Tell One Friend: Try the WasteWise App

Try WasteWise on edmonton.ca/waste and then download the WasteWise App. The app answers easy questions about what waste goes where, when to set out waste, and more. WasteWise is available for FREE on Google Play, and Apple App Store. 

This one small ask can open the door to bigger behaviour changes down the road. The app is a great tool to help Edmontonains learn to sort their waste into the black cart and kitchen scrap carts effectively. Once residents begin sorting their kitchen scraps out of the garbage, the step towards home composting is much smaller. 

The WasteWise app can also help residents find out when their new carts arrive and the new collection schedule. Notifications can be set up online or through the app to remind residents when to set carts out for collection. 

As usual, it’s still an effective tool to use when it comes to sorting recycling and household hazardous waste if you don’t know where it goes! 

Share Your Message Effectively

Try these tips to connect with friends, family, neighbours, and co-workers.

Model the Behaviour

Tell a friend that you use the WasteWise App to remind you when collection day is.

Make it Normal
Talk about how whenever you don’t know where things go, use the app for help finding out what waste goes where.

Offer Timely Prompts

Have you checked when your new carts are coming and how your collection schedule changes?

Give Positive Feedback
Thanks for using the WasteWise App!

Visit www.edmonton.ca/wastewise

Previous How to Learn about the New Carts

WasteWise Spring Cleaning

It's time for indoor and outdoor spring cleaning, and the City of Edmonton is encouraging residents to be waste wise by following some handy tips.

Cleaning inside the house?

• Recycle empty plastic jugs and spray bottles. 
• Cardboard paper towel cores are recyclable, but the used paper towel goes in the garbage.
• Drop off electronics, paint, batteries, lightbulbs, and corrosive or hazardous cleaning products, such as oven cleaners at an Eco Station for FREE
• Large items such as sofas, mattresses, tables can be taken to an Eco Station. A small fee applies.
• Consider reuse!
  Donate items you no longer need to a charity, or pass them on to a family or friend. Check the Reuse Directory to see what can be donated where.
  

Cleaning your yard?

• Leaves and lawn thatch can be set out in a black garbage bag. Keep your bag light; help your collector by keeping your bags under 15 kilograms.
• Tie your branches and brunsh into small bundles no more than 1.2 metres in length, and weighing no more than you can easily lift.
• Put your broken garden hose in the garbage, not the recycling. It can jam machinery at the recycling sorting plant.
• If you waste is collected in the alley, be sure to trim overhanging tree branches to allow easy access for garbage trucks.

Not sure where an item should go? Download our free WasteWise app on your phone or visit edmonton.ca/waste.

Eco Stations are open Saturday and Monday, 9 am to 6:30 pm, closed Friday and Sunday, over the Easter  long weekend. For Eco Station locations and regular hours of operation, visit edmonton.ca/ecostations.

Make sure you set out your waste by 7 am on your collection day. Due to heavier waste volumes in the spring, your waste may be collected earlier than in the winter time.

MCRs Share Their Stories - 2016

MCRs share all kinds of awesome details about their volunteering when they record hours or provide feedback. Here are some quotes from MCRs in 2016 reaching their friends, neighbours and colleagues:

• "I spoke to my landlord [and] she was hesitant, but also let me go ahead and grasscycle. I spoke to her about the benefits of it." - Zoila G.
• “This was a good venue to be at. The people [we] talked with were quite open to hearing about what we were there for and it wasn’t very difficult to figure out what topic(s) they needed they needed information on.” - Joanne M.
• "Helped set a friend up with a new backyard composter, introduced them to vermicomposting. Hopefully will set them up with a worm bin soon." - Natasha C.

• “Had dinner with a coworker and her boyfriend and we talked about backyard composting (mainly) and about different myths and truths behind it.” - Amanda R.
• "Talked with a neighbour in my crescent about needing leaves for my compost. Later that week he dropped off three bags of dry leaves!" - Angela F.
• "Explained about having worms living in my closet and what they will be doing for me and my plants in the future." - Carolyn H.
• "I presented to three kindergarten classes with my worm bin. The kids were very attentive and asked many questions." - Barb N.
• "Did a presentation at the staff meeting at the school that I work at about good practices in recycling and ways to reduce waste within the school building." - Reinette E.
• "We had my 7 year old son's birthday party at the Reuse Centre and were able to introduce that facility to several of our family and friends at that celebration. Many plan to come back to craft and shop there in the future." - Tammy F.
• “Helped build a plan for an acquaintance moving to a new country so that she wouldn’t have to throw anything into the garbage unnecessarily.” - Leah A.
• "Chatted with a lady at Costco who was looking at their double-tumbler composter and discussed the pros and cons of different types." - Rob B.
• "Demonstrated the use of kitchen waste to set up a worm compost." - Andrew W.
• “I am training bit-by-bit the MSW subcommittee at work to help steer the committee away from mis-informing the business regarding recycling.” - Kenneth R.
• “I did an environmental moment at all 9 of my safety meetings about how our company uses City of Edmonton services to pick up our waste and how it gets processed.” - Lee W.

There were far too many great stories to display all of them in one post. Check back next week for more!

How this MCR Won It All at the Movies by MCR Melissa B.

I pride myself on retaining and recalling facts and information quickly and accurately. This pride was put to the test recently in the most interesting way that involved Trolls, my daughter, and a phone app.

