Five-year-old Himmat Rai loves to recycle.
Rai’s mom, Joti Muker, says her son is in charge of all the recycling duties at home and waits every Monday for the recycling truck to come around.
“In our family, the philosophy is that everyone helps out, and so his chores are recycling and emptying the dishwasher, so he’s been doing that since he was 18 months,” she said.
“It’s just turned into a huge passion of his.”
His love for recycling intensified after a tour at the Maple Ridge Recycling Depot last summer.
This year, when his birthday rolled around, there was no question about where he wanted to celebrate.
“He was so excited to show his friends the recycling centre, because none of them had been here before,” Muker said.
“They’re running around and having so much fun. Everybody’s still talking about it.”
Adam Sanders, supervisor for the Ridge Meadows Recycling Society, described how they set up for the event.
“We completely cleaned the back of the depot, we brought the recycling truck to do a demo, then we showed them how to make a bail and crush metal,” he said
Sanders says he was impressed by Himmat’s knowledge.
“He knew everything. I didn’t have to tell him anything. It just blew me away,” he said.
Sanders says it is important to educate children about recycling.
“For them to understand that products are reusable resources, kids like Himmat are starting very early to understand that.”
Just as Himmat celebrated his fifth birthday, it was also the 54th anniversary of the Ridge Meadows Recycling Society.
The society receives around 4,500 tonnes of recyclable material per year, and more than 500 cars come around daily to drop off recycling.
The depot has now received more birthday party requests.
As for Himmat, he knows where his first job will be.
