Earth Hour 2014

Earth Hour will be taking place this year on March 29th. Millions of people around the globe will turn off all their lights, from 8:30-9:30pm, to celebrate their commitment to the environment.

Will you be participating?

Earth Hour is more than just turning off the lights; it's a great opportunity to encourage waste reduction in other ways, too. It's a well known event, and it's a relatively small act that leaves most people more open to the idea of making other enviro-friendly changes. There's no reason for a less-waste attitude to end at the end of an hour, especially with a fantastic team of Master Composter Recycler volunteers ready and willing to help their friends and neighbours get into the spirit!

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Host a zero-waste dinner party. Click here for tips and tricks.
• Pick a common disposable item you use often, and eliminate it from your life. For example, cut up some raggedy t-shirts to use for rags, and ditch the paper towel. Challenge your friends to do the same.
• Invite people over for a sustainability-themed movie night. Here's a list of popular "green themed" movies and documentaries. Make sure the movie ends in time for Earth Hour, and use that lights-off time to discuss the message.
• Give a presentation in your workplace, or set up a display in your lunch room. 

Got any great ideas for Earth Hour? Let us know in the comments!

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Edmonton is the Earth Hour Capital of Canada

Nation's sustainability leader chosen from three Canadian finalists.

The City of Edmonton has been crowned the Earth Hour Capital of Canada through the World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour City Challenge, beating out two other Canadian finalists.

Edmonton was one of 33 finalist cities chosen by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for impressive actions on climate change. The international jury will now proceed with deliberations to also select a Global Earth Hour Capital.

“It is an incredible honour to have Edmonton selected as the Earth Hour Capital of Canada,” said Mayor Don Iveson. “Our sustainability efforts have been plentiful and it is reassuring to be recognized by the World Wildlife Fund for our environmental plans and initiatives.”

Edmonton’s The Way We Green action plan received high scores for its strategies to increase energy efficiency, reduce emissions and save money, while ramping up plans for renewable energy. The jury also recognized Edmonton for its ambitious vision of achieving a carbon neutral future.

“WWF congratulates Edmonton as this year’s Canadian Earth Hour City Challenge winner. The City’s innovative municipal action demonstrates the leadership our country can, and should aspire to on a national scale,” said David Miller, CEO and President, WWF-Canada.

Citizens can also help Edmonton become a winner by participating in the People’s Choice We Love Citiescampaign. People can vote for the City of Edmonton in a few ways up until March 20, 2014:
Post a picture on Twitter of your favourite thing about Edmonton with hashtag #weloveedmonton. There is no limit to the amount of Twitter votes per day.
Post a picture or video on Instagram of your favourite thing about Edmonton with hashtag #weloveedmonton. There is no limit to the amount of Instagram votes per day.
Vote by visiting welovecities.org/edmonton. One vote per day.

The awards for the national and global sustainability winners, as well as the We Love Cities campaign, will be presented at the Earth Hour City Challenge Conference and Awards Ceremony in Vancouver on March 27, 2014, which WWF organizes in conjunction with the international conference GLOBE 2014.

For more information visit: edmonton.ca/weloveedmonton

Composting, Ninja Level by MCR Jane T

We all know the benefits of composting. Forty percent of the waste that makes its way to the EWMC is compostable and a significant amount of that is grass clippings and leaves. Keeping these at home and composting them along with your kitchen waste not only reduces waste, it provides a source of highly nutritious humus for the garden.

Composting takes time and patience. Depending on the environment it can take months or even years to produce a good batch of this hearty mulch.

That's why sheet mulching is a fabulous option. Creating a garden by sheet mulching, sometimes referred to as lasagne gardening, is a simple way to manage yard waste while creating a fabulous new bed for flowers and vegetables.

My front yard, before sheet mulching

Start by defining the area you wish to turn into a garden and cut a trench to separate it from the rest of the lawn. Place 2-3 layers of cardboard over the region where the new bed will be and water it well. I like to wrap the edges with newspaper so the grass is completely enclosed and won't sneak out the perimeter and grow into the border you've created. You can fill the trench with whatever you like; I use a combination of broken bricks and wood chips.

Now the layering begins. Start with an inch of nitrogen-rich materials such as grass clippings, manure, coffee grounds and kitchen waste. Throw some bone meal on top of this, then add a 2-3 inch layer of carbon-rich waste such as leaves or straw. The more diverse your materials, the better. I use whatever I can get my hands on, which has me cruising the back alleys in my neighborhood looking for bags of yard waste. I've even posted ads for straw bales and horse manure. Shredded documents from the office? Why not?

Finished bed, later that day

A few more layers, alternating between greens and browns, and the garden bed begins to take shape. A final layer of compost finishes the project. After that it's simply a matter of keeping it well watered and waiting for the medley to become a rich bed of organic soil. Do this in the summer or fall and you'll be planting in it the following spring.

Check out this update from 9 months after creating my bed.

As opposed to dirt, soil created this way has vitality. It's full of nutrients and micro organisms, it's well balanced and rich. Your flowers and veggies will grow tall and happy in their new home.

One year later

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Jane T completed the MCR course in 2013 and has been active ever since. She's participated in trade shows, helped out with the grasscycling campaign, and blogs at https://gardeninggrrl.wordpress.com/.

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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.

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Is The Path To Your Trash Safe?

Slips and falls during the winter are a common cause of waste collector and pedestrian injuries, and they can be prevented with the help of residents.

Waste collectors work 10-hour shifts, getting in and out trucks to lift 20-kilogram garbage bags all day. Maneuvering on slippery ice makes their job more challenging and even dangerous.

The City of Edmonton thanks residents for playing their part in keeping collectors safe and reminds them of simple things they can do to help:

• Clear snow from collection area/garbage stands and spread sand on icy surfaces.
• Put bags/cans on level ground and as close to the street or alley as possible, not on top of windrows and snow piles.
• Avoid placing waste on slippery areas near downspouts and sump pump discharge pipes.

Residents with front street pick-up are asked to park vehicles off the street on their collection day. Vehicles parked on the street force collectors to carry heavy cans and bags greater distances.

Under Edmonton’s Community Standards bylaw, homeowners have to clear ice and snow from sidewalks right down to the pavement within 48 hours of a snowfall.

For more information about waste collection please visit edmonton.ca/wastecollection.