Waste Check Annual Report

Transcription

1 Waste Check Annual Report Another successful year at Waste Check and we are proud of our waste reduction and diversion efforts within our Region. We have been very busy promoting our message and involving the public in all of our programs. The final numbers for Nova Scotia Environment datacall have been released and our current rate of disposal is 328 kilograms/person/year, which is significantly lower than the provincial disposal rate of 383 kg/person/year. The following report highlights some of Waste Check s great activities and successes throughout the last year. Business of the Month Program Waste Check continued our popular Business of the Month program for the year. All Business of the Month recipients received a framed certificate from Waste Check. The businesses were also advertised in local newspapers (The Vanguard, Le Courrier and The Digby Courier) and a write-up highlighting their efforts was posted on our website and social media accounts. A big thank you goes out to the businesses that are going above and beyond with their waste management. Business of the Month award recipients for include: Red Cap Restaurant & Motel Pubnico Nova Star Cruises Yarmouth Conway Quick Stop & Laundromat - Digby Pet Valu - Yarmouth La Shoppe Verte Ltée - Clare Bailey s Bakery Hebron Yarmouth Natural Foods Market Yarmouth Compost Awareness Week (May) As part of the promotion of compost awareness week, the compost display booth was set up at the Yarmouth Farmer s Market. A bag of compost was given away to market patrons who wanted to take one. Informational material on composting and pencils were also given away. The booth was well received by over 100 people. The farmers market in Clare (Les Marches de la Baie), Digby Area Lions Club Market and the Argyle Artisanal Farmers Market were also attended. Attendance at these markets was not as brisk as Yarmouth. The winners of the prize draws were very pleased with their winnings. 1

2 Glad Donation Waste Check was pleased to receive from GLAD Canada 5000 complimentary sample packs of both the GLAD Clear Bag and GLAD Blue Bag (bellybands) - each sample pack consists of one sample bag and a rebate coupon. These were provided at no charge (approximate value $15K). We have put the GLAD logo on our website as recognition for their contribution towards our outreach and curbside education programs. Litter This ad was placed in the local papers and on social media as part of a litter promotion to encourage community clean ups and the Great NS Pick Me Up. Waste Check once again promoted the Clean Foundation s Great NS Pick Me Up program. Cleanups can take place any time throughout the year and at any location you like. This can include shoreline, parks, your school, or any outdoor space that you value. A Great Nova Scotia Pick-me-Up Launch Event was held on May 9 th in Dartmouth. A social media photo contest was held this year. Each region in the Province had a winner. Congratulations to Yarmouth Life Skills for Disabled Adults Association our Regional winner of $500 through the #GladToCleanUp contest held through the Clean Foundation. Options and Opportunities (O2) Partnership The YCMHS O2 class held a clean-up on the Hilton Road and Kelley s Cove in celebration of Earth Day in April. In total, 1820 kg (4004 kg) of waste was collected. In June, the class held a BBQ and awards night to showcase the students work throughout the year. The students who participated in the two clean ups this year were presented with Thank You certificates. Tarah Thompson-Schwann and her O2 class was also inducted into Club 300 on the awards night for all of the hard work, dedication and assistance in completing two major cleanups in our area this year. 2

3 Digby Regional High School O2 students completed a major clean-up on Gull Rock Road on Brier Island. Approximately 4547kg (10004lbs) of waste was collected in a dumpster loaned by Digby Salvage & Disposal. A large portion of the waste was wood (80%) while the rest was household waste. Tim Horton s in Digby also donated Timbits and hot chocolate for the participants to enjoy. Before After East Ferry Clean up Waste Check, students from Islands Consolidated, The 02 class from Digby High and local residents spent the day September 23, 2015 cleaning up the East Ferry shoreline on Digby Neck. The total amount of waste that was cleaned up on the shore line was 4026 lbs. 3

4 RRFB Nova Scotia Recycles Contest Waste Check promotes the contest throughout the fall/winter. Schools rallied to submit 471 entries from 24 out of 26 schools. This was a decrease from last year. The number of schools participating continues to be steady. Teachers and school administration continue to see the value in participation, especially at the elementary school level. We continue to receive compliments from parents and residents about the priceless value of the contest. The names of the Nova Scotia Recycles contest winners are included in the table below. The Region 7 awards dinner was held on Wednesday, April 6 th, 2016 at the Clare Golf & Country Club NS Recycles Contest Winners for Region 7 Grade Winner Runner-Up Runner-Up P/1 2/3 Lori Mackinnon, P-1 (18) Yarmouth Central Alyssa LeBlanc, Grade 2 Suzette d-eon École Pubnico-Ouest Kerry Lawrence, P-1 (21) Drumlin Heights Gavin Elderkin, Grade 2 Ms. Cynthia Martin Digby Neck Consolidated Shannon Whittaker, One (15) Port Maitland Consolidated School Patrick Thimot, Grade 3 Danielle Thibault École Stella-Maris 4/5/6 Haley Ryan, Grade 5 Mrs. Hankinson Weymouth Consolidated School Marcien Deveau, Grade 6 Marcelle Boudreau École Saint Albert Holly Hasselbring, Grade 5 Mr. Frayne Kyte Digby Neck Consolidated 7/8/9 No applicants No applicants 10/11/12 Carter Thurber Islands Consolidated School Teacher: Joan O Neil/Cassie Tidd Marc LeBlanc École secondaire de Par-en-Bas Teacher: Ghislaine LeBlanc 12 Jayden MacDonald Digby Regional High School Alexis Saulnier École secondaire de Par-en-Bas 4

