In Concert’s view, the concept of a traditional garbage room in a residential rental project is a thing of the past. Not only have we evolved our practices to allow a wide range of items to be recycled, but we have now begun to integrate “Recycling Lounges” into our newest rental developments.
Recognizing that traditional garbage and recycling rooms can be dark and smelly, Concert wanted to revamp the recycling experience in an effort to encourage our residents to divert a greater portion of their waste from landfill. Bright and clean Recycling Lounges have been integrated within the last four rental developments completed by Concert. In some cases, these rooms have even been finished to the same level of quality as the other interior common spaces, and utilize well-marked chutes along the wall to separate waste. This approach, combined with adequate ventilation, means there is minimal garbage smell in the room.
One particularly innovative aspect of the Recycling Lounge concept is how organic waste is handled. Each tenant is given a small compost bin which they can bring down to the Lounge to empty when full.
Concert is proud to be pushing the boundaries with respect to waste diversion across our portfolio of rental homes, and has plans to equip all new rental developments with Recycling Lounges moving forward. The program is also being rolled out to commercial properties Concert owns and manages later this year, as well as condominium developments that are now in the planning stages.