Re-Love Market - Closing the loop at MacEwan University

We all know that Edmonton is a world leader in waste management but what we don’t talk about enough is how it has taken the support of residents, community groups, and businesses to achieve this. For example, MacEwan University currently has a diversion rate of 63% and their goal is 90% diversion - right on track with the City of Edmonton.

One of their waste reduction initiatives is the Re-Love Market which reduces items going to landfill and lowers material costs to new students - a perfect win-win situation!

What Inspired the Re-Love Market?

Twice a year, during December and May, MacEwan University saw outgoing students throwing out useful items destined for landfill. Then, each January and December incoming students purchased new items to prepare for their life at MacEwan. What did the University and it’s students do about it? They decided it was time to close the loop with the ReLove Market. The event is designed to connect materials from students leaving campus to new students arriving.

How Does It Work?

The Re-Love Market is open to more than students. Community members can also donate items to the Re-Love Market, in exchange they will be given credits to purchase new items.

Future Waste Reduction Plans

The Re-Love Market was a great success and MacEwan plans on holding it each September and January to keep useful items associated with student moves out of the landfill.

Head of Sustainability, Chantal Beaudouin sees positive shifts towards waste reduction at MacEwan. Staff and students consider carefully alternatives to landfill for items they are throwing out. The next challenge will be a culture shift away from replacing those items with new purchases. An example of how MacEwan may help facilitate this shift is a program to make office supply reuse easy.

The City of Edmonton is collecting stories of how individuals, businesses, and community members reduce waste in Edmonton. Have a story to share?  

Email laura.henderson@edmonton.ca

Laura H. is an employee of the City of Edmonton Waste Management Services and MCR Graduate from the 2011 class.

The most common recycling question of all...

Public schools across Edmonton start recycling, this fall. Just like at home.

One of our most frequent questions is pizza boxes.
Well, here's the answer... and answers to more common questions about recycling. This will help anyone use a Blue Bag or Blue Bin. Keep the message positive and keep folks recycling!

Are pizza boxes recyclable?

Yes. If your pizza box has a few spots of grease, it’s no problem. But please put the sheet that the pizza sits on in the garbage.

Are chip bags and candy wrappers recyclable?

No. They should be put in the garbage.

Are all plastic containers recyclable?

Like plastic bags, there are many types of plastic containers. Some are recyclable and some are not. As long as they are clean, dry, larger than the palm of your hand and smaller than a basketball, then they are OK to go in the recycling bin. They will be sorted out at the recycling plant. The ones that do not get recycled will be converted to methanol or ethanol so there is no waste.

Are disposable cups recyclable?

Some are, but because there is such a wide variety it’s difficult to communicate to all residents which ones are and which ones aren’t. To simplify matters we ask that all of them be put in the garbage. They will be converted into compost or ethanol.

Isn’t shredded paper recyclable?

Technically, shredded paper is recyclable. However, because it’s fluffy like confetti it jams moving parts at the recycling plant and causes plant shutdowns. Please put it in the garbage. It will be composted.

What do I do with caps and lids?

Put caps and lids in the garbage.

Do I need to remove labels?

No. Labels are OK on all containers.

Isn’t Styrofoam recyclable?

Yes, Styrofoam is recyclable but due to the extreme lightness for its volume it’s difficult to recycle economically. The good news is that it won’t be wasted if it’s put in the garbage in Edmonton. Together with other non-recyclable or non-compostable waste, it will be converted
into methanol or ethanol.

Are zip lock bags and similar plastic sandwich bags recyclable?

There are almost countless different types of plastic bags. Some are recyclable and some are not. You can put any plastic bag into your recycling bin as long as it is clean and dry. They will be sorted out at the recycling plant. The ones that do not get recycled will be converted to methanol or ethanol so there is no waste.

How clean do containers need to be?

Well rinsed is sufficient. A small amount of residue is OK but anything more than that is unacceptable. If it’s difficult to get a certain container clean – peanut butter can be challenging – it’s alright to put it into the garbage. It will be converted into methanol or ethanol.

