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.

Food Waste: From Table to Trash by Laura H.

I recently watched a movie as part of the Edmonton International Film Festival “Just Eat It”. The film was all about food waste and it’s reinvigorated my passion on the topic. What I took from the film was that individual actions in your home can make a big difference in the amount of food we throw out.  

A study released by Value Chain Management Centre in 2010 confirms that our actions at home count. It found that 51% of the food wasted in Canada comes from our homes. That is more than food wasted in restaurants, processing facilities and grocery stores combined.

I believe if we make a conscious effort to cut back on how many fruits, vegetables and other leftovers we let rot in our kitchen we can reduce our household garbage by up to 20%. That’s about the same amount that is diverted from the landfill by household recycling!

In the past year I’ve been making a real effort to cut back on food I buy and throw out. I’d like to share three things I’ve found actually work to reduce my wasted food (and money).

I’m proud that 90 per cent of households in Edmonton are recycling. That means that for many

residents, it’s time to go beyond recycling and using Eco Stations to reduce our waste.

We can all reach our goal of 90% waste from landfill and I believe reducing food waste in our homes will help us get there! 

October 20 to 26 is Waste Reduction Week in Canada. To celebrate, The City of Edmonton is collecting stories of how individuals, businesses, and community member reduce waste in Edmonton. Have a story to share? Email laura.henderson@edmonton.ca.

Laura H. is not only an employee at the City of Edmonton Waste Management Services, but she also graduated from the MCR program in 2011. Laura is full of energy and makes a huge impact in her community.

Every Homeowner Should Have a Composter! By MCR Trish H.

I bought a house last year moving from an apartment. What a lifestyle change! I was looking forward to having a garden, making the yard aesthetic, and growing food to eat. I was excited to learn composting as part of the experience. If I was getting a house, I wanted the whole package! I also wanted to get to know some of my neighbours. I was extremely fortunate to get into the Edmonton Master Composter Recycler Program ... like a dream come true.

During the winter, I found that the garbage in the house would get smelly because of the food waste thrown into it. In the apartment, I had just a small kitchen catcher that I would throw  into the outdoor bin. In a house, I had to have a larger garbage container and keep it in black bags for pickup once a week. As soon as I entered the house, I could smell the garbage. Once spring came, I obtained a free

black plastic composter and collected food wastes separately. Guess what? No more smell!

In the fall, I had the huge deck cut back to make more room for a garden. Being the thrifty person I
am, I thought about how I could reuse the wood. I had a garbage bin built from it, but there was still lots of wood left. I also used it to make a new matching back fence so had leftover wood from the newish but ugly previous back fence. I got new side fences built as they were a shambles. I had a few new fence boards leftover as well. All in all, I had a big pile of lumber taking up valuable space in my garage.

With a yard to care for, I quickly realized that a small compost bin just wasn’t going to be enough. I wanted a place to put my leaves in the fall and a place to throw garden waste, like greens and dying plants, and wanted to

keep the yard tidy throughout the year. As for the household food scraps, the black bin is sufficing for

the summer, but what about the winter household food scraps, what would I do with them? I am just starting a home business in natural therapies. What kind of impression would people have if they entered the house to smell garbage? That would be darn embarrassing and I didn’t want to go back to that! I tried worm composting but it didn’t suit me. What would I do? I was also enjoying having less garbage to dispose of as well. Another problem was that the quality of the garden soil wasn’t that great so the plants need something better.

Well, all of the problems have been solved! I used up the most of the leftover wood to build a bigger composter. In the fall, I will throw the leaves in it. I also plan to invite both of my immediate neighbours to put their leaves in the bin as well. There will be less mess with wind blowing leaves in my yard. I will have enough leaves to save some for use next summer to put in the black compost bin. I will stockpile the food scraps over the winter by letting them freeze outdoors, in the composter, or in the garage. I won’t have to bag any garden waste in the fall, and my plants will enjoy the rich soil from the composter. I also have the pride of knowing that I built it all by myself and proudly display it to others. I saved the scrap wood (previously living trees) from going to the dump and put it to good use! ... and my yard is tidy!

"Trish H. is a recent 2014 graduate from our MCR program and has hit the ground running. She's participated in our grasscycling championship, trade shows and loves to chat with friends and neighbours about waste."

Concerned about summer weight? Your collector is!

Growing season is at its peak and as a result the City’s waste collectors are dealing with high volumes of yard waste in addition to the usual household garbage. On a typical summer day, a collector picks up an average of 3000 bags of garbage from more than 700 homes. That’s about 22,000 kgs of garbage – the equivalent of lifting about 27 smart cars a day! Grass clippings are the biggest contributor to waste volumes this time of year. Residents are encouraged to Go Bagless and leave the grass clippings on the lawn while mowing. It helps reduce waste, promotes healthy lawns, and reduces the number of heavy bags lifted by collectors. For the safety of collectors, the City is reminding residents to please keep each garbage can or bag under 20 kilograms (44 pounds). Brush and tree trimmings should also be below this weight limit, bundled, securely tied, and no longer than 1.2 m (four feet). For more information about waste collection please visit edmonton.ca/wastecollection.

Take a peek into Edmonton's world-class waste management centre

In celebration of Environment Week, the City of Edmonton invites residents to come for a free tour of the Edmonton Waste Management Centre (EWMC) and see why Edmonton is a world leader in turning waste into resources.

Dates: Tuesday, June 3 – Friday, June 6, 2014
Tour Times: 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Location: Edmonton Waste Management Centre, 13111 Meridian Street
Admission: Free

Reservations are required. Please call: 780-496-5698.


During a two-hour tour of the facilities you can learn how:

• Your recyclables are sorted and prepared for market
• Your garbage is used to create valuable compost at one of North America’s largest composting facilities
• Decomposing garbage inside a landfill is used to create electricity
• E-waste such as computers and TVs are recycled
• A new waste-to-biofuels facility will turn non-recyclable and non-compostable waste into ethanol
• Close-loop paper recycling takes place, producing chemical-free paper 

Please note that tours are not appropriate for children younger than nine years of age.

For more information:

Visit Environment Week Tours or call 780-496-5698