5 Blue Bag Recycling We have been focusing some of our education on the two stream recycling program through the year after concerns from our recycling processor identified concerns with mixed recycling. Mobius Awards Nominations for the Mobius Awards of Environmental Excellence 2015 were submitted to RRFB in the following categories: Individual Excellence in Waste Reduction Debra-Dawn Megeney (Town of Digby) Small Business of the Year La Shoppe Verte Concession (Municipality of Clare) Large Business of the Year Nova Star Cruises School of the Year Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School (Town of Yarmouth) Waste Reduction Education Program Waste Resource Association of NS (WRANS) Recycling 101 Institution of the Year NSCC Annapolis Valley Campuses Middleton, CoGS (Lawrencetown) and Digby (joint submission with Valley Waste) We were disappointed that our nominations were not selected as winners. This year s Mobius Awards ceremony was held on Oct. 14 at Pier 21 in Halifax, NS. The keynote speaker for the luncheon was Jeff Rubin. 5

6 Great Canadian Shoreline Clean Up A clean up was held at Pubnico Point in conjunction with the Vancouver Aquarium Great Canadian Shoreline clean-up. This is the fourth year that this area has been cleaned. It is encouraging to see less and less waste washing up on the shore each year. The vast majority of the waste found was from fishing activities. Five people cleaned up over a 2 kilometer stretch of shoreline collecting 270 kg (594 lbs) of waste. Environment Week (May 31 st - June 6 th ) Waste Check inducted 8 Club 300 Members who deserved to be acknowledged and rewarded for their efforts. We hope that their dedication and determination will help inspire other Region 7 residents to take part in additional waste reduction activities as well. We also hosted three Hauler Appreciation Days during Environment Week. Monday June 1 st at the Clare Transfer Station, Thursday June 4 th at the Yarmouth Transfer Station and Friday June 5 th at the Digby Public Drop Off/Transfer Station from 11-1pm. A BBQ including hotdogs, hamburgers and other treats were enjoyed by many and some promotional items were given out. 6

7 Event Greening Waste Check received a total of 16 bookings for waste separation stations for the spring/summer events. The majority of the event bookings are repeat users of the stations. There was valid interest from event organizers in proper separation and how important it is to educate the public to practice proper sorting. One of the major issues with the events is the vendors who set up at the events and come with a single can for garbage. Children s Summer Parades Mr. Green Bin made appearances at the children s parade in July during Seafest in Yarmouth and at the Festival Acadien de Clare in August. He was very popular! Waste Check participated in some summer events by placing a display booth at various special events throughout the region. A booth at the Clare Acadien Festival Bazaar was very busy and we had a total of 82 ballots in our ballot box. Waste Reduction Week (October 19-25, 2015) Waste Check held a Where is Mr. Green Bin contest during the week. We posted a photo of Mr. Green Bin each day for six days with one photo from each Municipal Unit. The contest was very popular and gave us new likes on our Facebook page and had 563 people engaged through the week. Our total reach for the week was 5,449. We were pleased with the response. Our winners seemed to enjoy their prize. Waste Check also inducted 6 Club 300 Members who deserved to be acknowledged and rewarded for their efforts during the fall. We hope that their dedication and determination will help inspire other Region 7 residents to take part in additional waste reduction activities as well. Our newest inductees were: Yarmouth Farmer s Community Market, John Doucette, Angela Collier, Dianne Theriault, Paulette Comeau, The First Lego League Club Digby and Mrs. Manzer. RRFB Enviro Depot Contest RRFB launched a #RecycleToWin Contest that ran from November 9 to 30 th, The contest involved taking an individual or group photo that shows collecting beverage containers for refund 7

