LiveSmart BC Community Hero
LiveSmart BC Community Heroes: The Bosco Family
Drawn to Prince Rupert for the geography and new opportunities for small businesses, Shannon and Aaron Bosco arrived in 2007 and quickly set about establishing a recycling pick-up service using the very trailer that Aaron built to move to the North Coast.
“We had the trailer so I figured we could put it to good use,” explained Aaron. “My wife is very environmentally minded and we liked the public service as a business model.”
Armed with an abundance of self-motivation, the Boscos hit the pavement, trying to spread word about their new business and barely more than a year later, they have watched their family expand to include son Keaton, “heir to the recycling throne” and provide regular service for more than 130 residential properties and over 30 businesses in the community.
“It was needed here, particularly on the residential side of things,” said Shannon, explaining how things work. “Customers are provided with two blue bags, which they fill with unsorted recyclable materials and we pick them up every two weeks.”
The bags are then taken back to a sorting facility where employees sort the materials before taking them to be recycled.
“This makes it convenient for people to recycle and provides a way for those that don’t have the means to get out to the recycling depot to do their part, and even expands the items that they recycle,” said Aaron.
In addition to making recycling easy and efficient for the average citizen, Eco-Management saves a metric tonne of carbon dioxide every year in the car emissions, alone, that it requires to get out to the depot.
“What we’re trying to do is show how the individual can make a difference,” said Aaron. “A lot of people will say I’m just one person, what can I do? But I’m just one person and it’s what I choose to do to make a difference. So we’re helping our customers make that difference.”
Currently, the Boscos are working with the Skeena Queen Charlotte Regional District to put a ban on newspaper at the landfill, like the one that already exists for recyclable products like cardboard.
“Most people don’t realize that the landfill nearly full. At the rate we’re going it could need to be closed within the decade,” said Shannon.
“Maximizing landfill diversion is the main goal of what we do,” added Aaron.
