The dust has settled from RRC Waste Reduction Week which was held October 24-28 and once again, we had a very successful event thanks to all of you! Below is a summary of the week.

Special Waste Depots/E-Waste Drive

We were very excited to partner with MMSM and Winnipeg Harvest this year as part of their Bag it Forward program. Over the week, we collected 286 plastic bags which will be used to deliver Winnipeg Harvest’s emergency food kits. Due to a great deal of interest, we are working on creating a permanent collection for the Bag it Forward program at RRC.

In the meantime, drop off gently-used plastic bags at our office (C519, NDC) from now until December 1. We will drop off all the collected bags to Winnipeg Harvest on December 2. If you have plastic bags but can’t make it to our office, contact Whitney to arrange something.

We also collected 180 used writing instruments (pens, markers, highlighters, and mechanical pencils) which will be dropped off at Staples for recycling as part of their partnership with Terracycle. Many of you expressed an interest in making this a permanent program. We heard you loud and clear and are working on it. Stay tuned!

Finally, about 2,262 kg of e-waste was collected for recycling, including 200 kg of used batteries. Many of your asked what happens to these items.

Some of the batteries and e-waste collected

Our partner, Powerland, collects them and works with the EPRA (Electronic Products Recycling Association) to recycle the components that can be recycled and responsibly dispose of the components that can’t be recycled. The EPRA has more information about what happens when you drop your e-waste off for recycling here.

Brady Road Landfill Tour

On Wednesday, October 26, six of us piled into a City of Winnipeg van for a guided tour of the Brady Road Resource Management Facility. Stops on this fascinating tour included:

“Winnipeg’s largest BBQ” (aka Methane Gas Collection System) captures and burns methane gas from a portion of the landfill which has been completed. Methane is a greenhouse gas who impact on climate change is 25 times higher than carbon dioxide.

The flare burns approximately 1,000 cubic feet of methane per minute, reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from that section of landfill by 50%. The annual reduction is roughly equivalent to everyone in Winkler, MB giving up their cars.

The composting pad for leaf and yard waste converts the leaf and yard waste collected at our curbs to thousands of cubic metres of nutrient-rich compost. The waste is laid outside in dozens of large windrows, which are able to keep warm enough to keep the microbes working year-round.

Composting at Brady: Yard and leaf waste and biosolids

The biosolids composting program turns approximately 20% of the nutrient-rich by-product of Winnipeg’s sewage treatment into compost. These biosolids are mixed with woodchips from the City’s dutch elm program and placed in outdoor bunkers equipped with a forced air system which speeds up decomposition and helps reduce odors.

Pitch In Redesign Consultation

We received a lot of valuable feedback on the Pitch-In sign redesign.

Many people came out to look at the draft new designs for the new hallway “Pitch In” signs which provide information on how to properly sort your waste at Red River College. We received a lot of valuable feedback which will be used to come up with the final design to be rolled out in 2017. The draft design can be seen here. If you have any feedback to make it even better, please contact us or drop by our office to see it and have a chat!