Sharp Recycling Program

I used to take my coffee grinder to a repair shop on Dunsmuir Street in Vancouver to have the blades sharpened. I think it was called Sunspot. It’s long gone. I remember watching a man ahead of me in line once. He had brought in his electric razor, just to have the blade changed. I watched as the repair man took a small brush and gently, almost lovingly cleaned it off. He replaced the blade, then sprayed it with some lubricant. He took his time, as rare as repair shops these days. And thanks to planned obsolescence, things just don’t last as long anymore.

Finally, there’s a place to recycle all those small appliances. Toasters, electric toothbrushes, microwaves, vacuum cleaners, 120 appliances in all can be taken to designated depots. Unplugged, the new non-profit program is funded through a recycling fee added to small appliances. It’s the first program of its kind in Canada. BC has led the way in industry-managed product stewardship, also called Extended Producer Responsibility. There are already well established recycling programs for beverage container, tires, electronics and paint. That’s a lot of toxic stuff being kept out of the landfill.

I still think we should revive the repair shop though. My coffee grinder blades are really in need of a sharpening.

 

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