The results of the RRC Polytech sustainability survey are in – sustainability is important, and people are engaged.  The survey was sent to staff and students in February and a whopping 650 staff (30%) and 1,100 students (13%) responded, showing how much people care about sustainability.  This reflects the trend in Canada and globally, that people are increasingly concerned about the environment, and they want to live more sustainably.  

This was the most comprehensive survey on sustainability at the college in 10 years, with questions on sustainability culture (how people feel) and literacy (what people know).  The survey results are used to help inform our Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) report and develop programs and initiatives. 

Here are some highlights from the survey results.

Sustainability Culture

The culture of sustainability at the college is resoundingly positive.  Most staff and students said that environmental sustainability is important, they want to learn more about sustainability, and they consider social sustainability when making purchases.  This echoes the value of sustainability in the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan.

Environmental Priorities

With sustainability as a value that guides us, there are many different areas we can focus our efforts.  Staff and students identified reducing / minimizing waste and other waste diversion programs as the most important environmental sustainability issue to address.  Waste reduction and diversion are some of the most visible sustainability programs at the college.  The second priority identified is to increase awareness and education, followed by support for sustainable transportation.  All three priorities help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainability Literacy

Understanding sustainability and its main concepts can help affect change. When asked to identify the three main components of sustainability, 41% of staff and 31% of students successfully identified economic, environmental and social, while 43% of staff and 52% of students selected reduce, reuse, recycle.

This is not surprising, given the effectiveness of the 3R messaging and the decrease in visibility and communication on sustainability during the pandemic.  Historically more staff answered this question successfully.  This year had the lowest successful response rate.  

For the other literacy questions, most staff and students could successfully define a life cycle analysis (89% / 68%); define the concept of Zero Waste (91% / 77%); and identify the food with the highest carbon footprint (81% / 67%).

Social Sustainability

Social sustainability is fundamentally interconnected with environmental sustainability.  We asked staff and students to identify examples of social sustainability.  Most staff (76%) and students (68%) identified truth and reconciliation, which could be connected to increased focus and education.  A much smaller number of staff (29%) and students (18%) identified accessible technology (using closed captioning in course materials).  For this question, all the answers are examples of social sustainability at the college.

The survey results showed that staff and students value sustainability and have a good understanding of the concepts.  The results provided us with feedback on what’s going well and where we can improve.  Thank you to everyone who completed the survey, your answers provide valuable input and help inform sustainability work at the college. 

Earth Day is celebrated worldwide on April 22 as a day to support the environment, raise awareness and work towards a more sustainable future.  From community clean ups and local events to international virtual events, there are many ways to celebrate Earth Day and help protect our planet.  At RRC Polytech, we want to celebrate all the positive impacts our community has on the environment.  Here’s how you can participate. 

Show us your Sustainability! – For Earth Day, we’ve paired up with the RRC Polytech Students’ Association to shine a light on our staff and students.  What sustainable actions do you take at home, at work or at play?  From Tuesday April 19 to Friday April 22, send us a photo of you doing something good for the earth, such as saving energy, reducing waste or greening your commute, according to the themes below.  For each day you send a photo, you’ll be entered to win a prize at the end of the week – a $50 VISA gift card and a new sustainability mug! *

• Tuesday April 19 – Sustainability at Home – Send us a photo of you saving energy, reducing plastics, gardening or shoveling snow off your garden (!), or any at home sustainable action.
• Wednesday April 20 – Reducing Waste – What do you do to minimize waste and reduce, reuse, recycle or compost? 
• Thursday April 21 – Green Travel – Send us a photo of your sustainable ways to travel – walk, bike, roller blade, transit, carpool, etc.
• Friday April 22 – All in for Earth Day – Send us a photo of any sustainable action on Earth Day!

Email your photos to sustainability@rrc.ca or direct message us on Instagram @rrcgoesgreen.  Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more details. 

* The contest is open to current RRC Polytech staff and students. Photos received may be shared on our social media accounts or in other communications. Please contact us with any questions.

