The UVic Sustainability Project (UVSP) is giving UVic students and community members a place to recycle things they might otherwise toss in the trash.

Starting on Saturday, March 13, UVSP will team up with Pacific Mobile Depot from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the second Saturday of every month to provide a place for people to bring their old electronics, batteries, plastics and other materials.

The depot will take place in parking lot seven, by the campus community gardens.

“Pretty much anything you can’t put in your big blue bin, you take to them and they ethically dispose of it,” said UVSP board member Stafford Ritcher. “The amount of stuff that they’re able to recycle is just crazy.”

For Ritcher, ethical recycling is an important part of the depot.

“I’m really a believer in [the idea that] if you’re going to recycle stuff, don’t green-wash — do it properly,” he said. “And I really think that [Pacific Mobile Depot] puts their money where their mouth is.”

Ritcher has been working on introducing the depot since last July.

One of the major obstacles which he and other organizers faced stemmed from the university’s concern that having the depot would give the community a reason to dump their trash on UVic property.

To calm the university’s fears, organizers went around and talked to people who run Pacific Mobile Depots at other stations around the city and found that cleanliness was never an issue.

In fact, other sites were generally left cleaner than they were found.

“You’re dealing with people who are recyclers,” said Ritcher. “These are the kind of people who will scrub their Styrofoam containers, and make sure they separate all of their plastics out. I mean, these people care; they care enough to keep this stuff and not throw it in the garbage. They’re not the type of people who will just be dropping stuff on UVic property.”

Now UVSP has support from across campus and the community, as reflected in the “Pacific Mobile Depot at UVic” Facebook group, which boasts well over 200 members.

Ritcher hopes the first depot will see that support as well — now and in the future.

“If we get 50 [people], that’d be great. But if we get 200, I’d be over the moon,” he said.

The depot does charge for their services, but Ritcher says that the costs are “well within a student’s budget.”

Plus, Pacific Mobile Depot kicks back 20 per cent of the depot’s proceeds to the host organization UVSP has decided to use the money to provide the volunteers who will run the depot with honorariums.

“To give four hours of your time up on Saturday morning or afternoon is a pretty big commitment so that’s our way of saying thank you,” said Ritcher.

Ritcher hopes to see the depot become a monthly occurrence, like other depots throughout Victoria, and one that lasts well beyond his own time studying at UVic.

“I think we’ve got the foundation here,” he said. “I think it’s something that’s going last — I really hope. Fingers crossed.”

What it costs

What the depot charges depends on what the item is and the quantity. Some of the prices are shown below:

• foam, hard and soft plastics, tetra packs, mixed paper and foil-lined bags: $2.75-$6.50
• batteries: $2.50/lb
• televisions and monitors: $3.75-$7.50
• printers, scanners, computer towers: $2.50/item

For a full list of accepted items and prices, check out the website: pacificmobiledepots.com.