Staff
Our staff work at the Depot to ensure a safe, smooth, and efficient recycling operation. The work includes assisting customers, baling the separated materials, and in some cases, transporting the recycled materials to the next stage in the recovery and repurposing of collected materials.
Current Staff:
Grant Buday (Depot Manager) Eric Abilgard Rick Anderson Sam Buday Kirsty Legge, Bookkeeping Elise Boeur, Communications Coordinator |
Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors are responsible for overseeing and stewardship of the Society. To find out more about our directors click on their name.
President: Don Eadie
Don joined the MIRS Board in 2018, and was elected President at the 2021 AGM. He
succeeded Kim Harris, whose many years of careful guidance of the Society leave big shoes to fill! Since joining the Board, Don has worked on initiatives on Depot Health and Safety, Web Site Development, and Strategic Planning, among others. Don has been a part time resident of Mayne Island since 2005, and full time since 2016. He has a background in science, and industrial R&D /management, working in the railway sector for the past twenty years. |
Past President: Kim Harris
Kim joined the Recycling Board in 2010, and became president in 2011 and remained president until 2021. Ann Johnston educated him in all things recycling. During that time, he was also involved with the Southern Gulf Islands Recycling Coalition. It is a very valuable organization, where we share our successes and challenges. The Coalition worked very hard to keep and expand funding from the CRD - especially during the shift from municipal control of Blue Box items to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Stewardship, when in theory (but not practice) Recycle BC would cover the costs of recycling Blue Box Items. During that time MIRS has expanded what the depot collects to include most of the EPRs in BC.
Being involved with MIRS has been an extremely rewarding experience. There have been many terrific people involved - our volunteers and staff are second to none - and the community has really supported us and the operation of the depot. They have supported the Depot for 35 years and hopefully the Depot will be around for another 35 years. |
Vice President: Vicki Turay
Vicki joined the Mayne Island Recycling Board in 2012, finding it a natural fit for her interests. In 1979 she joined Community Alternatives, a Vancouver based co-op housing unit, where she helped to set up and manage an extensive recycling and composting system for 30 years before moving full time to Mayne Island. Since being on the Board she has focused her energy primarily on community related events by managing the annual beach clean-up, spearheading the green cone initiative, and more recently organizing the bicycle recycling.
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Secretary: Carol Ashwell
Carol has been coming to Mayne Island since 1993 and now lives full time on the island. After teaching for 30 years in the Lower Mainland, retirement on Mayne has been a wonderful experience. Recycling is an important issue and Carol has volunteered at the Recycle depot for many years. She has been part of the Recycling Society Board for 10 years and enjoyed working with all members of the board. We are so fortunate to have our facility here with great volunteers and workers.
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Treasurer: Deb Foote
Deb Foote joined the Mayne Island Recycling Board as Treasurer in 2010. For the majority of that time she has taken care of the day to day bookkeeping on a volunteer basis along with the more global responsibilities of being treasurer. Deb’s background is in the Organic and Natural Foods sector where she worked for 20 years in the distribution realm with a Worker Coop, and more recently in the retail trade where she and her husband owned store a in Surrey. Deb is a passionate recycler and environmentalist always looking for more R’s to add to the list – like Repurpose, Refill, Refuse, Repair oh and let’s not forget RESPECT…
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Volunteer Coordinator: Lynda Smyth
Lynda grew up on the West Coast, but spent most of her adult life in Ottawa. Her background is in museum management. She has served on the Board since 2015 and prior to that she volunteered at the Depot. Currently she serves as the Volunteer Coordinator and finds it a pleasure to work with such a dedicated, hardworking group. Lynda has worked on the development of the MIRS website, as well as the 2019 BYOC Campaign. She spearheaded the 2020 Pollution Solutions Programs with the Mayne Island School, and created the first MIRS feasibility study group.
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Membership: Carol Ashwell
Carol has been coming to Mayne Island since 1993 and now lives full time on the island. After teaching for 30 years in the Lower Mainland, retirement on Mayne has been a wonderful experience. Recycling is an important issue and Carol has volunteered at the Recycle depot for many years. She has been part of the Recycling Society Board for 10 years and enjoyed working with all members of the board. We are so fortunate to have our facility here with great volunteers and workers.
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Member at Large: John Shayler
Before moving to Mayne, John and his wife Chris had on occasion visited good friends who call the Island home. A number of times John visited the Recycling Depot to be shown the art of sorting materials into the right bins. He was impressed with the Depot’s operation and the wide range of materials recycled at the facility. Not long after moving to Mayne, John soon ran into his former East End neighbour Grant Buday, who just happens to be the manager of the Depot. When Grant encouraged him to become a volunteer, John jumped at the chance. After more than a year of volunteering, a spot came open on the Board of Directors. John saw this as an opportunity to learn more about the world of recycling. John is happy to give back to the Island where he and Chris now have their happy home.
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Member at Large: Gary Caroline
Gary and his family first visited Mayne In 1992 and fell in love with the island and its people. They bought their home here in 1999 and visited it regularly, all the way from Ottawa. Since then, Gary has been involved in various community issues and more recently has been providing legal advice to island nonprofit organizations. Gary and his family moved to B.C. in 2003 and became a full-time resident of the island in March 2020. Seeing the need to support one of the island’s most important institutions, Gary joined the Mayne Island Recycling Society Board in June 2021.
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Member at Large: Bill Warning
Bill has been a Mayne Islander since the early 1990’s. His background is in chemistry and biology, and he has worked for many years operating Mayne Island community water systems. During his years here, Bill has enjoyed volunteering, and he appreciates how important it is to be involved. He is looking forward to being on the M.I. Recycling Society Board; it is a valuable and integral part of Mayne.
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Volunteers
The Mayne Island Recycling Society is very gratified to have a dedicated volunteer corps who work diligently to help keep our Recycling Depot running efficiently. We also have volunteers who help out with administrative duties, the membership drive, focus group studies, and who serve as board members. Interested in getting involved? Check out this page.