State of Sustainability – Join our virtual presentation on Friday April 22 at noon to hear about the sustainability highlights from the past year, including innovative green building features of Manitou a bi Bii daziigae, waste reduction initiatives and how we are measuring our sustainability performance.  We’ll also share the results of the recent sustainability survey, including the most important environmental sustainability issue for staff and students (hint: it’s one of the photo contest theme topics). 

Earth Day is a great opportunity to support the environment and support each other in taking steps towards sustainability.  Thanks to all the staff, students and faculty who contribute to sustainability in the college community.  Happy Earth Day!

With the recent launch of RRC Polytech’s Strategic Plan 2022-2026, In Front of What’s Ahead, it is time for many departments to set their own priorities and create strategies to complement and support the college’s bold vision. The Strategic Plan lists sustainability as one of the values that helps shape how we do our work and affirms our organizational commitment to “approach[ing] all our work with humility and a desire to improve the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being all Manitobans.” We are excited to work towards the outcomes outlined in the Plan, but to do that effectively we need to have a better understanding of where we’re starting from. That is where STARS comes in.

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) is a transparent, self-reporting framework for post-secondaries to measure their sustainability performance. Developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), in consultation with the higher education community, STARS is a comprehensive tool that looks at the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainability across an entire institution. Ratings (platinum, gold, silver and bronze) are achieved based on the percentage of applicable points earned. By undertaking this assessment, we will be better able to understand and communicate where we are as an organization and how we compare to our peers.

STARS by the Numbers

• 679: post-secondary institutions worldwide have earned a STARS rating
• 63: Credits across four categories: Academics, Engagement, Operations, and Planning & Administration
• 4: bonus points available as Innovation & Leadership credits
• 11: institutions have earned a Platinum rating

RRC Polytech last undertook STARS in 2012 and earned a silver rating. As a result, we were able to identify key areas for improvement and advance sustainability significantly at the college. It is time to do this again. Using STARS as a benchmark, we will gain a better understanding of what we’re doing well and where the gaps exist. This will provide a strong foundation as we build towards realizing the vision set out in the Strategic Plan.  

Below is the project timeline:

While this project is led by Environmental Stewardship & Campus Renewal, it is a college-wide initiative and we want to thank all of you who have been and will be involved throughout this process. If you have any questions about STARS, or want to know how you can be involved, please contact us, we’d love to hear from you! 

It’s 2022 and masks continue to be an everyday staple in our lives. Throughout the pandemic, mask guidelines have evolved as new information becomes available.  At the college, health and safety remains the top priority and a new requirement to wear medical grade masks or KN95/N95 masks was introduced in January 2022. 

Many people are concerned about the environmental impact of disposable masks. In response to these concerns, Red River College Polytechnic was proud to be the first public institution in Manitoba to set up a disposable mask recycling program at our Notre Dame Campus in February, 2021.  Since then, we have sent an estimated 44,000 masks to be recycled!

Building on this program’s success, we’re excited to announce the expansion of the disposable mask recycling program to the Exchange District Campus.  All faculty, staff and students can bring their used disposable masks – including 3-ply surgical, dust masks, and KN95/N95 masks – to any of the mask recycling boxes listed below:

Exchange District Campus Mask Recycling Locations

• Roblin Centre, north entrance
• Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, third floor by the lockers

Notre Dame Campus Mask Recycling Locations

• South Parking Lot, by Commissionaires Booth
• STTC Building, main entrance
• Building J, north entrance

Masks can only be recycled in the boxes at these locations, and not in the regular recycling bins. The masks are recycled using TerraCycle’s Zero Waste Box program, where they are separated into component parts and recycled into plastic lumber and composite material used in outdoor furniture, decking and shipping pallets.  Find out more about mask recycling here.  Thanks to our wonderful faculty, staff and students for supporting this program and helping to keep disposable masks out of the landfill.

When our former RRC Polytech Sustainability team member, Renata Machado – now the Sustainability Specialist at the Assiniboine Park Conservancy (APC) – approached us about a possible student project to increase waste diversion at the Assiniboine Park Zoo, we were thrilled! Our office has worked with many students on applied learning projects which have helped advance sustainability at the College while giving students practical experience in their field. So naturally we jumped at the opportunity to support a key community partner in achieving a sustainability goal.

