What I’ve learned: Sara

Ultimately, I’ve learned that it is much easier to ask: “Why don’t they simply implement a composting program?” or to say “everyone should compost and recycle,” than it is to actually make it happen. A great idea isn’t a great idea until it is feasible, scalable, and actionable. It requires context, an opportunity, and unfortunately, most importantly, capital. It is hard to get an idea off the ground, and with so many people trying to find solutions to our global social issues, it has become a competitive field. I find this ironic.

I also learnt that support and stakeholder engagement are critical factors in the success of a program or initiative. We assume, as students who are taking a course on social innovation, that everyone will want to be on board for positive change. Unfortuantely, this is not true. MANY MANY people do not understand the issues our world is facing, in my case, particularly, those issues that are environmental. I don’t understand why there is such an information gap, but there is, and it’s large. Support is very hard to achieve, but it’s because people’s values and beliefs are even harder to change. Watching Annie Leonard’s video, “The Story of Stuff,” taught me to look at the supply chain in an entirely different way. I think twice before I buy something, and three times before I throw something away. I am so aware now of the mass consumption in the the world, that I have an acquired a sixth sense. I hope to use my business skills, and my passion for sustainability, to fast forward the adoption of environmental awareness and change.

I have learned that everyone has something valuable to offer. You may think you know something, until you get someone else’s opinion on it. There are often a lot of underlying reasons and factors behind our social issues, and each time I talked to an individual or professional in the field, I gained a new perspective and insight. I appreciate everything I have taken out of this course; if you truly want to learn something, or to make a difference, the world is begging you to do just that.

Out and About

Dropping our composting prototype off to Parminder (owner of Renaissance Coffee)

Trashbusters teaming up with fellow future social innovators: RE-USING old cellphones!

Pilot at Renaissance

Lawrence & Candace – SFU Facilities & Sustainable SFU

Trashbusters had the pleasure of chatting with Lawrence Reason from SFU Facilities and Candace Bonfield, from Sustainable SFU. You may not think that facilities and sustainability have a lot in common, but in fact, these two silos cross more often than not. S

As a team, Sustainable SFU and SFU Facilities have been collaborating to audit the amount of food waste generated at SFU Burnaby. We thought it would be a great opportunity to see how their knowledge and research could help Trashbusters in accelerating the speed and success of our composting and food rescue program. These audits are currently taking place in the Maggie Benson Centre, and the key purpose is to quantify how much organic waste is generated, to fill a compost system, rather than a landfill.

Some key take-aways from our conversation include the following points mentioned by Candace and Lawrence:

Why hasn’t composting worked at SFU Burnaby in the past?

Previously the composting initiatives were student run, and then when the students graduated, or lost interest, or became too busy and so the project eventually lost support.

There has also not been enough organic waste generate by the SFU community to make this initiative financially feasible. One side of this is that vendors have become extremely efficient at managing their waste. The other, less desirable side, is that vendors supply a lot processed and refined foods, ones that, if leftover, cannot be composted. Lawrence noted that it costs roughly $35 000 to install a composting system, but this does not include the variable costs of sorting, collecting, and mixing the waste. This coupled with a lack of financial support for the project (particularly none from the municipality of Burnaby) presents Trashbusters with some large hurdles.

Facilities has considered sending the compostables off campus to another site, but the cost associated with carbon credits and footprint remains high.

 How would a composting system be different this time around?

 The composting project will be staff run and staff supported. According to Candace, “A staff run program is the most effective way to be successful.”

 Feasibility & Logistics:

 Most likely, SFU Burnaby will instate a warm composting system on the hill. Currently there are decisions about whether to have the soil sent down the mountain or used on site. With the proposal, which they plan to have submitted in the 2010, it should provide the SFU staff with the base funding necessary to run to the project.

The composting initiatives will be injected in three phases. The first phase will include the easiest targets – the food vendors on campus. The second phase will include staff and faculty offices. The third phase then will be the hardest targets – members of residence and the general public. It is currently a challenge to even have residence buildings to recycle their bottles and paper, so composting can pose additional challenges for them as well.

 Stay tuned as Trashbusters continues to assess the feasibility and uncovers the best avenues through which to make change.

My Interview With Quest Food Exchange

I recently contacted Quest Food Exchange, so that I could find out more information on the process of food rescue and the challenges they are currently facing. I spoke with Geneva Bokowski, the Community Relations Coordinator at Quest. Below are a few questions and answers that were spoken about in our conversation:

K: Can you tell me about the process of food rescue? For example, what kind of non-marketable food do you collect, and what is the process with the vendors like?

G: We have a list of suppliers and vendors that donate monthly or bi-weekly. From them we collect items such as produce, canned items,  and food that is near expiry, overstocked, or mislabelled. The vendors receive a tax receipt so it’s actually cheaper for them to donate to us rather than throwing the food away. We do the pick ups ourselves so it is easier and more convenient for them.

