What to do with all that cardboard and paper in your trash? It seems a shame to throw it in the garbage when you know that it can be ground up and made into new cardboard.

Getting a grip on garbage has always been a pet project of mine and so I headed off to Tatlow Road in Smithers where the Bulkley Valley Recycling Centre (BVRC) leases space in the Vihar Construction building, a drive of less than one-half mile from Highway 16 (turn at Glacier Toyota)..

Inside the building I found Art Mortenson and Ernie Harding, two hands-on directors of the Smithers and Area Recycling Society (SRS). Both men have something else in common - they have special-needs people in their family.

Always on the lookout for ways to fundraise for their annual Special Olympics, the two were approached by recycling enthusiast and owner of the Smithers Bottle Depot, Wayne Rose, who suggested they bundle cardboard to make money. Ten years and tons of cardboard later, the centre has outgrown its previous depot on Victoria Drive, and is looking to take on even more recyclable cardboard, newspaper, milk jugs, tin cans, glass containers and office pack.