This collaboration with APC is a natural extension of our “campus as a living lab” program, which aligns perfectly with the following strategic priority in RRC Polytech’s new Strategic Plan 2022-2026, In Front of What’s Ahead:

Through this project, and future collaborations, we will be helping to drive Manitoba forward economically, environmentally, socially and culturally.

We approached the Arman Vahedi, an instructor in the Environmental Engineering Technology program to partner with us on the project. In the past, our office has had great success partnering with this program who third-year students are required to complete an Applied Research Project (ARP) to gain practical experience in their field.

“Our Environmental Engineering Technology program at Red River College Polytechnic has partnered with many community and industry partners over the years to help advance their goals through applied learning opportunities for our students.  I am very excited about this new partnership with the Assiniboine Park Conservancy and the mutual benefits it offers. Through this project our students are getting invaluable hands-on experience in their field while also helping an important community partner reach their sustainability goals.”

Shari Bielert, Chair, Civil Engineering Technology

On a cold, rainy day at the end of October, the Environmental Engineering Technology students toured the waste program at the Assiniboine Park Zoo and learned about the project which would launch with a waste audit from the final night of Boo at the Zoo. Two student teams dove right in on November 1 sorting through the previous day’s empty hot chocolate cups and greasy fry boxes to understand the composition of the Zoo’s waste and how well visitors sort it into the appropriate bins. The students will spend the next several months analyzing the waste audit data and waste collection processes and researching possible solutions.

This project will address a small but important piece in the efforts to increase  waste diversion and advance sustainability at APC. 

“As a conservation organization, we are committed to reducing our ecological footprint by identifying sustainability targets and measuring progress towards them. This project is a great example of that.  The information gained will be very valuable in helping us understand how our organization can reduce contamination in recycling bins and improve our diversion rate. We are so grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with RRC Polytech and your Sustainability Office on this project. We have learned a lot in the process and are very pleased to provide a hands-on learning experience for students. We hope this partnership will continue for many years to come.”

Renata Machado, Sustainability Specialist, Assiniboine Park Conservancy

In the spring, the students will hand in their final reports and APC will begin work on implementing recommendations. We can’t wait to share the results of their hard work!

It’s Waste Reduction Week in Canada and a great opportunity to reflect on what we can do to reduce our waste, as individuals and as a college community.  On campus, there are programs for recycling paper, containers, batteries, markers, etc.  But what about furniture and equipment that RRC Polytech no longer needs?  What happens to chairs that are replaced, drill presses that are upgraded or desks from vacated office spaces? 

We are proud to say that most of these items are reused.  They are reused within the College, sent for auction or donated to local organizations.  So far in 2021, we have reused, auctioned or donated over 1,900 furniture items and over 3.5 tonnes of books and household items.  Reusing items is an important part of the College’s zero waste program and it reduces our carbon footprint.  Reusing items provides a way to extend their useful life and often saves money, energy and natural resources – a win for the College and the environment! For Waste Reduction Week, we compiled a list of the top 3 stories of reuse at the College for 2021:

#1 The Great Office Cleanout

The Language Training Centre (LTC) in the Via Rail station had 30 years of furniture, equipment, books (and many 1990’s board games) to sort through to prepare to move to the Innovation Centre. Thanks to the effort of Materials Management, Space Planning and the LTC staff, over 1,250 furniture items including desks, tables, chairs and cabinets were given a new life, including 440 furniture items donated to schools in Winnipeg and northern Manitoba. Susan Darazsi, Principal of Strathcona school, talks about the benefit of the furniture donation:

“On behalf of Strathcona School, I would like to thank Red River College for the extremely generous furniture donation. We have been able to use the chairs and individual student desks in the grade 4-6 classrooms. The comfy couch and chairs, along with the shelving units and tables have been used to create a family room. Additionally, the cupboard and filing cabinets are being used in our Literacy Lab to organize reading materials and resources.”

Another school used the furniture to rebuild their learning spaces as they recovered from a fire. 

