Master Composter Recyclers Help Edmonton Re-Naturalize

Last Tuesday, MCRs planted 207 trees & shrubs at our annual summer planting event.  Thanks to everyone who came out. It was a big success.

We finished planting just before the rain and thunder came and all the plants benefited from warm showers, later that night. Perfect timing!

Staff with the City of Edmonton's Root for Trees program taught us about naturalization of urban areas. This includes letting the grass in an area grow (no mowing) in the first year and planting trees and shrubs in the second year. The new plants slowly take over, returning the area to a more natural landscape.

All in all, it takes several years to naturalize an area. Naturalization increases Edmonton's urban forest and offers many benefits. For one, this reduces mowing and maintenance.

MCRs chatted while we planted. The 175 trees & shrubs and 32 wildflowers included trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides), white spruce (Picea glauca), red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea), prickly rose (Rosa acicularis), and graceful cinquefoil (Potentilla gracilis).

Thank you, once again, to everyone who came out.

     

Recap: MCR Munch & Mulch (June, 2018)

20 MCRs enjoyed a sunny, spring morning at Compost 'S cool, last Saturday. In good company, we learned, we chatted, we discussed, and we played in the dirt.

5 Ways to Deal with Grass, Leaves, and Plants... But Not "Compost"

• Mad Science: bokashi, extracts, teas & brews
• A Sensus of Humus: how to make leaf mold
• Interment: burial, trenching & double digging
• The Green, Green, Grass of Home: going bagless (grasscycling)
• Litter Bugs: chop & drop, deadheading, mulching & lasagna gardening

The group broke into four teams. Each team toured all four stations to learn about the topics above. At each station, one person from the team led a chat about the station.

Special thanks to MCR Deb P. She hosted the Mad Science station and taught us about bokashi. She even sent folks off with samples of EM (effective micro-organisms) to try their own bokashi compost.

The day ended with a fun game of Compost 'S cool charades.

Congrats to all those MCRs who were recognized for reaching milestones and long service. You rock!

We look forward to seeing everyone at the MCR Tree Planting, in July.

Stay in Touch: 5 Easy Ways to Record

• Click here record volunteering
• Visit MyVolunteerPage.com
• Email mcrp@edmonton.ca
• Phone 780-496-5991
• Text 780-668-0217

   

Friends & Colleagues at the MCR Townhall

Thanks to all the MCRs, MCRs-in-Training, and 2018 Candidates at the MCR Townhall Meeting.

It was great to see friends, new and old.

Front: Sunil & Julie
Row 2: Chidi., Elaine, Bana, Majida, Melissa, Coleen & Helene
Row 3: Erika, Katie, Yohie, Pam, Maria & Sarah
Row 3: Tammy, Hetal, Jocelyn, Mildred, Pat, Marx, Kayla & Cayley
Back: Hetal, Kory, Rodney, Suzy, Neil, Christine, Gordon, Liz, Bronwen, Terry, Nicole, Gaby, & Mark

We covered a lot of ground in a couple hours.

Waste Strategy Update
We discussed the Strategy Update presented to Utility Committee on February 23rd. Click here to read the strategy, the minutes, and documents. You can also watch the discussion.

Utility Committee approved the Strategy Update, in principle. The proposals go to City Council for more discussion on March 20th.

Improving the MCR Program
MCRs gave feedback about improving the program and helping MCRs be even more effective.
Some specific topics were:

• easy ways to record volunteering, 
• how to stay active as MCRs, and
• how to show friends & colleagues that we are waste experts

     

Celebrating Summer with MCRs

Thank you for joining us on August 18th for the MCR Summer Social:
"The Birds & the Bees.... and the EWMC."

One of our largest MCR socials in recent years!

60 volunteers and guests enjoyed stories about backyard chickens, beekeeping, and updates from the Edmonton Waste Management Centre.

Special thanks to MCRs Neil B., Rena C., and Jocelyn C. They had fun tales to tell.

Congratulations to several MCRs who have completed over 35 hours of MCR volunteering. They received books, certificates, and their official MCR name tags!

Welcome to the club. They join a distinguished group of Edmontonians.

Want to Learn More?

   

• Urban Hens Pilot Project
• edmonton.ca/bees
• edmonton.ca/ewmc

Check Out These Videos

    

MCR Winter Social 2014

It was a chilly evening but Kennedale Waste Operations was warm, toasty, and full of lively conversation. Over 40 current and future MCRs, their friends, and family came out to the annual MCR Winter Social, last Monday evening.

We had a mountain of delicious food, and plenty of time to mingle and chat. Rodney gave us a short speech about our 2013 accomplishments, our goals for 2014, and what we can expect to see from Waste Management Services in the future.

The impending move and expansion of the Reuse Centre was a hot topic. Everyone was excited to hear about the much-needed facelift of this Edmonton treasure.

MCRs were also pleased to hear about the starting of the Waste-to-Biofuels facility.

