Urban Impact » Uncategorized

Reducing plastic bag consumption

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:13:00 +0000

I keep thinking about this plastic bag issue. Last night I was in Shopper’s Drug Mart and for the first time the cashier asked if I would like a plastic bag before just assuming and bagging up all my items. She told me that they now in fact charge 5 cents a bag. My mother was quite flustered by this saying that the only reason they charge is to cover their costs for the bags. I disagree.

So my question is: Does charging for each bag reduce consumption?

Humans have a funny nature of thinking twice when there is a price attached. Whether 5 cents or $20, people tend to think more when they are being charged. I think charging for bags can help reduce consumption in 2 ways. 1. People want to spend less and therefore use less bags 2. Retailers aren’t just assuming that you NEED a bag, and asking which makes the consumer think “do I really need a bag?” . With any hope, consumers will give their head a shake and realize it’s not that hard to bring a reuseable bag and with any luck cut back the drastic over consumption of plastic bags. My hopes is to eliminate the use of plastic shopping bags all together!

Here are some shocking facts on Plastic bags: http://www.greenerfootprints.com/plasticbagfacts/

Urban Impact’s very own Zero Waste Challenge

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:51:44 +0000

Urban Impact is looking for an interested, passionate and diversion eager partner in our very own Zero Waste Challenge. This is not an internet dating line! What on earth does that mean? Well its easy, we want to prove that Zero Waste is actually achievable for a business or school setting. If you know of a good candidate can you please forward their name and contact info to info@urbanimpact.com.

Urban Impact wants to prove that Zero Waste (that means 0 waste and 100% diverted from landfill) is real. It is not going to be easy, but with the right partner … we are confident that it can work.

There is no cost to the participating businesses. Urban Impact will provide:

Step 1 an assessment on what you are materials you are currently diverting, where and how much
Step 2 help develop a strategy to collect what remains in the garbage stream
Step 3 Implementation – provide containers to collect all materials, provide signage and eduational material
Step 4 provide regular recycling collection of all materials, monitor quality and what is still going into the garbage
Step 5 let time go by to allow all staff and stakeholders get in the groove of keeping things out of the trash (likely 1 month or so)
Step 6 Loop back to 1 and repeat

Urban Impact is confident that the right partnership will lead to success and help proove that waste is no longer a reality.

There is no $ cost to the partner in this project. We will however need a dedicated person to help us deliver the evaluation, strategy and implementation of this project (some hours will definately be consumed in this process). Once the project winds up (i.e. success) we will definately be circulating lessons learnt, ideas and costs with others – so you must also be willing to share.

If you are interested or know a business or school that would be, please contact us directly @ info@urbanimpact.com.

I am going to measure how much waste we produce in our household.

admin — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:48:45 +0000

My family (two adults and four children) produces a lot of waste. I am curious to figure out how much. So starting August 1, 2009 I am going to weigh each garbage can we dispose of. I think in order to get a good idea on our average disposal for our family, I am going to continue the weighing for the months of August and September. Once we have a baseline, I hope to make improvements. Time will tell and stay tuned.

Waste to Energy, is it the right option for the lower mainland?

admin — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:41:46 +0000

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/06/23/bc-garbage-burning-gvrd.html

What is the lower mainland going to do with 500,000 Mt’s of garbage that would have otherwise been sent to the Cache Creek landfill? The answer is complex and it is not too late to get involved to educate yourself about all the issues and solutions that are being proposed. Metro Vancouver will be looking to the public to voice their opions and help give a direction to the politicians whose hands this decision sits with.

I will post a link for the public hearing information.