With all the controversy about the safety of donation bins after several deaths in Canada due to people fall in, one non-profit is promoting a different way – residential donation bins.
Montecito Towers in North Burnaby has been a donation bin host and supporter of the Developmental Disabilities Association for over eight years. As one of approximately 40 residential bin hosts, they are talking about the beneftis of the bins – both for their own residents and for the community that DDA supports through its programs and services.
Residential donation bins differ from those that are outside of local businesses due to the fact that they are often located in secured locations. At Montecito Towers, the residential donation bin is located in a secured parking garage accessible by both of their residential buildings.
“Having a donation bin on-site makes it easy. Our residents don’t need to go anywhere. A lot of the time you have to get your stuff together, then you have to take it somewhere. Now it’s not about that. If you have a bag then you can donate it. It’s super convenient,” says Wayne Wengrowich, property manager at Montecito Towers. “The donation bin also assists on two other things: less textiles in the landfill and donations that are going to a good cause. I think that’s important.”
For rental properties and large buildings, there is also the added benefit that it can assist those residents that are moving in and moving out every month. People prefer to donate instead of throwing out unwanted items and having a residential donation bin nearby ensures that these items can be properly recycled or reused.
“The donation bin saves on our garbage costs, it creates less work for our staff, and both our residents and DDA are able to gain from it.”
However, options for textile recycling in multi-family buildings and complexes is still fairly uncommon. Part of the reason is that it can be perceived as a large time investment for property managers and strata councils to set-up and maintain.
Tamala Arm, Assistant Manager at Montecito Towers, doesn’t think this is the case.
“We hardly notice the bin. DDA has a good system where they know what to do, they use the parkade entrance to empty the bin. And if they haven’t been here before, it doesn’t take long to show them how to get into the parkade. It is minimal effort on our part.”
The DDA is looking for most bin hosts. For more information, contact 604-273-4332 or [email protected].
