the ReNews Summer 2008
Some interesting stories about Urban Impact's growth and our commitment to the environment.
- URBAN RECYCLING
- Port Coquitlam expands residential recycling program
- Campaign launched to encourage responsible used oil recycling in BC
- URBAN SHREDDING
- Urban Impact and Vancity partner for series of community Shredathon events
- URBAN SOLUTIONS
- Waste audits help business towards Zero Waste goal
- Urban Solutions for Metro Vancouver’s waste management future
- Green News & Notes
URBAN RECYCLING
Port Coquitlam expands residential recycling program
Kudos to Port Coquitlam, which has become the first city in Metro Vancouver to initiate a kitchen green waste recycling program! As of July 14th, eligible households can add vegetable peels, fruit skins, coffee grinds and other compostable kitchen was to their green waste carts for year-round pickup by the City. Yard waste is already collected as part of Port Coquitlam’s Kitchen Green Waste Collection Program.
Waste audits have shown that that 16-26% of kitchen garbage is suitable for composting. A Port Coquitlam study released last February showed participants produced about 2.5 kg of kitchen waste each week. It is estimated that the composting that material would increase their annual garbage diversion their annual garbage weight by 16.5%.
While Urban Recycling does not actually provide compost or garbage collection services from a dumpster style bin, we administer these services on behalf of our corporate clients, through our reliable network of sub-contractors. For more information visit www.urbanimpact.com.
Campaign launched to encourage responsible used oil recycling in BC
The BC Used Oil Management Association (BCUOMA) ambassadors are travelling around the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley all summer to encourage consumers to recycle used motor oil and oil products responsibly.
British Columbians currently recycle 70% of all used motor oil, 84% of oil filters, and 63% of oil containers. But considering that a single litre of used oil can contaminate a million litres of ground water, it is vital that every single drop of used oil, every filter and every container is brought to a collection facility during regular business hours so it can be disposed of properly. To find the Collection Facility / EcoCentre nearest you, visit www.usedoilrecycling.com.
The British Columbia Used Oil Management Association is a not-for-profit organization with membership open to all wholesale suppliers of oil materials in BC. This is the BCUOMA’s third annual awareness campaign.
URBAN SHREDDING
Urban Impact and Vancity partner for series of community Shredathon events
Urban Impact and Vancity have partnered for a series community Shredathon events to help spread public awareness about the dangers of fraud and identity theft. The events were held at Vancity’s Port Coquitlam branch on Saturday May 31st, Vancity’s New Westminster branch on Saturday June 7th, and Vancity’s Willowbrook (Langley) branch location on june 21st.
Shredathon’s are free events at which the public to drop off their confidential files or records for secure and confidential shredding, right before their eyes in Urban Shredding’s On-Site mobile shredding truck. Urban Impact’s recycling truck is also on-site to dispose of any accumulated boxes used by the public to transport their confidential documents to the shredding event.
The Shredathons held to date with Vancity were well attended, with approximately 100 “shredders” arriving on-site to have their personal documents destroyed. Some people arrived by car, some by bus and others on foot, wagons with boxed paper and kids in tow. RCMP representative were onsite to advise participants on identity theft and fraud prevention. Hundreds of dollars in donations for local charities were also collected through the Vancity-Urban Shredding events.
Please check www.urbanshredding.com for future Shredathon dates. If you miss these dates, the private citizens can also drop off a maximum of 5 bankers boxes of personal documents to Urban Shredding’s Richmond disposal facility for secure disposal on our monthly Shred Day. Visit www.urbanshredding.com for details and dates for the next Shred Day.
URBAN SOLUTIONS
Waste audits help business towards Zero Waste goal
Waste Audits are a great to start measuring your company’s carbon footprint. Urban Impact’s personalized Waste Audit’s start by helping your company to benchmark the amount of waste currently being produced and disposed. We then show you how to accurately measure your waste reduction and diversion improvements over time.
While some Waste Audits measure the actual weight of garbage you dispose, Urban Impact believes visual audits can provide clients with a clear and meaningful picture – without breaking the bank. The actual cost of each personalized visual audit depends on the amount of waste you produce and the number of locations where waste is created.
For example, a Visual Waste Audit recently completed for one of our School District clients cost approximately $3000. This included the cost to design the audit, measure and report the results (all results are kept confidential, unless otherwise authorized by our clients). The information found in the Waste Audit provided our client with information on the type of waste material being produced and thrown away, and the percentage of material that could still be diverted through a more comprehensive recycling program. With this information in hand, the School District client is planning a new communication plan to staff and students to help ensure that materials previously being discarded will now be recycled.
Many businesses are striving to become Zero Waste – this means no waste at all. Although this sounds ambitious, let’s hope it becomes a reality over time as we become more prudent about the products and packing we purchase and as more things become recyclable.
Urban Solutions for Metro Vancouver’s waste management future
Metro Vancouver (the old GVRD) is looking for solutions for our region’s waste management future. The Cache Creek landfill, which receives 500,000 metric tonnes of the Lower Mainland’s waste annually, will be full in 2010; the City of Vancouver’s landfill in Delta (Burns Bog) will be full in 2030. With landfills filling up, and the lower mainland’s population burgeoning, the question is urgent: what is the responsible way to manage the waste we create?
Several solutions are being discussed and debated as Metro considers public feedback on it’s planned update of the region’s Liquid Waste and Solid Waste Management Plans. We will keep you updated on developments in future issues of the Urban Impact ReNews.
In the meantime, consider this important and recurring theme in waste management planning discussions: our region needs to dramatically reduce the amount of waste we all produce. Recycling is a key ingredient to success, but alone is not enough. The future hinges on the overall reduction of the waste we produce, both personally and corporately.
In Metro Vancouver the ICI (Industrial, Commercial, Institutional) sector recycles approximately 39% of the waste they create. Not a bad diversion rate, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.
Metro’s current goal is to increase our recycling rate across the board (this includes multi- and single-family residential, the ICI, construction and demolition sectors) to 70% diversion. This is no small challenge. It calls on all of us – corporate and private citizens alike – to seriously audit the waste we produce, and make just as serious an effort to reduce it.
For some more meaningful tips on how to reduce the waste you create and recycle more, call Urban Impact for a personalized Waste Audit or check out our free online tips at www.recycling101.com.
Green News & Notes
- Urban Impact’s green commitment and corporate story was profiled by Business Development Canada (BDC) in recent issues of Maclean’s, L’actualité, and Canadian Business magazines. Look for issues on newsstands or read our story on www.bdc.ca now!
- BC citizens receive $100 Climate Action Dividend cheques from the Government of British Columbia to subsidize the cost of citizens’ green choices, from buying energy-efficient light bulbs, shopping locally for produce, or purchasing eco-friendly upgrades in your home. For more information and ideas how to spend your $100, visit http://www.smartchoicesbc.ca.
- Check out the latest Urban Impact Green Tips online at News1130.com.