Giving Vancouver’s ‘binners’ their due
Pilot project provides dollars, dignity to people who have been sorting trash behind businesses for years
You never look forward to the job of sorting your recyclables and taking them to the depot? Why not hire an expert.
Back-of-House Waste Sorting is a pilot project aiming to give binners a stable income. They’re the experts, they’re the ones who’ve been sorting your trash since the time of tinkers.
“Exactly, they do that 12 hours a day, they go through our waste, they’ve seen the evolution of our waste,” Anna Godefroy, co-founder of Binners’ Project, said. “They know what can be recycled, what can be reused.”
The back-of-house project so far has three companies lined up: SFU Radius, Science World and the soon-to-open 312 Main St. innovation centre.
“Ideally, in a couple of years we’ll have 50 buildings,” Godefroy said.
For $60 a month, binners come and collect from up to six bins a week, with a minimum commitment of three months.
Your contract includes having your waste properly separated, having it diverted from landfills and, it’s hoped, more room in your bins and less mess in the lane because the binners flatten boxes and bulky items, and remove bottles and cans. They take deposits to recycling depots by foot, cart or bike, thus there’s no carbon footprint.
“That’s what binners do, basically, they make space, they clean up the area and they make sure things are recycled,” Godefroy said.
The project also gives binners some stability and reliable income, not to mention a bit of dignity.
“It’s a recognition of their expertise, a recognition of the value of their contributions,” Godefroy said. “And it’s a way to create routine they don’t currently have.”
Brenda Shorty, a binner, said attitudes are changing.
“Before, people used to ignore us,” she said. “They treated us like dirty people. But people are starting to realize we’re trying to keep the city clean. They’re understanding that now.”
Part of the Binners’ Project mission statement reads: “By paying your binner for their time and expertise, you are helping them make a reliable, safe and legal livelihood, all the while contributing to an inclusive, greener city.”
Binners’ Project has a busy weekend slated. It will be represented at Khatsahlano in Kits, Latincouver in North Van, Playland and car-free day on Commercial Drive.
Made up of a group of waste-pickers and a support staff, Binners’ Project’s best-known campaign is probably Coffee Cup Revolution, a yearly event to raise awareness of waste reduction, with a generous helping hand from the City of Vancouver.
Last fall, 49,000 paper cups were collected in four hours for $2,453 in refunds to 175 binners who presented their cups at Victory Square for five cents a cup. The fourth-annual event will be held in October.