What should I do with my coffee grinder and rice cooker that don’t work anymore? – Angela of Calgary
If you can’t fix it, recycle it.
Today you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone who will repair a $17 toaster (although it’s worth a Google search). It’s all thanks to planned obsolescence — consumer goods designed to fail, costing consumers and the planet.
In Calgary, for non-working small appliances, check out Recycle Blue Inc. at RecycleBlue.ca. And any Albertan can search by item and city on the Recycling Council of Alberta’s website: RecyclingHotline.ca. Edmontonians will be happy to know that their Ecostations collect small appliances.
Most provinces have some type of recycling program for small appliances.
For example, British Columbia’s Unplugged is the first small appliance recycling program of its kind in Canada and the only government-approved small appliance recycling program in B.C. Unplugged accepts more than 120 types of small appliances, from electric toothbrushes to vacuum cleaners. Go to UnpluggedRecycling.ca.
Westerners from Winnipeg to the Pacific Ocean should also take advantage of the What’s The Green Deal program offered by London Drugs. Go to GreenDeal.ca to recycle small appliances purchased from their stores.
Winnipeggers should also acquaint themselves with GreenManitoba.ca so you don’t miss the electronic waste roundup.
In Ontario, RecycleYourElectronics.ca will get the job done — search by postal code and community.
And, I didn’t forget about you Nova Scotia! The Atlantic Canada Electronics Stewardship has you covered.
See ACES’s website at 
Lindsay Coulter gives you the straight goods on living green. Send your questions to queenofgreen@metronews.ca. For more great tips, visit The David Suzuki Foundation at davidsuzuki.org.