Back in November, my daughter and I decided to go see the fluffy kids film Trolls. We bused to an appointment on 23rd Avenue and then walked to the Cineplex Odeon South Edmonton Cinemas. After arriving and buying tickets and snacks, we settled in for a relaxing mom/daughter date night.

I like to play TimePlay, which tests those recall skills I had been so proud of, particularly when it involves something I am knowledgeable about...like movies. If you're not familiar with TimePlay, it's a game where you use your cell phone to answer skill testing trivia and do fine dexterity challenges to win Scene Points. These points will get you free movies and other swag.

I loaded the app and got ready to play.

The first few questions were pretty standard ones, such as ranking movies in order of release date or selecting the movies which had Justin Timberlake in them. 

I was feeling pretty confident in my knowledge and answered these questions easily.

Then came the next challenge. A question popped up on the screen that read, “Where does shredded paper belong?” 

I panicked! 

The options were, compost, garbage, recycling and some other fourth thing. I was second guessing myself, thinking this was a trick question but then I realized it was being timed and so I chose garbage. I looked at my daughter and she could see the panic on my face. She said (in her teenager voice), “Mom, you know this stuff, don’t you?” 

I must admit that being put on the spot had me wondering. The next few questions were also about waste, and luckily for me I got them all right and ended up winning the top spot in the theater. Granted, I was playing against a bunch of 8-year-olds and their parents. Still, I felt accomplished! I didn’t get much of a reward but I am 50 points closer to a free movie.

After the game was done, an ad came up for the City's new WasteWise app. I knew then that perhaps a refresher might be in order, and I signed up for the Recycling Refresher at the Reuse Center later in November.

The moral of the story: keep your skills and knowledge sharp because you may need to recall them in the strangest of settings!

All photos provided by Melissa

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MCR Melissa B. completed her training in 2014. She is passionate about reusing and upcycling, and she has Christmas ornaments made from bottle caps and corks hanging on her tree.

Create Memories Not Waste

The City of Edmonton encourages you to reduce your holiday waste this season. It may be a time of celebration with elaborate meals, gift exchanges and festive decorations But there are still ways you can cut down on holiday waste  and help the City achieve its goal of diverting 90 per cent of residential waste from landfill.

Here are some tips on how to reduce your holiday waste:

• Provide memory-making experiences as gifts, like tickets
  to a concert or sporting event, or a family outing to a City attraction.

• Give gift certificates for your special skills such as haircuts, child minding or household repairs.

• Rethink the way you package your presents: consider using scarves, festive flyers or cookie tins. Reuse wrapping materials and decorations from last season.

• Avoid food waste: plan your food in advance, freeze left-overs and donate unopened treats to the food bank.

• After the holidays make sure you recycle boxes, paper (including all non-foil gift wrap), plastic and glass containers, cans and aluminum trays.

• Keep gift bags, tissues and bows to reuse next year, or donate them the City’s Reuse Centre.

• Make sure to drop off your old electronics at the Eco Station and donate that festive sweater to charity.

Edmonton’s household waste doubles for the two weeks following December 25. Help reduce waste this holiday season by thinking of innovative ideas and sharing them on social media using the hashtag #wastelessholidays.

Visit edmonton.ca/wastelessholidays for more information.

WasteWise Top Ten

WasteWise, our sorting app, launched roughly one month ago. To date, the app has been downloaded over 4,000 times, and over 31,000 item searches have been made.

We know that some items cause a lot of confusion for residents. WasteWise is a quick source of answers, and also provides us with up-to-date data on which items Edmontonians need to know about.

We pulled together the top ten most-searched items. Test yourself, and test your friends!
Do you know where these items go? 

1. Pizza box - 905 hits
2. Shredded paper - 624 hits
3. Styrofoam - 595 hits
4. Plastic wrap - 511 hits
5. Plastic take-out container - 467 hits
6. Plastic bag - 463 hits
7. Plastic container - 427 hits
8. Aluminum foil - 398 hits
9. Metal food can - 376 hits
10. Styrofoam egg carton - 351 hits

Stumped? Check your WasteWise app for the answers!
WasteWise on Google Play or iTunes.

Did you know?

Users can also suggest search terms if they don't find what they're looking for. Some of the most interesting suggestions include "Donald Trump," "ex-boyfriend," and "ten pin bowling ball."

Are You WasteWise?

Life's not easy, but sorting your waste can be.

Visit Google Play or Apple's App Store to download WasteWise, our brand new app! Get all of the answers to your most burning waste-sorting questions, any time, anywhere, for free.

No smartphone? No problem. WasteWise is also available to use on edmonton.ca/waste.

Thank you to all of the Master Composter Recycler volunteers who helped out during our testing phase!

We're really excited about this app!

Edmontonians play an essential role in our waste system, with 93 per cent of residents reporting that they recycle. However, there is still room for improvement. Significant amounts of garbage end up in the recycling and vice versa.

Download WasteWise and test your waste-sorting knowledge with our game.

Residents have shown a clear desire for more information about waste sorting. We recognize it can be challenging to know What Goes Where, especially for newcomers. This tool provides an easy, consistent and highly accessible source of information.

WasteWise takes the guesswork out of recycling. The app provides waste collection reminders and seasonal messages. It even has a fun, educational waste-sorting game!

Try out WasteWise and spread the news. Share your experience by using the hashtag #WasteWiseYEG on social media.

Keep an eye out for our posters, and listen for our radio ads!

All images provided by the City of Edmonton