Free Store hosts grand reopening
Cortes Currents
English - February 08, 2023 12:46 - 6 minutes - 15.6 MBNews cortes island discovery islands quadra food security energy indigenous nations Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Loni Taylor/CKTZ News - The Cortes Island Waste Management Center is hosting a grand reopening of the Free Store next week to celebrate its return to the pre-pandemic schedule, Thursday-Sunday. The unique store was briefly closed during the pandemic and softly re-opened with special protocols.
The Free Store, housed at the waste management centre, is a resource available to Cortes Island residents where recycled "clothing, books, toys, household items, and more" are available for free.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on Feb. 9 to commence the new schedule—a reversion back to the old operating hours with the two facilities running at the same time—and "re-opening" of the Free Store. Strathcona Regional Director Mark Vonesch will be officiating the ceremony.
New facilities manager Aaron McCulloch-Gary explained how the new schedule for the Free Store will shift back to the pandemic-hours, of Monday and Wednesday, when the high-volume tourist season begins in June. The manager emphasizes the need to manage many people and vehicles in the centre, hence moving the Free Store schedule to different days during the summer months. McCullough-Gary said that the focus for him is on operations and safety at both facilities.
"I'm responsible for this entire facility, that includes the Free Store and everybody coming to the Free Store."
The facilities manager points to the sentiment surrounding the Free Store operations.
"I believe tradition is part of it. People didn't like that it ever got changed and cuz it was good the way it used to be or at least it felt good."
In addition to the Free Store hours streamlining with the Waste Management Center, plastic recycling is also getting streamlined.
"Soft plastics, which used to be all separated from the soft, and the crinkly, and the weird different types of plastics, we no longer have to separate all that stuff. It's now just one category and so people don't have to worry about trying to figure out that bazaar system," McCulloch-Gary clarified.