K: What is the separation process like?

G: We have volunteers that do the separation, and the food gets opened, checked, and even tasted for quality control. The food that is not usable gets seperated for compost, which we send out to other facilities. Ideally though, we would lke have have our own composting garden at Quest.

K: Can you tell me about the low cost grocery store? Is there a screening process?

G: We have a few locations for the grocery store. One is on East Georgia, and we just opened one in Surrey as well. The shoppers need a referral in order to shop at the store, often from The Ministry of Housing, or The Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance. The referral is pretty casual, they need written proof that they are approved and they receive vouchers (which range anywhere between $14-$40) to shop at the store. The food that we sell there is 70% reduced.

K: What does the organizational structure look like at Quest?

G: At East Georgia, we have 5 full-time employees. Altogether (at our 3 locations), we have about 21 full time employees and a broad volunteer base. We get our funding from grants, as we are not government funded.

K: What are some of the current challenges you are facing?

G: Funding is always an issue. We usually have a kitchen where we prepare meals from the food we collect, but right now we cannot operate it because of the lack of funding.

K: What do you hope to see for Quest in the future?

G: We have a 5 year expansion plan, where we want to expand to the Tri-Cities. We also want to have a warehouse in Surrey in order to serve them better. Finally, we have a provincial vision for Quest, so hopefully in the future we can expand further throughout BC.

I really want to thank Geneva for taking her time to answer my questions. After our interview, she forwarded the information of our initiative to Charlene Ponto, the Project Coordinator for SFU’s Local Food Project. Charlene then forwarded the message to various other contacts, including Bonnie Edelstein, SFU’s Food Bank Coordinator, Liesl Jurock, the Student Life Manager, and Loretta Laurin, a member of the SFSS Advocacy Committee. Because of Geneva, our idea may just come into action!

What I’ve Learned: Kelly

In participating in this project, I’ve discovered how many people are willing to give up the fancy office and yearly bonuses in order to bring some light into such growing problem. And it wasn’t as easy as I thought. Even when trying to find solutions ourselves, I learned that there really is a lack of education out there; I myself learned a few- make that a lot of things that I didn’t know about before, especially about the effects of waste and the ease of composting. It really makes me wonder why the government, the media, and the corporations have not done more to expose this problem and try to get the general community to contribute to the solution. Yes, we hear about global warming and the lack of adequate food sources in the third world countries, but do we really hear about the true ways of mitigating this problem?

I’ve learned that waste is everywhere- more than I’ve ever noticed before. I begin to think twice about grabbing extra napkins, using straws in my drinks, and using non-recycable take out containers. I’ve even caught myself throwing recyclable containers away, only to have the guilt eat away at me and as a result, I’ve gone back into the garbage to take them back out.

I’ve learned that there are over 163 items that are compostable, many of which I throw out each and everyday. Laundry lint and fur- who knew? I do now- and rest assured, I will be starting my own backyard compost soon.

Lastly, I’ve discovered just how close we are in getting SFU to participate in novel programs to reduce waste. Audits are already in place for our own composting program, and many seem to really like the idea of food rescue. It’s possible, and it’s hopefully going to be put into action. And in the end, I hope that I can say that I was part of the soltution.

What I’ve Learned: Amanda

Waste Management is not something i even thought of before my third year of University. Now, I am not only concerned for my future, but for the future of my future children and grandchildren. As the population grows, the landspace grows smaller and the waste accumulates, it makes me fear the future and sparks so many unanswered questions in my mind.

I have learned that most people are lazy. Waste reduction, composting and recycling will never become prevalent unless it is made really simple and easy for all to use. Whatever solution society comes up with for managing our trash, it must be simple, accessible and an easy transition for all members of society for it to be successful. I never thought i would feel guilty when unnecessarily using a straw, taking an extra napkin, or purchasing pre-packaged cheese. However, i know this guilt is for the better. I now go the mall with a big purse, this way when purchasing an item i can ask for “No Bag, please” and simple shove the item into my purse- savings one plastic/paper bag at time!

Since we went down the Composting path, i became even more aware of my trashy ways. My family does not have a garberator, which is one way to eliminate trash and we took down our rat infested compost box years ago. As a family of five we are contributing more than our fair share of curbside trash and we need to think seriously about how we are affecting our planet.

This project has taught me some fantastic research techniques, has introduced me to the world of blogging, and has given me insight on how i can live the rest of my life and feel good about reducing, reusing and reycling.

Central City Mall Food Court Waste

We spoke to the Central City Admininistration, who answered some of Trashbusters questions about the actions taken currently to reduce their packagaing and food waste.

1. Does Central City’s food court use any waste management techniques as a whole, or is this responsibly of each individual vendor?