8 and/or spending the refund, enter it through RRFB s Facebook contest, or tag it with #RecycleToWin on Twitter or Instagram, and you could win cash! Seven lucky individuals won $100 each and seven lucky groups won $300 to share! In addition, up to 78 lucky entrants won a prize pack of RRFB Nova Scotia promotional items. Waste Check staff spent a few hours in our region at each depot during the contest period to promote the contest and award depots visitors with promotional items provided by RRFB. It was also a good opportunity to visit with our depots in the region. Region 7 Winners (Yarmouth Digby): Food Service Visits The Shanty Cafe: Group winner of $300 for recycling at Paper Chase Bottle Exchange Jean LeBlanc: Individual winner of $100 and winner of customer prize pack for recycling at Comeau s Bottle Exchange Anna Jacquard: Winner of customer prize pack for recycling at Paper Chase Bottle Exchange Dealing with waste in the quick service industry has consistently been a challenge. A concerted effort has been made to try and address some of the problem areas within this industry. Numerous visits have been made to restaurants and other businesses that deal with food preparation in an attempt to assist them with their waste management difficulties. Education for staff is a key component as well as proper container set up and vivid signage. Follow up visits were also completed. These factors are addressed based on individual circumstances and solutions are offered. Communities in Bloom Garden Symposium Waste Check had a booth focussed on composting at the 2016 Town of Yarmouth Communities in Bloom Spring Gardening Symposium on Saturday February 29 th, It was a very well attended free symposium with interesting workshops. We had about 90 people and collected ballots for a door prize of Waste Check goodies including many reusable items. Pharmacy Awareness Month March was Pharmacy Awareness month. Over the past few months pharmacy visits were conducted by Waste Check at various stores throughout our region. The purpose of the visits was to gauge the public promotion of the Safe Sharps Program. There seems to still be too many sharp incidents across the Province at various facilities. A common theme from these visits that developed was public education at the pharmacies seemed to be a common missing link. As a result of these visits conducted across the province and in partnership with the Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia (PANS) an education display promoting the Safe Sharps program and the expired drug program was set up at pharmacies in the regions. We held two in our region during the month of March. 8

9 Hotline Calls Calls on the hotline continue to gradually increase over the last few years = = = = 2800 RRFB Community Sponsorship This program is offered by RRFB Nova Scotia to provide funding for events or initiatives with a focus on waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting. Waste Check is very active throughout the year encouraging groups to take advantage of the program. We were able to assist the following groups in getting funding from RRFB in 15/16: 1) École secondaire de Par-en-Bas 2) Clare Chamber of Commerce 3) Village of Weymouth 4) Weymouth Waterfront Development Commission 5) Western Nova Scotia Exhibition 6) Weymouth Board of Trade 7) Wedgeport Fire Department 8) Havelock Wesleyan Church 9) Glenwood Hall My Waste App and Website Plug-in At Waste Check, we are continuously promoting our My Waste mobile app that is available for our residents via a FREE download on Apple or Android devices. It offers many convenient options for residents to access information 24/7 such as: a personalized collection schedule for their area, optional reminders for collections and/or events, a collection map, hours of operation for facilities, lists of accepted items, tipping fees for drop-off locations, customized recycling/disposal instructions for items, and a Report-a-Problem feature (for broken green carts, illegal dump sites, 9

10 rejected waste) where the resident can even upload a picture with their complaint. We have also been able to send out notifications directly to our users devices through the app, including notifications about events, program changes, and collection cancellations due to weather, etc. We continue to get new downloads of the app daily, especially after times where we have used the system to send out notifications to affected residents about collection changes or cancellations. Last year, Waste Check was pleased to add the My Waste website plug-in feature to the Home Page of our website. The plug-in was added to help streamline a lot of the information we have throughout the pages of our site, which will make it easier for our residents to find the information they re looking for quickly and conveniently. The plug-in has brought all of our waste collection and sorting information up front, to reduce time spent navigating through the various pages. It s also nice to have the matching design of the app on our website as well. The plug-in contains a lot of the same information and features as our mobile app, however it can be accessed from the computer (for those who do not have smartphones). As leaders in waste reduction, we were the first region in the province of Nova Scotia to launch the mobile app, and add the plug-in to our website. We are happy to learn that other municipalities in the province have joined on with similar apps. Enforcement and Compliance Program A summary of the main activities of the By-Law Enforcement Officer and Compliance staff include: Ongoing load inspections at the Transfer Stations Respond to complaints relating to open burning, illegal dumping and repetitive non-compliance in the ICI and residential sector Contact landlords about issues with their rental properties. Follow-up with curbside rejections to increase compliance Working closely with Municipal By-Law Enforcement Officers and local Inspectors with Nova Scotia Environment to resolve ongoing issues Address improper sorting issues at residences and multi-unit dwellings The program continues to be successful in reaching non-compliance violators and responding to illegal dumping complaints. There have also been several residential visits done. Visits are based on the rejection lists sent in by the haulers, complaints, or are done at curbside. People whose waste was rejected, or whose waste was noticeably unsorted, received information kits which include a separation guide, sample bags, green cart tips, and simple separation guidelines. There have been 367 residential and business visits this year. Number of Illegal Dumpsites investigated 81 The By-Law Enforcement Officer responded to 329 complaints from April 1 st, 2015 to March 31 st, Ship to Shore Marine Waste Management Program A Waste Check representative has been working closely with the Ship to Shore Marine Waste Management program of the Clean Foundation (formerly Clean Nova Scotia). We feel that this program has been beneficial 10

