Come to the downtown City Market!

We will be hosting a display in City Hall at the downtown Market on Saturdays starting November 12th from 10-3 p.m. Have fun with the Recycling Wheel and Compost Casino games! Take time to try some local food vendors, and wander over to the Reuse Centre for some great seasonal decorating ideas.

Check your knowledge about what can really be recycled or composted. You can sign up at www.myvolunteerpage.com

Waste Reduction Week

During Waste Reduction Week, the staff in our office accepted the Wednesday Litterless Lunch Challenge from the Office of the Environment and brought waste-free lunches to work. (See Laura Henderson to the left). A couple of displays went out promoting waste reduction initiatives. We even updated our "tips" on the web page: http://www.edmonton.ca/for_residents/garbage_recycling/waste-reduction-tips.aspx.

But we in Edmonton have a very good reason to celebrate!A survey commissioned by the City of Edmonton shows more Edmontonians than ever are composting and grasscycling (leaving clippings on the lawn after mowing).

The number of single family households that regularly grasscycle increased by 16 per cent, from 36 per cent in 2009 to 52 per cent in 2011. Regular composting participation increased from 24 per cent in 2009 to 30 per cent in 2011.
“This shows that Edmontonians really are the foundation of our success in waste management,” says City Councillor Don Iveson. “We’re seeing a growing number of people reducing their waste through grasscycling and composting.”

Regular composting and grasscycling can cut an average single family household’s waste in half. Setting out less waste for collection and processing means fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Grasscycling and composting also lead to naturally healthier gardens and lawns and reduce the need for watering and chemical fertilizers.

An estimated 50,000 tonnes of waste is avoided each year through the waste reduction practices of Edmontonians. Without these activities, the City would need to collect and process about 20 per cent more material.
The City of Edmonton encourages grasscycling and composting through a variety of activities:
The Composting Education Centre at the John Janzen Nature Centre
Composting workshops in the spring, summer and fall
The Master Composter Recycler volunteer program
Education programs and partnerships
For more information on composting and grasscycling, visit www.edmonton.ca/waste.

Waste on YouTube

Do you like movies? Do you like learning? Do you like easily accessible information? Well you are in luck! You can access all Edmonton Waste Management videos from one location. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2DE015911255BDD3

Please bookmark this link and share it with friends, family, and strangers if they are interested in our videos.

Free Admission Day Fun!

On our record-breaking hot day last Sunday, September 25th, Free Admission Day, John Janzen Nature Centre hummed with guests.

Mark Stumpf-Allan and I were kept busy talking to people touring the Composting Education Centre, showing them the composters, recruiting new wanna-be converts, showing them the "red wiggler" composting worms, the finished compost and the benefits of compost tea. They appreciated our information and the shade on the deck and under the trees. Plus when they found the porcupine damage to the larch tree, the metal square decal with the porcupine etching was right beside it - Clue #1 on their Treasure Hunt Sheet.

People had fun exploring the John Janzen Nature Centre site: participating in the Treaure Hunt, watching bird banding, finding water insects in the wetlands pond area, playing in the newly redesigned auditorium.

Mark also took some of the compost from the bins and spread it on the grassy area adjacent to the centre, which needed some care. He made a labrynth of it, and invited passersby to try to walk it.....Later he raked it in. All in all it was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon!

One consistant comment from the visitors was that they hadn't known the Nature Centre was here, and what a lovely spot it was!

Sherbrooke Food Rescue

Carol C. from Sherbrooke Community League has been working very diligently lately, both harvesting fruit and preserving it to make jelly, jam, and pie fillings with her team of community volunteers.

See more at the website: http://www.fruitsofsherbrooke.com/

Also, Canada A.M. had a very interesting interview with Carol that you might want to hear.

In Carol's words: "Just a quick brag. We were on CBC radio this morning and there was also a Shaw TV segment done that should be on TV soon. Check out: http://www.cbc.ca/edmontonam/columnists/communityleague/
See you all next week at the Telus Science Centre!"