Answer: Currently for the food court, the waste management program uses techniques of both: individual responsibility and as a whole.

a) The compactors(cardboard and garbage) are building supplied and serviced
b) common area garbage/ recycling is removed by our building cleaning staff
c) the tenants are responsible for putting in their own waste/recycling into the appropriate containers or arranging specialty waste removal

2. What recycling system is currently in place for the mall?

Answer: Central City Mall recycles: mixed paper, containers: plastics, bottles, metals, cardboard, and grease/oil

3. Does the mall participate in any composting program for food dispersal? If not, would they be willing to do so if the expense was minimal?

Answer: The mall does not currently participate in any composting program. At this point cost is not an issue but more the logistics: ie., waste contamination, space, etc. More analysis is of interest.

4. Tim Hortons has a eat-in (with ceramic plates, bowls, mugs, and utensils) and take-out container system put in place. Has the  mall ever thought of taking on a system like this to reduce waste?

Answer: As a whole, this has not been done. At this point, individual food court tenant would have their own objectives in this matter.

5. Who responsibility is waste management in general at Central City mall?

Answer: The waste management of the mall in general is a shared responsibility. Most of the systems in place are run by building management. There are exceptions to this, dependant on lease arrangements/requirements Common areas are maintained by building management. The tenants are responsible for their own waste and to transfer it to the appropriate waste areas, relative to the  supplied containers.

What I’ve Learned: Zain

Over the past 6 weeks we’ve tossed around a lot of ideas about what to do to make a difference in our community. One of the first things that I learned was that it’s not as easy as people think…..especially when you are trying to think of a novel solution. It’s also interesting to see what type of problems people put the most weight on. We all had a different idea of what we could do to solve the problem of waste management, and we evolved from a simple recycling idea that may not have gained much ground, to a more substantial composting plan that is easy enough for everyone to do and beneficial enough for businesses to adopt. We also learned how to balance our time such that we would be able to maximize our production when we met up. Speaking to different people taught me that I’ll also have to think outside of the box when I start my own career. There are many issues to be dealt with (such as waste management) that may be outside of the scope of the job description. I’ve also noticed that I’m caring a lot more about what’s going on in the environment. I’m noticing little things…things that can be recycled, things that can be composted….and I’m also starting a compost in my own back yard. It has been an enlightening experience, and while it was more work than I thought it would be, it was worth it because I can now say that I have not only helped the planet by starting my own compost, but I have the knowledge to educate others and help them do what I am already doing now.

Trashbusters in Action!

A big thank you to everyone who came to support our event today at Renaissance Coffee on Burnaby Mountain!

We had a great turnout; and hopefully, we had were able to some great minds thinking about the benefits, how-to’s and implementation of composting!

Knowing that Renaissance’s peak hours are from 12-2, we set up our station just as the rush begin: with 4 bins each labelled “Compost it,” “Rescue it,” “Recycle it,” and “Trash it” we began to attract quite a crowd. We began educating and questionning both SFU faculty and students alike about composting, and engaged customers in the process of separating their food and packaging. Not only were they enthused, but they also really appreciated the learning! Even if people were not eating, they came over to see our display and to ask more the “ins and outs” of composting.

We found that many people, while aware of the benefits of composting, do not in fact do it themselves. There seems to be a lack of motivation due to the sheer fact that people “Didn’t know how!” to do it.

Here were some of our key findings:

-35/40 participants agreed that SFU should have their own composting facility. (The remaining 5 argued that contamination would be a problem, or that the startup costs of education and equipment may outweigh the benefits – both very valuable and considerable points for Trashbusters to consider in our feasibility).

-34/40 would be more than willing to support a composting program at SFU (ie. separating their food waste into labeled bins as we had displayed).

-32/40 said that, if it was made easy and economical, they would have their own composting system at home. (8 people mentioned that they lived in a rented condo, and it would be up to their  landlord to make that desicion). (**idea for Trashbusters: small composting sites that tenants can keep inside their apartment or condo)

-We realized the “Rescue it” plan (ie. saving perfectly good cans, boxes and perishables — that would otherwise be tossed in the garbage and headed for our landfills – and redirecting it to hungry people) did not generate enough food to make this program feasible for just the students and faculty to employ at SFU.

-The most commonly composted item was… NAPKINS! Yes, napkins! So many participants were unaware that paper napkins could be composted, that we created quite a stir of conversation around what other kinds of unsuspecting goods could also  be composted! Because we were at a coffee shop, we also collected a lot of teabags.

While Parminder, the coffee shop’s owner, could not be there today, we will be interviewing him later in the week to discuss his opinions and attitudes toward a composting system at Renaissance, and throughout SFU! Stay tuned for pictures, and if you missed out on the festivities today, send us your questions!