In addition, over 3.5 tonnes of household items including clothing, dishes, binders and over one thousand books were donated to Centre Flavie-Laurent, a local non-profit organization that provides items to people for free and serves up to 500 families per week. 

#2 Reusing in Residence

At Paterson GlobalFoods Institute (PGI), the Campus Living office runs several reuse programs to minimize items sent to landfill. Gently used mattresses are donated to local organizations. Household items such as brooms, dishes, kettles, etc. that students leave behind are organized, cleaned and made available for new students to use. A great way to encourage a culture of reuse for the residents! Dale Kujanpaa, Manager of Campus Living, talks about the reuse program at PGI residence:

“The reuse program started over 5 years ago at PGI and has been very beneficial to the students living in residence.  Located in the 7^th floor lounge, students can find items that are relevant to their suites, such as cutlery, clothing, hangers, school supplies and more.  Many of these items would be headed towards the landfill, but now they can be reused by the next group of students!”

#3 Binders, Binders and More Binders

With various RRC processes going paperless, many staff are tidying up their spaces and clearing out old paperwork (do the contents of your filing cabinet spark joy?). This leads to many, many boxes of binders and other office supplies that are longer needed.  These items are donated to the Students’ Association or local organizations for reuse.  We continue to look for creative ways to make these items available to students on an ongoing basis. 

From podiums to toolboxes, bookshelves to stretchers, binders to mattresses, reusing items is an important part of our journey to become a Zero Waste campus.  When items are reused and kept out of the landfill, everybody wins. 

As the new school year starts many are coming to RRC for the first time, and many are returning after a long time away. So, to help your transition, here’s a roundup of what you need to know about being sustainable on campus.

Getting to Campus Sustainably

If you are coming to campus, there are many options for traveling sustainably and the College is working actively to support you in choosing those options.  Below are some tips to help you plan your transit or bike trip to campus.

Taking Transit to Campus

Check the real-time status of your bus at one of four Transit Screens.

Many Transit routes conveniently service our Winnipeg Campuses. Here are some tips to help you plan your trip:

• Transit has a handy trip planning tool called Navigo. Simply enter your information and it will provide multiple options. Tip: If you don’t know the address of your campus, type in “Red River College” and a list of campuses will pop up for you to select from.
• You can use one of many park-and-ride locations across the City if Transit isn’t an option for your complete commute.
• If you have accessibility barriers to using the City’s fixed route transit system, Winnipeg Transit Plus offers door-to-door transportation.
• On campus and wondering when your next bus will arrive? Look for one of our Real-Time Transit Screens – stay warm and dry inside while you check the real-time status of your next bus.
• Did you know that RRC Students and Staff are eligible for reduced rates on some Winnipeg Transit passes?
• Please make sure to review Winnipeg Transit’s COVID-19 protocols before planning your trip

Cycling to Campus

Considering riding your bike to campus? Here are some tools to support you:

Trip Planning:

• Google Maps allows you to plan your trip by bike and also has a “Biking” layer to check which routes are most bike friendly.
• The City of Winnipeg Bike Map outlines cycling routes and the Pedestrian and Cycling Proposed Network to help you plan your trip. Pick up a copy at Security at both the Notre Dame Campus and the Exchange District Campus.
• Still not sure about riding your bike to campus? Contact us! We’ll be happy to help you plan your route and we can even help set you up with a bike buddy!

Bike Maintenance and Security:

• 

  Rent a bike locker at NDC for free at the Campus Store.

  If you’re using a conveniently located bike rack at one of our campuses, be sure to use a U-Lock and follow these tips to dramatically increase the security of your bike.

• Traveling to the Exchange District Campus and looking for added security? There are 35 indoor bike parking stalls in the card-swipe secured bike room in the basement of PGI. Staff and students can get access for free (but you need to provide your own lock). You will need your Staff/Student ID Card to access the room.
  • NOTE: The New Innovation Centre will also feature a bike parking room with 16 bike parking stalls, including fat bike friendly stalls. Stay tuned for information on how to access this room coming soon!
• The Notre Dame Campus has 34 bike lockers to offer extra security and protection from the elements for your bike, bag and helmet. These lockers are free to use (subject to availability) although there is a refundable key deposit. To sign up for a bike locker, visit the NDC Campus Store.
• If you need to perform some minor maintenance on your bike before heading home, we have repair stations available at both the Notre Dame Campus and the Roblin Centre. These stations have a stand to hold your bike and some commonly used tools.

