Port au Port man treks 750 km, just to recycle

The inability to recycle plastics in his hometown of Port au Port hasn't stoppedChris Soper from finding a way to keep his plastic waste out of the landfill.

"It sounds crazy, but I've literally taken 20 to 40 pounds, no exaggeration, of plastic containers, like ice cream and yogurt containers andI'll truck them across the island to St. John's," Soper told The Corner Brook Morning Show.

After making that approximately750-kilometre trip, Soperputs his plastics out atthe curb of his daughter's house in the city for pickup.

St. John's curbside recycling accepts such waste, a service not offered on the west coast of Newfoundland.

'It broke my heart'

Sopermakes regular trips to see his daughter in St. John's, taking plasticsalong each time, so as not to expend extra emissions on his recycling mission.

But Soper said while he makes an effort to reuse containers and reduce consumption, he didn't haveenough space in his car for all his extra plastics on his last trip to the city.

Eventually, hehad to throw some of it out.

"It broke my heart," said Soper.

"It becomes garbage, which is a shame, because the plastic actually can get recycled and reused."

To me, philosophically, putting stuff in the dump is a no-no.- Chris Soper

Soper also composts, recycles paperand drops off any wires or old nails atthe scrap metal collection centre in Stephenville.

"To me, philosophically, putting stuff in the dump is a no-no."

Soper has spoken to his local council about recycling plasticsand was told it's working on a plan, but cost was a major factor.

"Ihope that will happen," said Soper, who said he will continue to make his recycling trek across the island until itbecomes a reality.