Recycling/Composting
Recycling
Recyclables in Guysborough County are collected every week and delivered to the transfer station at the Guysborough County Waste Management Facility. Our recyclables are then trucked to the Colchester Recycling Facility.
RECYCLABLES MUST BE PLACED IN TWO TRANSPARENT BLUE OR CLEAR BAGS AS INDICATED BELOW.
Bag # 1 (Paper Products)
Newspaper
Advertising flyers
Magazines
Periodicals
Game Books (i.e. crossword puzzles)
Pocket novels, TV guide
Catalogues, telephone books
Paper egg cartons
Envelopes
Cores from paper towel & bathroom tissue
Boxboard (i.e. cereal boxes)
Letter, office, school paper
Corrugated cardboard, bundled 4' x 2' x 2' (no waxed cardboard)
Bag # 2 (all other recyclabes)
Plastic pop bottles
Aluminum cans
Aluminum plates
Glass bottles & jars
Milk and juice cartons
All liquor containers
Plastic containers (#1 through #7)
Plastic, grocery and bread bags (#4 only)
Tin cans
Pallet wrap
Tetra packs
The following is a list of items that MUST NOT be put in your recyclables bag. This material can be placed in with your regular garbage for collection.
- Styrofoam (meat trays, etc.)
- Bathroom waste
- Contaminated paper products (oil or food)
- Pizza or fast food boxes
- Cigarette butts and ashes
- Waxed cardboard
- Automotive oil containers not cleaned thoroughly
- Tim Horton cups
- Clothes and shoes
- Cookware appliances
- Biomedical waste-syringes, intravenous bags
- Household hazardous waste
- Potato chip and cookie bags
- Plastics without a number
- Cereal and cracker box inserts
- Diabetic needles *
- Paint **
- Batteries **
- Organic food waste **
- Building material **
* Check with your local pharmacy, ask for details about the SHARPS PROGRAM.
** These materials must be delivered to the Waste Management Facility by the generator.
Recycling Tips
- All containers must be rinsed clean.
- Labels do not have to be removed.
- Paper and cardboard must be clean and dry. It cannot be recycled if wet and dirty.
- Covers on tin cans do not have to be removed. If removed, please place them inside can.
- Plastic and metal caps on bottles/jars must be removed. These covers can be placed in the regular garbage. Some plastic covers may be recycled.
All our recyclables are transported to the Colchester recycling facility to be processed. It is very important to ensure that your recyclable bags contain only recyclables; rinsed clean, placed in the proper bags (do not mix bag 1 with bag 2), caps must be removed from bottles and jars; cardboard must be clean, and please do not place used needles in your recyclables bags.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Guysborough County Waste Management Facility HOTLINE at 1-888-232-2316.
FAQ
Q1. Can all plastic containers be recycled?
A1. Only plastic containers with the number #1 through #7 can be recycled at our processing facility. To find the number, check the bottom of the container for the recycling symbol with a number inside. If you do not see the recycling symbol, it is not recyclable and may be placed in the regular garbage.
Q2. Can all my recyclables be placed in the same bag?
A2. Recyclables must be placed in two separate transparent or clear bags. Bag #1 should contain paper products only as indicated at the top of this page. Bag #2 should contain all other recyclables as indicated at the top of this page.
Q3. Can I recycle all plastic bags?
A3. Like plastic containers, only those bags with the number #4 can be recycled at our processing facility. To find the number on the plastic bags, look for the recycling symbol with the number inside. Examples of recyclable bags are; grocery bags, bread bags and frozen food bags. Also pallet wrap can be recycled but will not have a recycling symbol or number.
Q4. Can I recycle paper with plastic liners or windows, and where do milk and juice cartons go?
A4. Windows do not have to be removed from envelopes. The plastic liners in Kleenex boxes do not have to be removed. Milk and juice cartons are recycled in Bag #2 and not with the paper products.
Backyard Composting Basics
The following is a list of items that should be placed in your backyard compost.
Kitchen Organics
greens
all spoiled vegetables & scraps
coffee grounds
tea bags
cut flowers
egg shells
rice
pasta
houseplant cuttings
browns
coffee filters
nut shells
stale bread
brown paper bags
paper towel
napkins
Yard organics
greens
grass clippings (no more than a 4-inch layer at a time)
weeds without a seed head
spent flowers & vegetables
hedge clippings
browns
leaves
dried grass clippings
dried weeds
straw & hay
small twigs or branches (mulched)
pine needles in small quantities
The following items are compostable, but can draw unwanted pests to your backyard, so they need to be placed in the regular garbage.
- meat
- chicken
- fish
- bones
- shellfish
- dairy products
- oils & fats
Compost is beneficial if mixed with garden soil and as a top dress on grass, so it is important to avoid the following materials:
- diseased or infected plants
- pet wastes
- mature weeds with seeds
Composting Tips
- Cover the greens from your kitchen and garden with browns from the kitchen and garden.
- Regularly use a pitchfork or other digging tool to mix in newly added green materials.
- Turning the pile will add air into the pile that is needed by the micro-organism to break the pile down properly.
- Always cover with a layer of browns.
- By covering the food waste you will minimize fruit fly problems and the occurrence of other pests.
- Keep the material in the composter about as damp as a wrung out sponge.
- A composter that is too wet or dry may stop working.
- The smaller the pieces of organic materials the quicker the materials will turn into compost.
- By using both materials from the house and yard you should get the right mix of carbon and nitrogen.
- By adding some finished compost or topsoil to the pile you will introduce organisms that help get the pile working.
Backyard composters are used in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough. Composters can be purchased at the Municipal office or at the Waste Management Facility for the subsidized price of $25 each.
Also if residents choose not to backyard compost; remember that any solid waste bag placed at curbside with backyard compostable material will be rejected. Residents also can (if they choose) deliver all of their organic waste including fish, and meat bones to the Waste Management Facility during normal operating hours.
The Guysborough Waste Management Facility has from time to time compost available for sale. It is recommended to call the site. Our toll free number 1-888-232-2316 for availability.
Zero Plastics Policy
The facility’s compost facility has had an ongoing problem with large amounts of plastics in the organics/ we are planning to cut the practice out as it has a negative effect on the compost process and the equipment. Commercial loads of contaminated organics will, as a deterrent be charged a higher tip fee or rejected. With zero plastics and other contaminates such as large rocks, large pieces of wood, pieces of metal, and glass we can produce a higher quality of finish compost.