Working Towards a Zero Waste Campus

We’ve got a variety of programs to divert materials from the landfill and give them another useful life. But, we can’t do it without you! Here are some ways you can help us in our work towards becoming a Zero Waste Campus:

Waste, Recycling and Compost

Our “Pitch In” signs help you find out which bin your waste goes in.

Garbage and Recycling bins are conveniently located in central locations around campus. Our program consists of three bins: two for recycling (paper and containers) and one for garbage. Large “Pitch In” signs above many of these trios will help you figure out where to put something if you’re not sure.

At the Notre Dame Campus, pre-consumer organic waste is collected from kitchens and taken to our on-site compost pile which is managed by our Grounds crew. At PGI, both pre-consumer organic waste collected from kitchens and culinary labs and post-consumer organic waste (your unfinished lunch for example) collected in the Annex are transported to a commercial composting facility.

Other Recycling Programs

ReBins are located at the Notre Dame Campus (by the Campus Store and in the Library) and the Roblin Centre (in the Atrium outside the Campus Store). These bins collect markers, pens, and pencils for recycling; plastic bags for reuse; and batteries for recycling.

Give used markers and pens, batteries and plastic bags new life by placing them in one of our ReBins.

While many of us choose to use reusable masks, we know disposable masks are still used, either through preference or necessity. We’ve set up three disposable mask recycling boxes at the Notre Dame Campus: in the South Parking Lot, by Commissionaires Booth; outside the STTC building main entrance; and at the north entrance of Building J. The boxes accept all non-woven, disposable, plastic-based masks including 3-ply surgical, dust masks, KN95, and N95 masks. Paper or cloth masks or anything else isn’t allowed in the bin.

Find out more about our integrated waste and recycling program.

Water

Fill up your reusable water bottle at one of our many bottle fill stations

There are more than 50 water bottle filling stations located in convenient locations around most of our campuses. Save money and the environment this year by filling your reusable water bottle with cold, filtered water at one of these stations.

Connect With Us

Our Sustainability Team holds many events throughout the year (virtually for now, but hopefully in person again soon!). To keep up to date with our latest news, get involved with us, or learn more about how to make your campus life more sustainable: find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe to our blog.

Looking forward to being able to greet you at one of our Commuter Welcome Stations again one day!

The Commuter Challenge is over for another year and while we didn’t get to greet you all with cinnamon buns and coffee as you arrived at campus like we’d hoped, we still enjoyed connecting with you all virtually! This year the challenge ran from May 30 to June 5 and celebrated not just sustainable work commutes, but all of the active and sustainable ways we get around.

RRC has a history of high participation in this event and we’re excited to announce that the tradition continues with us being awarded GOLD in Workplace Category this year! Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make that happen!

RRC Winners

We weren’t the only winners!  Below is a list of all the RRC winners from the Challenge, including some new prizes we added since we were so blown away by everyone’s participation!

Top Traveler: The RRC participant who logged the most KMs over the week
Prize: $50 Gift Certificate to Jardins St-Léon Gardens
Winner: Cheryl J. who logged 757 KMs

NEW! Serious Cyclist: The RRC participant who logged the most cycling KMs
Prize: Winners choice! $25 Gift Certificate to Jardins St-Léon Gardens, Le Marché Saint-Norbert Farmers’ Market, or Black Market Provisions
Winner: Mike P. who logged 336 cycling KMs

NEW! Walking Warrior: The RRC participant who logged the most walking KMs
Prize: Winner’s choice! $25 Gift Certificate to Jardins St-Léon Gardens, Le Marché Saint-Norbert Farmers’ Market, or Black Market Provisions
Winner: Debbie M. who logged 164.2 walking KMs

Lucky Winner: One RRC participant selected by random draw
Prize: $50 Gift Certificate to Le Marché Saint-Norbert Farmers’ Market
Winner: Mike M.

