After a brief closure this spring, the Courtenay Return-It Depot is refreshed and ready to serve the residents of the Comox Valley.
“While we were closed for six weeks we took the opportunity to make some changes inside to keep employees and customers safe. Also we’re repainting to match the Return-It’s new colours, and getting brand new sorting tables soon. The next time you visit we’ll be neutral grey, with a bit of the familiar blue and orange,” says Jaewon Kim of the Courtenay Return-It Depot.
To limit the number of people inside the building, the Depot has reduced the number of sorting tables inside, and encourages visitors to sort their recycling at home or outside, which Kim says has been going well. And with the closure of the Courtenay Country Market unstaffed recycling depot this June, Kim says his depot has seen an increased volume of recyclables.
“People who live north of Courtenay are now coming here,” he says.
Find a full list of accepted items at the Courtenay Return-It Depot here. Common items include:
- Beverage containers
- Electronics and small and large appliances
- Household Paint
- Paper and packaging products
Community care
The Courtenay Return-It Depot regularly runs bottle drives to help local charities, sports teams and other groups raise funds.
“It’s a good program. Usually bottle drives raise $1000 or more, it teaches kids the benefit of recycling and it helps clean the city too,” Kim says.
The Depot just hosted a bottle drive for a long-time employee recently diagnosed with cancer, with the Return-It Depot matching donations. Response was record-breaking, resulting in over $6000 of bottles donated from people in the Valley. With the Return-It Depot matching donations the employee will receive just under $14,000. If you missed the drive but still want to donate, there are a number of charity accounts like MARS and YANA you can choose from.
Five-star depot
Courtenay Return-It is a five-star bottle depot, which means it meets the highest standards for service, cleanliness, design and comfort. Like the star system for hotels, Encorp Pacific’s star system is designed to give customers the best possible experience.
Visit the Courtenay Return-It Depot at 493 Puntledge Rd. The Depot is now open Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or call 250-338-6013 for up-to-date information.
recently they cahnged their colours - neutral grey with a bit of blue and orange