For More Info

Phone  311

Visit    edmonton.ca/recycling

Worm Bins in the Classroom by Alyson Winkelaar

Here in the Community Relations section (of Waste Management Services), we are gearing up for another school year. With presentations such as Waste and Our World, Choose to Reuse, Squirmy Wormy Composting, and Garbage In-CompostOut, we reached over 3000 students and teachers during the 2011/2012 year.

Squirmy Wormy Composting presentations

With these presentations, we brought the wonderful world of worm composting to nearly 100 classrooms last year, alone.  During the presentation, students are taught how red-wiggler worms can help us with the fundamentals of waste management: the 3 Rs. Much of the food waste that comes from our kitchens and lunches can be Reused as a food source for our red-wiggler worms, helping us Reduce the amount of waste we throw away every day. By munching and digesting, the worms Recycle our food waste into high quality compost that can be added to our potted plants and garden beds. The students are taught how to care for the worms. They learn that worms will thrive with the right balance of moisture, air, food, and shelter.
Most times, we leave a small worm bin behind. It is stocked with worms and bedding material so the students can enjoy the benefits of compositing, right in their classroom.

How We Can Improve

One thing we want to improve is support for the worm bins that we leave behind. Every once in a while, we get a panicked call for help from a teacher whose worm bin has turned into a smelly bog, the worms are desperately clinging to the sides or trying to climb out, and food is sloshing around the bottom. Of course, that's if any worms can be found at all! We worry that, when things go wrong, teachers will just throw out their worm bin...  rather than ask for help. We want to support teachers, so they have a good experience with worm composting. 

How MCRs Can Get Involved

We are looking for volunteers to help with our School Worm Team.  Lots of Master Composters Recyclers have agreed to be a Compost Doctor (making house calls to assess someone's backyard compost bin). The School Worm Team is Compost Doctoring at its finest!  Volunteers will be matched with schools in their area that have recently had a Squirmy Wormy Compost presentation.  MCRs will contact the teacher two or three weeks after the presentation to see how things are going with their worm bin.  If help is needed, either advice over the phone or a quick visit with the teacher will help put their worm bin back on track. 

This new grassroots School Worm Team initiative is important because it is neighbours helping neighbours. We would love to revisit schools and see thriving worm compost bins in the classrooms that are actually being used to help reduce the amount of waste being thrown out at schools throughout Edmonton. This is a super simple way to volunteer and get to know your local schools at the same time!

Sign up for the School Worm Team at myVolunteerpage.com. 

Alyson is a Program Specialist and has worked for the City of Edmonton (Waste Management Services) since fall, 2011. She already delivered 3 presentations for the school year and is excited to do many more. Alyson became a Master Composter Recycler in 2012. Outside of the world of waste, she is an accomplished dog trainer.

Back to School Not So Basics by MCR Christine Werk

Writing supplies at the Reuse Centre

It is time to drag our children off of the playgrounds and send them back to school. While going back to school “in style” is important, so is staying green at school. One easy green option is reusing old school supplies and/or purchasing a portion of school supplies from the Reuse Centre. The Reuse Centre has a wide selection of binders and pencil cases and an impressive range of crafting supplies that can be used throughout the school year. While researching for this blog, I ran into a teacher who informed me that it may be very difficult to get children to shop for second-hand supplies. Fair enough. May I suggest turning back-to-school into two lessons: budgeting and the environment?

Michael Recycle exploring the Reuse Centre

Step 1: Figure out what the cheapest most boring selection of school supplies would cost. Share this information with the child.

Step 2: Have the child look through the home to see if they have some of the supplies already.

Step 3: Go to the reuse centre and fill in any additional supplies that are available there. Try not to get distracted by all of the trophies.

Step 4: Finally, let your child use the money they saved for upgrading the remaining school options from the boring ones to the cool ones. Perhaps this means that by finding good binders at the Reuse Centre, he/she gets the Spiderman backpack instead of the generic blue one. Little Samuel or Felicia may even be able to pick up some stickers to refurbish their binders.

When getting ready for back-to-school, consider trying this out. There are lots of ways we can teach our children to keep the environment healthy while they learn about the world and how to be a part of it.

Binders, notebooks, and pencil cases at the Reuse Centre