A trashy idea: Volunteer day helps reduce waste

By Meghan Sired

The University of Calgary is getting picky about what gets taken to the dump. Analyzing what is thrown out each day on campus is the first step to finding simple ways to reduce waste and enhance recycling, according to a newly formed committee on campus.

The 2007 Trash Bash is an important step in a larger effort to reach a 50-percent reduction in solid waste on campus by 2008, the goal set by U of C President Dr. Harvey Weingarten in his 2006 address to the community.

On July 20, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Trash Bash volunteers will sort through garbage collected across campus, which will then be analyzed for its potential for recycling.

“It’s hard to identify which direction we need to go in unless we know where we’re at,” says Doug Wilson, business performance manager in Campus Infrastructure and facilitator of the solid waste management committee.

In the past, waste audits at the U of C have been sporadic and have used different measuring techniques. But Wilson, along with Janice Cummins, a member of the solid waste management committee and the facilitator for the 2007 Waste Audit, are determined to do the audits regularly with consistent methods.

Beginning at 6 a.m. on Thursday and ending approximately 24 hours later, garbage dumpsters from a handful of buildings including an office building, a student residence, a lab and MacEwan Student Centre will be taken to a sorting area on campus.

First thing Friday morning the garbage bags will be ripped open by volunteers and sorted by type—paper, organic, plastic, metal/foil, refundable beverage and glass—and then weighed. The information gathered will help determine what waste is the most dominant in which buildings and how much of it is easily recyclable.

Volunteers are a key component of the Trash Bash and more are still needed. They will be provided with protective overalls, puncture-resistant work gloves, safety glasses and dust masks—along with a free lunchtime barbecue.

Don Neary, a team leader and supervisor for Building Services, was one of the organizers and a volunteer at the last Trash Bash in 2001. He was a “down and dirty” sorter, elbow deep in collected trash. He says he had a blast.

“I had a great time during the event, it was an uplifting and very active affair, and jokes and laughs were bountiful. A real sense of accomplishment and camaraderie was felt by all. It was the most fun I ever had—wearing disposable coveralls,” laughed Neary, who has worked at the U of C for more than 26 years.

“The event itself is a great initiative, and it is an important step in a larger effort to reach 50 percent reduction in solid waste by 2008,” says Jo Wright, sustainability coordinator at the Office of Sustainability. “It will also inform the Campus Sustainability Gap Analysis currently underway.”

The Office of Sustainability is coordinating a new Sustainability Stewardship Working Group comprised of 13 portfolios addressing campus sustainability. The Solid Waste Reduction Portfolio, chaired by Robert Tharp and Doug Wilson, is responsible for initiating and coordinating the Trash Bash, among other U of C waste reducing initiatives.

The Waste Audit Committee is trying to learn from waste reducing initiatives across North America. So far they have been impressed by Olds College’s successful composting program, the University of California at Berkeley’s sophisticated sorting system and the city of San Francisco’s complex sorting plant.

With measurable results in hand, staff, students and faculty members at the U of C will be encouraged to take further action to protect the environment and help make the university a healthier, more sustainable community.

“I am optimistic that by taking a lead role in sustainability, the University of Calgary could potentially encourage other institutions to develop, maintain and continually improve their environmental programs,” said Cummins.

For more information or to register as a volunteer, please contact Jennifer Goemans at 210-7954 or by email at jagoeman@ucalgary.ca.