Another topic of discussion was the new focus on "large volume producers." These are residents who put out lots & lots of garbage, often. Many folks who could not participate in home interviews were curious to know about the project, and excited to hear about the results.

MCR John B. drew on his experience as both a Waste Collector and a Collections Inspector with the City to give us a talk about collector safety. He touched on some common problems, like snow and ice, and gave us some simple tips to help our neighbourhood collectors through the year. John also explained the reason behind some of the quirky restrictions on bag size, container type, and garbage enclosures.

John also explained the purpose of the new facility at Kennedale Waste operations, answered questions, and took MCRs on a quick tour around the building.

Thanks, John!

Rodney and Sarah would also like to extend their thanks to everyone who joined us. We had a fabulous time, and we hope you did too. To those who were unable to attend, we hope to see you next time!

To make our next event as fun and engaging as possible, please share your opinions on our MCR Potluck Survey.

Record MCR Volunteering

A Peek Inside the 2013 MCR Summer Social

We spent Sunday with the sun,
the showers,
and fellow
Master Composter Recyclers.

Rodney took time to thank everyone that attended. He stressed that every conversation started around waste is a valuable way to contribute. It is a way to reach people who may not think about collectors when they set our their garbage, or understand how important it is to leave grass clippings on the lawn. Rodney also discussed feedback we've received about changing the name of the Master Composter Recycler program.

Some civilized folks chatting until the end of the day...


and then we let loose.

We had some young visitors.

Thanks to Heather S and Yoshie N for their hard work on the grill. The Bring-Your-Own-Salad bar was a colourful mix of beans, greens, reds, and yellows. Thanks to everyone who contributed from their garden and fridge. We would have gone home hungry without you.

We took a few photos for our website and brochures. Thanks to the photographer (Marlee U), artistic director (Mark SA), and subjects (Colleen, Chris, Kaitlyn, Kristin, Robyn, and more).

Future composters explore an Earth Machine compost bin. 

Colleen and Chris can teach you how to turn garbage into compost! 

Showing us how to use compost in planters. 

Thinking about our waste...

Heather and Ella sitting with the garbage from the Summer Social (both from planning the event and at the event itself). We always make an effort to reduce our waste but let's do even better next time! 

All in all it was a beautiful day. 

Thank you to everyone who join us (and all those who were with us in spirit).

Watch for the Volunteer Recognition Event on October 2!

MCRs Being Social in the Winter

MCRs braved the cold to attend the 2013 MCR Winter Social with their friends and family. Thank you for the good company and the inspiration to make a difference in our communities.

Alyson, Rodney, and Kathy Cottee think about recycling

As an added treat we invited Kathy Cottee, manager of Quality One Training & Support Inc. Quality One manages staff who sort waste in the Integrated Processing & Transfer Facility (IPTF) and the Construction & Demolition Recycling Facility. Kathy aims to provide meaningful work for people who are hard to employ and help them develop work skills. She helped us understand that this has not been an easy task for her and her team. Quality One and the City of Edmonton try to give the sorters what they need to get the job done. By striving to find common ground, many Quality One employees achieve a higher level of accomplishment than they've ever felt.

Kathy captured the attention of us all

Kathy mentioned the 3 biggest problems for her staff. Here's how to help them out:

1. Medical Waste - Can be safely disposed of at any local pharmacy.
2. Pantyhose - Gets stretched and jams the machinery. Cut them up. 
3. VHS Tape - Gets caught up in conveyor belts and jams up machinery. Movies can be donated to many charities (see edmonton.ca/reusedirectory). Throw VHS tapes that can't be reused in the garbage, but you can tape them up. This helps make sure that they don't unroll. 

Evening at a Glance

As always, we can count on a delicious spread . Luckily, many MCRs also happen to be skilled in the kitchen 

Some dishes are extra creative, Laurie Taylor put peas in her muffins. Surprisingly scrumptious

Kathy accepts a few Fruits of Sherbrook jams as a thank you 

Two Karen's in the audience; Karen Kennedy on the left with her daughter, and Karen Lewis-Caron on the right 

Rodney leads us through a few activities 

Trudy, Mary-Jo, Alessandra, Elsie, and Will rack their brains as part of the challenge 

Garry checking out MCR highlights of 2012

A BIG thank you to

• Alyson, Herb, Christine, Cathie, Andrew, and Su for helping with set-up and clean-up. 
• Kathy Cottee for telling her story with Quality One and the people who sort our waste. 
• Cloverdale Community League for a great space to have our potluck.
• Monique for suggesting Cloverdale Community Hall on the MCR facebook group. 
• (Brenda, Jayne, Megan, Laurie, Karen, Hannah, and Pamela for suggesting other great venues.)
• Edmonton Valley Zoo, John Janzen Nature Centre, Community Services, The Reuse Centre, and Waste Management Services, and Mark (our favourite Compost Education Coordinator) for donating door prizes.