Most Traveled Team: The RRC Team with the highest average KMs per team member
Prize: 2 x $25 Gift Certificate to Black Market Provisions, 2 x $25 Gift Certificates to Le Marché Saint-Norbert Farmers’ Market, and 1 x $25 Gift Certificates to Jardins St-Léon Gardens
Winner: C517 Group A (Laurie-Ann N., Krystal B., Karen D.) with an average of 555.6 KMs 

NEW! Most Tireless Team: The RRC Team with the highest average active KMs per team member
Prize: Winner’s choice (each team member)! $25 Gift Certificate to Jardins St-Léon Gardens, Le Marché Saint-Norbert Farmers’ Market, or Black Market Provisions
Winner: The Cyclopaths (Guy D., Wayne F., Mike P., Laura P.) with an average of 201. 9 active KMs.

Finally, a very special shout-out to Del P. who won the Green Action Centre’s Grand Prize – a free bus pass for a year!

Congratulations to all the winners!

Team Results

We had 11 teams sign up for the Challenge, logging a total of 8,740 km for the week! The winning teams were selected based on the average per person total of kms logged for the whole team. The full results are below.

AVERAGE TOTAL KMS PER TEAM MEMBER
1	C517 Group A	555.6
2	Loftus Yellow Kayakius	255.0
3	RRComrades	236.1
4	C517 Group B	221.9
5	Lofty Loftmore and the Sons of Oats Cousins	211.2
6	The Cyclopaths	201.9
7	Geese Mode	156.0
8	Active Leadership	123.6
9	Wildwood Park Commuters	103.0
10	Sustainability in Motion	90.1
11	Adventurous Admins	88.7

 

AVERAGE ACTIVE KMS PER TEAM MEMBER
1	The Cyclopaths	201.9
2	Wildwood Park Commuters	103.0
3	RRComrades	88.5
4	Active Leadership	79.1
5	Geese Mode	74.7
6	C517 Group A	67.9
7	Lofty Loftmore and the Sons of Oats Cousins	66.6
8	C517 Group B	62.8
9	Loftus Yellow Kayakius	54.2
10	Sustainability in Motion	30.9
11	Adventurous Admins	17.7

Commuter Profiles

We asked RRC participants to share their stories about how they were taking part, how they were going to motivate themselves to keep it up, and what tips they have to inspire others to go that extra mile or try something new.  Their stories are below. The Commuter Challenge is just one week, but let’s try to keep up with our active and sustainable trips all year round!

Lynn after one of her Commuter Challenge runs. I usually carpool to work but outside of work I love walking. I live in a fairly walkable community and am able to easily run most errands without the use of a vehicle. For the 2021 Commuter Challenge, I will be logging many different sustainable trips including carpooling to work and walking, running and riding my bike for pleasure and to fulfil household requirements. With the Challenge being in the summer, it motivates me even more to get outside and enjoy the short season.  Given what we’ve all been dealing with, it’s a wonderful opportunity to connect and challenge ourselves and others – even though we have to do it in a socially distanced way. My tip for others to help them get started or to try something new is: Just do it! I find activity helps my mental health and also helps me to stay in shape. My mantra is – A body in motion stays in motion!! – Lynn Zapshala-Kelln, Vice President, Finance and Administration

Christine enjoying her bike commute I currently drive from my home in Tuxedo, to the Notre Dame Campus, 3 to 5 days a week. I am also very active in walking our two dogs twice a day to and from Assiniboine Park (30 mins total). My commitment to the 2021 Commuter Challenge will be to ditch the 15 minute drive for a 30 minute bike ride to and from work (60 mins total) and to increase the daily dog walks to a full 60 minutes. As a bonus, I’ll be engaging my wife and sons to go on bike rides with me for fun! I am not sure who will be more tired, me or the dogs! Good luck to everyone in this amazing opportunity. – Dr. Christine Watson, Vice-President, Academic and Research Check out this episode of Where’s Watson? where Christine speaks with our Director, Sara MacArthur, about the Commuter Challenge.

