Playstation, etc.
Speakers
Cameras, video cameras, and webcams
Multimedia Projectors
Personal Organizers - Examples include Palm Pilots, PDA, etc.
Other Handheld Electronics - Blackberrys, Gameboys, etc.
Commercial and Industrial Printers
Receipt Printers
Photocopiers
Portable DVD Players
Automotive Displays
VCR, DVD, Laser Disk and BETA Players
Refrigerators with Built-in TVs
Batteries - no loose batteries (i.e. cell phone or laptop batteries) are accepted
Disks, Tapes, CDs and Cartridges - includes all software as well as any related cases and racks/holders <-- Recycled free at London Drugs
Loose Printer Cartridges - includes both inkjet and laser/toner cartridges <-- I usually drop them off at Staples/Office Depot... LD might take them too, don't remember.
Electronics Manuals - includes all papers and documents related to electronics
Cell Phones, Pagers and Beepers, includes the batteries, headsets and walkie-talkies
Stereos - includes all CD, tape and record players
Home/Car Audio Speakers and supplementary audio equipment and cables
Walkmen, Discmen and Digital Music (MP3) Players
Typewriters
Home Appliances - microwaves, toasters, etc.
Calculators
Cable Boxes and Satellite Receivers

Broken / Smashed Electronics, including bare television tubes are not accepted by Encorp Pacific because they are considered hazardous materials.

In the lower mainland of B.C., there are two locations which can now accept “broken” televisions and computer screens.

* Ralph’s On Mitchell: 12011 Mitchell Road, Richmond, BC
* Ralph's Scott Road Japanese: 10535 - 120th Street, Surrey, BC

More information: http://www.encorp.ca/cfm/index.cfm?It=939&Id=4&Se=40

 

Plastic Bags - Safeway and London Drugs take them for recycling.

Styrofoam & Cardboard Packaging - London Drugs

Alkaline Batteries - London Drugs takes them, I know Best Buy and Futureshop used to, but not sure if they still do.

 

Hello....I just wanted to let you know I called the London Drugs on Davie/Cardero street in Vancouver and unless I was buying another TV or printer they would charge me to recycle my small 15" TV/VCR and printer that I actually purchased there but lost the receipt. I think they wanted $8 for the TV and $6 for the printer.

I think I'll drive a bit more (Maybe $5 in gas) and go to the Recycle Depot for FREE!

Just thought I would let everyone know it wasn't free for those items.

 

Thanks for posting. I was a bit skeptical that good old London Drugs would do that...for free??? Also, I can't believe how difficult it is to recycle electronic goods as well.

 

http://freegeekvancouver.org

Free Geek Vancouver is located on 1820 Pandora Street.
Phone: 604-879-GEEK (4335)
Email: [email protected]


Hours of Operation

Tuesday—Saturday
11am—6pm

They Accept:

• Computers - working or non-working
• CRT & LCD Monitors *
• Parts of computers
• Laptops (please attach the laptop power supply with masking tape/rubber bands if possible)
• Printers
• Scanners
• Keyboards and Mice
• Fax Machines
• Modems, routers, switches
• Motherboards and accessory cards
• Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS)
• Computer cables
• Cell Phones
• Game Consoles, Cartridges and Accessories (Atari, Nintendo, Sega, etc)
• Power bars, extension cords, phone cords, etc
• CDs and DVDs
• CPU/CRT combos (like iMacs)

Pick ups are also available(at a price) - More information on the website link listed above
Corporate Pick-up Service

• Regular Fees: $50.00 per pick up; $2.00 per monitor after the first 5
• Non-Profit Fees: $25.00 per pick up; $1.00 per monitor after the first 5
• Fees for very large or palleted pick-ups are calculated on a case-by-case basis. Contact us for details.

 

Why would any one pay money to throw something away?

$4 to throw away telescope? What's stopping people from putting it in the public trash bin?

 

Is there anyplace BESIDES London Drugs that will recycle VHS tapes? We went there today with 3 boxes of tapes and were told they can only take a small bag at a time. I phoned the Waste Management Station in N. Van and was told only London Drugs will take VHS tapes, and that they will take no more than 16 tapes at once (I guess that's how many fit into a bag...). HELP!

 

Found a few more resources for recyling stuff in this province:
http://regionalrecycling.ca/
http://rcbc.bc.ca/