11 to our Region since we have a large number of wharves and shorelines in our area that are strongly affected by marine waste. Waste Check provides ongoing support for any Ship to Shore activities that occur in our Region. In 2015 harbour visits were completed with the program coordinator, Sonia Smith, at Port Maitland, Saulnierville, Cape St. Mary s and Meteghan. Textiles Coalition AFTeR (Association for Textile Recycling) is dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of textiles recycling in Nova Scotia and includes the following organizations: Big Brothers Big Sisters, Canadian Diabetes Association Clothesline, Canadian Red Cross/ LML Trading, Enviro Depots Eastern Recyclers Association (ERA), Salvation Army Thrift Stores, and Value Village. Promoting this program will help us divert even more waste. At Waste Check, we continuously encourage residents to donate their clothing and textiles instead of throwing them away. A booth to promote donating clothing to the donation bins versus sending them to landfill was set up at the Women s Winterlude. Waste separation information was also available. Over 150 people stopped by our booth to chat and ask questions. Information Sessions/ Presentations/ Education / Other Activities Filming took place for the Eastlink television show "In Focus". The show featured the accomplishments of NSCC Burridge Campus especially the improvements made to their waste management systems since The facility manager, facility lead and Waste Check s education coordinator were all interviewed. A presentation was made to the newly formed Yarmouth Environmental Think Tank (YETT). This community group was formed to promote environmental awareness to the public and lobby for change. The presentation focused on waste management in a discussion format. The group had many questions about specific items and what happens to them after they are sent for recycling. This created for lots of discussion. Moby visited at Yarmouth Life Skills while he was in town. The clients enjoyed the one-on-one attention they received from Moby. A presentation was made to the brownies, sparks and guide groups who meet at Beacon Church, Yarmouth. The girls enjoyed playing "Alcatrash" and learning about the importance of Earth Day. A complete site assessment was conducted at Digby Hospital. Overall, the container set-up in the hospital is fair. Some areas were better equipped than others. Recommendations were made to improve the separation stations and signage was supplied. 11

12 Work has been on-going with staff at Nova Star Cruises. Staff does an excellent job at sorting their waste on the ship using the well set up separation stations. Waste that comes to shore unsorted is then re-sorted before being sent to the respective facilities. A booth was set up at the Musée des Acadiens des Pubnicos to promote compost to celebrate National Acadian Day. Many people stopped by the booth to learn about composting or to ask general waste management questions. An Educational program was held at two of the Western Regional Counties Library Branches. The theme of the summer reading program was Play! Participants learned about waste diversion and sorting. A presentation to newcomers was made at the Western Counties Regional Library in Yarmouth. The ten people who were in attendance enjoyed a presentation of Recycling 101. There were lots of questions and good discussion. School Greening Time was spent this year in the schools doing container placement assessment, a large beach clean-up in conjunction with Earth Day, presentation at an awards night, installing decals, and classroom presentations. The waste management message was also spread via Junior Achievement programs in Grades 6 and 9 at three schools. The Tri-County Regional School Board Science Fair was attended as a judge. Waste Check also sponsored an award for the project with the best environmental theme. The winner was Meredith James from Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School. Her project titled canned heat showcased the pop can heater she developed. NSCC Burridge and Digby Campuses continue to lead the way with waste management. The current waste audit report showed an 89% waste diversion rate and a 100% waste sorting accuracy. A pilot project to bring the recycling message to faculty, staff and students has been launched at the Burridge, Shelburne, Digby, Lunenburg, Middleton, and Lawrencetown Campuses. It was presented to students throughout the year. The hope is that the pilot project will be so successful that it will be rolled out to the other campuses in the future. The working relationship established between Waste Check and campus staff continues to be very strong.. Provincial Parks A lot of work was completed at the local Provincial Camping Park Ellenwood. Signage was installed, bins were opened to accommodate four stream separation, campers were given bags and a brochure explaining waste separation while camping and staff were given education sessions with an explanation of expectations when handling public waste. They were skeptical at first of the success of the changes but were pleasantly surprised when they saw the campers were actually separating properly. The Digby County Parks were all changed over to promote four-stream separation. The sorting results from the public were very encouraging. Bins were built over some of the barrels so that public access was limited to prevent illegal dumping of household waste. Education and enforcement have both played a critical role in guiding our residents and businesses to sort and divert their waste properly. