Every Friday, Consumer Reporter Lynda Steele dips into the mailbag to answer your questions. This week, Steele on Your Side investigates recycling American bottles and tax receipts from charities.
Recycling American glass bottles
Anders wrote Steele on Your Side after discovering the City of Surrey won't allow him to recycle glass bottles from the United States. He was told he would have to throw them out and he wants to know why.
There are two different recycling programs in B.C., the deposit refund system and curbside recycling or the blue bins.
The deposit system won't accept the glass bottles because there was no deposit fee paid to the program with American beverage containers. The curbside recycling program won't accept American glass because those producers have not paid into the B.C. system to have their containers managed responsibly.
So yes, it is correct that in many municipalities American glass is considered garbage.
Tax receipts for clothing donations
Rhonda regularly donates clothing and household items to charity. She wants to know if there are any charities that give tax receipts for donations of clothes and toys.
Property of little or only nominal value, like used clothes and toys, will not qualify for a tax receipt under Canada Revenue Agency rules. But many charities will give tax receipts for more expensive items, like furniture, collectables and art.
Make sure you request a receipt at the time of your donation so the items can be appraised.
The CRA usually expects an independent appraisal for anything worth more than $1,000.
