Celebrate Waste Collector Appreciation Day

Our waste collectors help keep our streets clean all year round. Last year they collected 245,046 tonnes of residential waste from 396,876 households, twice as heavy as Toronto's CN Tower! Safe, clean communities depend on the hard work that our waste collectors do on a daily basis.

As part of North American Waste Collector week, the City will celebrate our waste collectors at a free family event this Sunday at Compost 'S cool.

Date: Sunday, June 16
Time: 1 to 4 p.m.
Location: Compost 'S cool (near Fort Edmonton Park)
Cost: Free

Come chat with a waste collector, check out a garbage truck, make thank you cards and learn how to help keep your collectors safe and one time.

Visit edmonton.ca/wastecollections

MCR Success Stories in May, 2019

Hosted a Garden Party MCR-in-Training Barb L. enlisted neighbours to help empty an entire compost bin. "We dug a few holes for the unfinished compost and then spread the remainder of the compost in the front yard soil (no grass there). We discussed benefits and barriers and I showed them how great the compost at the bottom of the bin is and how easy it is to do."

Community Composter MCR Nicola T. resurrected a composting system at her children's school. "We started a free fruit program at school, sponsored by No Frills. We now have so many fruit peels and cores daily, that a new compost setup was needed.  Leadership Club empties the compost bins in school after the kids have had lunch, but more compost bins were lacking next to the fruit bowl where the kids get the free fruit. I am working on educating the whole school population on better waste management." "I know it's making a difference already because the secretary asked me where to buy a compost bin for her home, and picked up the 2nd last one that John Jansen had.  I've been explaining to her how to set it up too."

Hosted a Clothing Swap MCR-in-Training Michelle W. hosted a clothing swap and small items for the Eco Station, Reuse Centre and donation for a group of seven women. The event was a big success!

Telling his Story of Composting MCR Shawn G. rebuilt the compost system at his home. He documented the shift from his old system to the new setup, in detailed steps, on social media. "People messaged me after with questions or asking for advice." Great idea!

Tell One Friend: Enjoy a Wasteless Picnic

Spring is here and summer is right around the corner. It is a great time to enjoy a picnic, have a meal on a camping trip or BBQ in the company of friends and family. However, packing food to cook or eat on the go can produce excess waste. Packing a zero to low-waste meal or snack can sometimes be a challenge, especially when packing for many people.

Plan for your Picnic

When preparing food for your picnic, consider these points:

• Pack reusable dishes and cutlery.
• Skip the juice boxes and cans of pop; bring a thermos or reusable bottle filled with a beverage.
• Fill up reusable jugs, bottles or jars for drinking water instead of purchasing plastic water bottles. 
• Forget the straws.
• Pack reusable cups, encourage others who are attending to bring their own cup or mug.
• Prepare food in advance to avoid buying ready-to-go packaged products. 

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Share Your Message Effectively

Try these strategies to help encourage your family, friends and co-workers to keep their picnics, BBQs and camping meals waste free.

Model the Behaviour

Show friends and family how to pack a low or zero waste meal by hosting a picnic, sending wasteless food packing ideas to attendees, and explaining the goals behind these actions.

Make it Normal

Each time you model a wasteless picnic, BBQ or snack in nature, it becomes more accepted and expected.

Offer Timely Prompts
When attending a get-together, be it a picnic, BBQ or camping meal, offer ideas on how those around you can make small changes to help reduce waste.

Give Positive Feedback
"Wow that salad looks so appetizing in your reusable jar."

Highlight the Benefits
Preparing food in advance for a meal on the go in nature can sound like a large task. However, each single-use item that a person can eliminate is a beneficial way to reduce waste. One small change at a time. 

Visit edmonton.ca/waste

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MCR Volunteers by Neighbourhood 2019

Refill! Refill! Refill! by MCR Michelle C.

Join me on my six month journey to waste reduction for my family of four.

In November of 2018, I became conscious of my family's household waste.  I realized that the bulk of our waste was from packaged food products. Most of the packages were not of value on the recycle market and were likely ending up in the landfill.

After some research, I noticed that most of our general household pantry items could be found locally in bulk. With the intention to drastically reduce the amount of waste my family puts on the curb I took action immediately by:

• Sewing myself some reusable produce bags. It didn’t take long to build a collection of 15 bags to fill with lots of produce that my family enjoys on a regular basis. 
• Shopping in bulk for produce at H &W, a local produce store.
• Shopping at Bulk Barn and Earth's General Store as they offer the option bring your own container to refill when shopping for bulk items. (Both stores take the tare weight of my containers before I shop then subtract that weight when I pay for my items).

On my first trip to the bulk stores, I had no intention of buying, but generated a list of regularly purchased items that I could buy package free. I created a shelf in my recycle space at home that I could store containers for refilling; so the next time I went grocery shopping I could easily grab the right size containers for what I needed. This also helped reduce our recyclables and grow a collection of refillable containers.

A 3lb pre-packaged bag of apples cost
more than my 3 lb reusable bag full!

Cost was was my biggest barrier in getting started. However, I am happy to say there was only one item that I found through this process that didn’t make sense economically to buy in bulk as a refill and thankfully it comes in paper packaging. Actually, I have found that most items are cheaper bought in bulk. In some cases, I can buy a smaller amount and prevent future food and storage waste.

I also found that more variety was available in bulk for items like flours, grains, and legumes. Looking back over my grocery budget over the last six months, I have spent less each month as I continued on my refillable journey.

Making the decision to change my family's shopping habits resulted in shopping at local, Edmonton based stores that were actually closer to my home than my former one stop shopping centre. Choosing to shop differently has helped reduce the amount of curbside waste we set out and support Edmonton based businesses.


Now, six months into my refill shopping journey, I refill an average of 50-60 containers a month. I am able to regularly purchase items in bulk by refilling my containers with items including and not limited to: 

• Gluten free and specialty flours
• Oatmeal and cereal
• Coffee and loose leaf tea
• Dried fruit, dates and dried coconut flakes
• Sugars and xylitol
• Nutritional yeast
• Baking ingrediants like baking powder, yeast  and baking soda
• Maca powder
• Textured vegetable protein
• Nuts, 
• Seeds
• Pasta, quinoa and rice 
• Legumes
• Popcorn
• Coconut oil and local canola oil
• Pink salt
• Sundried tomatoes
• Molasses
• Organic vanilla
• Liquid shampoo and liquid conditioner 
• Topical essential oils
• Frozen fruit
• Frozen perogies 
• Frozen vegan meat alternatives

As a result, my family has gone from putting one recycle blue bag out every week to once a month. Committing to refilling containers for many grocery and household items is not as hard as it may sound. Make a list of items your household consumes regularly and find out which stores offer refillable options and go from there, one reusable container at a time.  

Michelle joined the MCR ranks in May of 2019. Michelle is passionate about waste reduction in Edmonton. I also am on my own journey of living a more sustainable life, and love to pass along all the tips and tricks I’ve learned! If you like to see my Journey in more detail or watch as I explore further into waste reduction you can follow me on Facebook @earthkeeperedm or Instagram @earthkeeper .