A few months ago, before the snow was flying and the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute was open for business, I posted about our compost conundrum – how was RRC going to handle food waste at our new building?

After lots of input (thanks in particular to Jean Mark and Howard 🙂 ), research and number crunching, we’ve decided to contract our compost collection to Samborski Environmental. This means that all food waste – from food scraps during kitchen prep, to the leftovers on your plate can be collected in food waste bins and sent to be composted.

This first collection diverted 628 pounds from the landfill. Not too shabby! Stay tuned for more updates on composting at PGI in the coming weeks.

Bettina Allen – brought her own bowl and won!

Last week the Sustainability Office asked people to bring their own bowl and spoon to RRC’s Chili Cup. We did this to encourage participation in a waste-free event. To add an extra incentive, participants who brought their own bowl and spoon were entered to win a $25 gift certificate to Prairie Lights.

Most people liked the idea of “bringing their own” and rose to meet that challenge.  I saw a variety of creative “bowl” ideas – everything from coffee cups, Tupperware containers, candy dishes – whatever they could find! This was the case with our draw winner, Bettina Allen from our Library. Read More →

If you are planning an event – MAKE IT GREEN

Greening an event means taking steps to minimize your environmental impact. Start by looking at your event as a whole, break down each activity and use the 4 R’s – Rethink Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Planning and executing a green event is an easy way to adopt the practice of sustainability; not only will you reduce your impact on the environment, but you typically will reduce costs and set a leading example for others to follow.

An event can be large or small, a small event might be a coffee meeting where you ask everyone to bring a reusable mug, or you ask your caterer for glassware instead of plastic plates and cups for a lunch meeting or workshop. When planning a large event consider things like, electronic invitations, using local growers and organic food, encouraging guests to carpool or take transit. These are just a few ideas – the options are endless.

One large event we are helping to green on campus is the annual Chili Cup. Working with the Wellness Committee, the Office of Sustainability put forward these recommendations to reduce waste: Read More →

In a few short months, the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute (PGI) will open its doors to the public. One-hundred and nine years ago, back in the days of horse and buggy, the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute (formerly the Union Bank building) was western Canada’s first skyscraper. Today, it will be a state-of-the-art training facility and the College’s first student residence.

To meet the College’s commitment to sustainability, PGI is being built to achieve LEED certification.  Check out this video to see how PGI is reducing energy and conserving resources.

Whenever possible, the building’s original materials were retained and restored. The exterior facade, window frames, marble and hard wood floors and plaster walls are all more than 100 years old. Reusing these materials preserves a piece of history and reduces the environmental impacts from extracting, manufacturing and installing new materials.

Prior to renovations.

Student Residence

Cyclists will be will be happy to see that PGI has 35 secure, indoor bike racks.

A sustainable building is a lot more than how it’s constructed. We’re working hard to put programs and good practices in place to ensure PGI operates as sustainably as possible.

Some items in our PGI + Sustainability To Do list include:

– Implementing a post-consumer compost program

– Creating a “Green Residence Guide” to give our residents tools to reduce their impacts

– Developing a green building tour to showcase the building’s sustainable features.

See you at PGI!

Sue Hayduk- Sustainability Coordinator

Hi I am Sue Hayduk, and I’m excited to be working in RRC’s Sustainability Office.

Somehow – I think – sustainability has always been inherent to me. My mom was frugal and “reuse and recycle” were part of our everyday household; my dad was an avid outdoorsman and I grew up knowing the value of healthy land, clean air and clean water; and I grew up in Winnipeg’s North End, a mix of people, cultures, languages, foods and traditions, a vibrant reminder of my roots and where I chose to live today. So this is where it all started for me this path of being where I am now as Sustainability Coordinator. Read More →

What keeps a Sustainability Officer up at night? The thought of eggshells, food scraps and coffee grounds ending up in the landfill.

As many of you know, RRC is slated to open the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute (PGI) in January, 2013. Located in the historic Exchange District, this architectural marvel will deliver the College’s Culinary Arts, Hospitality and Tourism Management Programs. This means that students and staff working and schooling downtown will soon be able to dine on culinary delights and purchase warm breads and mouth-watering baking — my personal faves are the peanut butter brownies. On top of these programs (literally), floors 4 – 10 will house the College’s first student residence.

While this project is exciting for many reasons, putting a culinary school, three restaurants and a 100-bed student residence is a downtown setting can pose some operational challenges. This brings me to my initial question of why I’m tossing and turning over organics instead of counting sheep. Read More →

Curtis Aab & Michael Judge

Over the past year, RRC Instructors Michael Judge (Chemical & Biosciences Technology) and Curtis Aab (Pharmaceutical Manufacturing) spent their spare time investigating how to reduce the negative environmental impacts of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

[**Author’s disclaimer – The last time I thought about chemical compounds was in Mr. Valentin’s grade 11 chemistry class, so for you White Coats out there, please excuse the elementariness of these scientific descriptions.] Read More →

One of 16 fancy new fountains on campus.

Last year we asked RRC students about their “top of mind” sustainability issues for the College.  Full results from that study can be found here, but those interested in the Coles Notes version need to know that installing more bottle fill stations ranked in the sustainability top-three.

The Notre Dame Campus now has 16 chilled, filtered bottle fill stations located in every building and on every floor on campus. Bottle fill stations can also be found at the Portage Campus and are planned for the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute (under construction). Sorry Roblin Centre, because the taste and temperature of your fountain water is p.d.g. (pretty darned good), we did a quick retrofit of your fountains with goose necks. Read More →

Did you know that Red River College offers “top of the lot” parking spots for students who carpool? Carpooling is a great way to save money on parking and gas and reduce your environmental impacts. But did you know that carpooling can also help to relieve stress?

“Top of the lot” spots for student carpoolers at the Notre Dame Campus.

At the Notre Dame Campus, students who team up to carpool can receive preferred ‘top of the lot” parking spots. It’s a nice perk that becomes even perkier when the temperature dips to -30 outside. To register or for more information, visit the Parking Services Office. And not to fear, carpool spots will not run out. Parking Manager Socrates Papadopoulos will continue to add carpooling spots to meet the demand… so team up!

Looking for a carpool buddy? Red River College is one of 9 Winnipeg employers that subscribes to carpool.ca. This ride-matching service helps you find fellow Red River College carpoolers in your area. Happy commuting.

RRC Polytech’s recycling program accepts these materials, and more!

What do yogurt containers, fresh fruit “clamshells” and frozen food trays have in common? They are now accepted in RRC’s recycling program!

Thanks to our new recycling hauler, Phoenix Recycling Inc., RRC has expanded the types of allowable materials into our recycling program. Read More →