Recycling Staples

 

Location: Staples store, Richmond west of Parliament

Date photo taken: 2022-03-31

This installation adorns the wall of the new Staples location at Richmond and Parliament. If you could read the tiny writing curving along the bottom of the piece, you would know that it was made from bits and pieces of pens and electronics which had been dropped off at Staples stores for recycling. Beneath the piece are four drop boxes, each for a different type of material that can be brought in to store for recycling. This includes batteries, ink and toner cartridges, electronics and writing tools like old pens and highlighters - all things not accepted in Toronto's blue bins. Staples works with partners like TerraCycle, Call2Recycle and eCycle Solutions to ensure that materials are recycled properly and in 2020 they helped Canadians divert more than 136,000 kilograms of batteries and two million kilograms of electronics from the waste stream. So the next time your highlighter dies, don't toss it in the trash. Toss it in your bag instead and let it live again as a piece of playground equipment.