5-Drive In wants to be part of the change

5 Drive-In, Oakville, Ontario

STORY AND PHOTOS BY DANA MIELE

Oakville’s historic 5-Drive In wants its patrons to recycle electronics in exchange for a free movie.

Ontario Electric Stewardship, a not-for-profit organization run by industry insiders, has put on more than 300 Recycle Your Electronics events in the past year.

“We have almost 3,000 collections sites across the province all the way up north to the eastern part of the province,” said Jonathan Spencer, executive director of Ontario Electric Stewardship.

“We distribute the waste to one of 13 processors that we work with. They take those electronics in and recycle them to the standards that we set, to make sure it is handled in a environmentally responsible way,” said Spencer.

The Ontario Electric Stewardship has more than 600 collection sites, which means a free drop off zone is approximately 5 to 10 km from every Ontarian. The amount of waste collected In Ontario last year was 75,000 tons.

“It’s not going to sit in a dump. It’s not going to sit in a ditch somewhere. It’s going to be taken apart. It will be processed for valuable materials that will be turned into something we can all buy and those toxic materials will be properly taken care of,” said Spencer.

The Recycle Your Electronics program also works with Halton Region to raise awareness and knowledge about recycling.

“The education component makes people change the cycle of behaviour,” said Pakosh.

“We call this a grassroot community type of event. We have an educational area where we can discuss why someone should recycle, how it happens and where they can go to drop off material,” said Sandra Pakosh, director of communications at Ontario Electronic Stewardship, working with Recycle Your Electronics.

“The education component makes people change the cycle of behaviour,” said Pakosh.

Any event that brings the community together for a common cause is a good thing,” said Brian Allen, vice-president of Premiere Theatres, which owns 5-Drive In.

“The drive in has always represented (to me) a unique way of experiencing movies with a diverse crowd and a communal spirit.”

On Sept. 28, Halton Region is coming to Sheridan’s Trafalgar Campus  from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for a special waste drop off day.

For a complete list of recyclables visit:
halton.ca/ewaste