Sort'nGo – Port Alberni

Residents are sorting to win a free year of waste collection by playing the sorting game on the Sort’nGo ACRD app. With over 2,000 gameplays to date, and 75+ completion certificates created, we’re seeing what contestants are getting right—and wrong—when sorting. Below are items that are being incorrectly sorted during game plays and are presented here to show where they belong:

Sort it out at 3rd Ave Recycling Depot or AV Landfill Depot:

Flexible Plastics:

1. Chip bags
2. Candy and chocolate bar wrappers

Plastic bags and Overwrap:

1. Plastic deli packaging
2. Plastic liners (like garden planters)

Take to the AV Landfill Depot, 3rd Ave Recycling Depot or Returns It - Depot:

Extended Producer Responsibility products (EPR):

1. Motor Oil

Belongs in the AV Landfill/garbage:

1. Packing sheets (like flexible foam wrap)
2. Broken glass (please wrap in newspaper before disposal)
3. Broken cups and dishes (please wrap in newspaper before disposal)
4. Coffee pods
5. 6-pack rings

Learn more about what and how to sort in our FAQs.

While many of us were busy soaking up the remaining days of summer in late August, before the hectic life of work, school, and play started up again in September, the City of Port Alberni and the Alberni Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD) were pounding the pavement with special deliveries.

In the heat of August, crews were dropping off over 13,000 new curbside collection carts to single-family homes as part of a progressive three-stream pickup service that’s setting a new standard for waste diversion in the region.

Along with the introduction of a third cart for organics comes a wider initiative to transition to an auto-cart system for all three waste streams, including recycling and waste.

Read the full article in the latest issue in Port Alberni's Fall Issue of the Valley Vibe.

This is the time of year when fallen leaves, fruit, branches and other yard waste piles up. While the green organics carts are great for disposing of these items, did you know there are other great options for getting rid of your excess fruits and veggies from the garden?

The Alberni Valley Gleaning Project will share excess garden harvest across the Alberni Valley.

If that doesn’t work for you though, and you’re choosing to compost excess food items such as fruit, please make sure the cart is no more than half full. There have been challenges with the carts being too heavy for even automated arms to lift.

Don't forget to download the Sort'nGo ACRD app to refresh your sorting skills — plus, you can play the game for a chance to win a free year of waste collection... on us! Don't have a mobile device? Use the desktop version here: https://api.recollect.net/r/area/ACRD

The City of Port Alberni has seen over 150 tons of organics get diverted from the landfill since the launch of Sort'nGo a month ago—that’s the equivalent weight of a blue whale, one of the largest animals in the world.

To Celebrate, We’re Having a Contest!

The ACRD and the City of Port Alberni are launching a Sort’nGo contest on October 15 and running until end of day, December 15, 2021.

Residents can play for a chance to win a free year of solid waste collection—valued at $180 (based on the standard 120L cart sizes).

*City-wide cart audits will also take place during this time, and residents who have properly sorted items into their carts will receive a gold star cart decal and automatically be entered to win.

Contest Details:

• Participants can play the sorting game on their Sort’nGo app for Android or iPhone, or play on the desktop version of the app. The direct link to the game is acrd.recycle.game
• To play the game, participants must move through levels 1 - 5, and on completion will receive a certificate that can be printed or saved as a PDF
• To be entered in the draw, a screenshot or the PDF of your certificate can be emailed to sortngo@acrd.bc.ca or mailed to the ACRD office at: 3008 5th Ave, Port Alberni, BC V9Y 2E3

The grand prize winner will be announced in December… so get sorting for your chance to win!

Sorting game plays - 1,026

• Keurig coffee pods (garbage)
• Diapers (garbage)
• Plastic bags filled with organics (no plastic bags at all please -- even those labelled compostable or biodegradable won't reliably break down and can cause contamination)
• Rubber bands on produce and stickers (garbage)
• Plastic ID tags from pots and planters (any plastic from gardening posts and planters needs to go in the garbage)
• Juice boxes (Recycling Depot)

• Cardboard in organics carts should be free of tape/plastic (tape can go in the garbage)

Port Alberni residents will be able to place their new green organics carts curbside on the week of September 13th, as the Sort’nGo Organics service launches in Port Alberni!

What other carts should you be rolling out?

If the week of September 13th IS your normal recycling week, please roll out your blue recycling cart with your green organics cart. The following week, you’ll roll out your garbage cart with your organics cart.

If the week of September 13th IS NOT your normal recycling week, please roll out your garbage cart with your green organics cart. The following week, you’ll roll out your recycling cart with your organics cart.

Find your collection schedule and set collection alerts with the Sort’nGo ACRD app, available for iPhone and Android at the Apple Store or Google Play.

Quick Links:

• Intro to Sort'nGo video (3 mins)
• Welcome Package
• Info Sheet
• FAQs

Questions? Let us know at sortngo@acrd.bc.ca or visit the Sort'nGo Organics home page for more info.

Our new collection service is launching in the City of Port Alberni on September 13th, 2021!

Along with a new green cart for organics – single-family homes will receive a new blue cart for recycling.

Wondering how to recycle some items? Here’s a tip on how to dispose of shredded paper:

Curbside

Place shredded paper in a clear plastic bag (do not use coloured or opaque garbage bags) INSIDE your blue recycling cart.

This will make it easy to pull and sort off the line at the post collection facility.

*All other items in the blue cart should be left loose.

Depot

When depositing shredded paper at the Recycling Depots, please place shredded paper in a paper bag or cardboard box so as not to contaminate the paper stream.

Learn More

Questions about what, and how, to sort? Download the Sort’nGo ACRD app available for iPhone and Android at the Apple Store or Google Play. You can get help sorting items for collection, find collection schedules, and you can even set-up convenient collection alerts!