Linda’s bike at her favourite spot on Lyndale Drive. The commuter challenge is a great reminder to get out, get moving and be active.  As a fitness professional and yoga teacher, I add cycling to my workout and this is my chance to connect with nature. I find that it really helps improve my mental health and the sunshine always makes me feel better.  I can usually be found cycling down Lyndale drive and even though I don’t live in the  neighborhood, everyone waves and says hi to me when I am in the area.  Enjoy your day everyone and take care. – Linda Caldwell

The Cyclopaths team jersey The Cyclopaths are a four-member team of current (Laura P. & Mike P.) and retired (Guy D. & Wayne F.) RRC staff: Originally formed for a 2019 seven-day, 540 km cycling adventure through the Rockies, the reconstituted Cyclopaths (with the addition of Laura) are now going flat out, so to speak, as a RRC team in the Commuter Challenge. We are particularly invigorated since Laura brought our average age down from 70 to just over 60. Go team go! – The Cyclopaths (Team Profile)

Tune up that bike and get ready for the 2021 Commuter Challenge!

The Commuter Challenge is an annual event that encourages Canadians to green their commute by choosing (or continuing to choose) sustainable transportation. This year the challenge runs from May 30 to June 5 and we’re celebrating not just sustainable commuting but all of the sustainable and active ways we get around. So, on top of logging your sustainable commute to work (yes, telecommuting counts!), you can count your walk at lunch, your family bike ride around the neighbourhood, walking your dog (or cat), taking transit to get groceries – any and all ways you travel sustainably during the week.

The Commuter Challenge at RRC last year encouraged you to reconnect with your commute, this year we’re encouraging you to reconnect with each other. It’s been a long 14+ months for many of us away from the office, away from colleagues, away from students, and away from our friends and family. While we still can’t get together in person let’s challenge ourselves to find new ways to connect, to stay active and to have fun. See below for some ideas on how to reconnect during this year’s Commuter Challenge.

To participate REGISTER HERE, log your sustainable trips over the week, and be entered to win great prizes (more on that later).

Read More →

Toss your disposable mask in one of these bins as you leave campus.

Masks. They’re a staple of life these days.

While many of us choose reusable masks, disposable masks are being used by the million, either through preference or necessity.  And all of these masks amount to a staggering amount of waste. Stories like this and this bring the issue to light. At Red River College, we distribute more than 6,000 disposable masks every month. That’s why we’re excited to partner with Terracycle and bring a Disposable Mask Recycling program to Red River College.

So how does it work?

We’ve set up three disposable mask recycling boxes at the Notre Dame Campus. These boxes* are located in outdoor, high traffic areas. As students, staff and faculty leave our buildings they can doff (a fancy word for ‘take off’) and discard their masks to be recycled. The boxes accept all non-woven, disposable, plastic-based masks including 3-ply surgical, dust masks, KN95, and N95 masks. Paper or cloth masks or anything else isn’t allowed in the bin.

Mask Recycling locations:

South Parking Lot, by Commissionaires Booth

STTC Building, main entrance

Building J, north entrance

How Are Masks Recycled?

Once the box is full, it’s securely sealed and stored for 72 hours.  After that it’s trucked to a facility in New Jersey where masks are mechanically disassembled, sorted and baled based on the material composition. The metal from the nose piece is processed in New Jersey and smelted into new bar stock and metal sheeting. The polypropylene part of the mask is sent to Illinois where it’s crushed into a crumb-like consistency and used to make composite decking, shipping pallets and other products. And the elastane/ rubber portion of the band is also sent to Illinois where it’s ground into a fine mesh regrind and mixed with recycled plastics to give that ‘flexy’ property to finished products.

Once a year we’ll receive a Certificate of Destruction outlining the total number of shipments, and the total weight of recycled materials. Stay tuned to track our progress….

Working towards a Zero Waste Campus

We’re proud of our integrated waste and recycling program. From basic recycling, composting, e-waste, plastic bags, batteries, writing utensils, mattresses and more, we’ve got a variety of programs to divert materials from the landfill and give them another useful life. We’re happy to add disposable masks onto our list of recycled items.

*Shout out to our amazing carpenter Kevin for snow, rain and wind-proofing the recycling boxes with his custom creation.