We are excited to now offer a Community Share Library at the Green Depot! This initiative allows you to browse and take home used books at no cost. Our rotating collection includes children’s books, fiction and non-fiction novels, textbooks, and literature in various languages. UNA residents, UBC staff and students, and U-Town card holders are also encouraged to contribute by donating their unwanted books. The Community Share Library promotes sustainability by extending the lifecycle of books, reducing the need for new printing, and fostering a culture of reuse within our community. By participating, you help decrease waste and ensure that valuable reading materials are more accessible to everyone.

Every Sunday, during our operating hours, the Green Depot hosts a Free Item Table. This community-driven initiative features a range of items, including clothing, shoes, sports equipment, and more.

The Free Item Table embodies the principles of a circular economy by facilitating the redistribution of items that might otherwise be discarded. By encouraging the reuse of these items, we reduce waste and minimize the environmental impact associated with the production and disposal of goods. This initiative also supports the development of a sharing culture within our community.

UNA residents, UBC staff and students, and U-Town card holders can now access the Seed Lending Library at our Green Depot facility! Like traditional library services, a seed library provides access to a resource for community members. Folks are encouraged to come take seeds for their gardens (or windowsill gardens) to grow a variety of vegetables, herbs, and other plants!

The library is a collection of seeds that can be “borrowed” with the goal of contributing to learning, experimentation, and community food growing. As users learn about seed saving, they return the seeds from their crops for others to use.

This initiative was made possible by generous seed donations from the UBC Farm and West Coast Seeds. For more information about seed lending libraries, please visit the Seed Lending Library website.

The Green Depot is free for UNA residents, UBC staff and students, and U-Town card holders. Simply present your UNA, UBC, or U-Town card when dropping off your materials. If you don’t have your card, you will be asked to go to the front desk at Wesbrook Community Centre to verify your address.

Non-UNA, UBC, or U-Town card holders can access Green Depot services for a $5 flat rate fee, payable at the Wesbrook Community Centre front desk.

ACCEPTED:

• Clothing, textiles, and shoes
• Computers and parts
• Household batteries
• Small household appliances
• Non-functioning household electronics (including cables)
• Ink cartridges
• Light bulbs
• Smoke and CO alarms
• Soft and flexible plastics (bags, food wrappers, chip bags, can rings)
• Styrofoam packing blocks
• Writing instruments

NOT ACCEPTED:

• Automotive and marine batteries
• Broken light bulbs
• Commercial fire alarms
• Foam food containers
• Large household appliances and furniture
• Propane canisters
• Residential recycling (blue box recycling)
• Thrift store items (books and working electronics)

We get this question a lot!

Soft plastics include things like plastic bags, ziploc bags, and bubble wrap.

Flexible plastics include things like chip bags, can rings, and candy wrappers.

All of your plastics should have the crumbs shaken out first, and should be clean and dry before being brought to the Depot. Crumbs and wet bags can cause mold, causing the entire bin to become contaminated.

Too much unsorted or contaminated recycling can lead to entire bins being rejected and sent to the landfill.

Thank you for doing your part to help keep our recycling streams sorted!

No, we don’t. The reason is because Green Depot items are destined for end-of-life processing, where they are taken apart and their materials are sorted for recycling

Working electronics can instead be donated to thrift stores for reuse, which keeps them out of waste and recycling streams for as long as possible.

Thrift stores like the Salvation Army accept other household items, such as kitchenware and decorations. Habitat for Humanity ReStore accepts large household appliances and furniture.

For items that can’t be recycled through the Green Depot, like propane canisters, books, and furniture, visit Recycle BC or Waste Wizard to find out where you can drop off these and other items.

We strive to keep a consistent schedule for the Green Depot to meet community needs. Hours are dependent on our volunteers’ availability and may change seasonally.

Leaving your recycling outside of the Green Depot outside of operating hours creates more work for our Green Depot Attendant and volunteers. Illegal dumping not only attracts unwanted attention that leads to security issues, but it also adds a significant operational burden and cost to properly dispose of unaccepted items.

Often, items left outside are not able to be recycled at the Green Depot, meaning they will most likely end up in the garbage. Many of those items can be taken to the Zero Waste Centre.

We work with several companies to make sure your recyclables end up at the right place.

Many items, including soft plastics and styrofoam blocks, are processed and converted into new plastic bags or items like park benches.

Other items like household electronics, lightbulbs, and ink cartridges, are recycled.

Computers and other electronics are sent to Free Geek where they are refurbished or recycled.

Good condition used textiles are donated to a non-profit, while torn or unsalvageable textiles are recycled.

This graphic outlines where each item of these common items go after arriving at the Green Depot.

We recommend that everyone removes their iCloud or sign-in information from their devices before recycling your electronics. You can find the step-by-step process for removing your iCloud information here.

For other electronics, please make sure sensitive data is destroyed or archived as you will be dropping them off at your own risk.

Yes! The Green Depot relies on volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering and able to commit to a consistent weekly shift, please email greendepot@myuna.ca for more information.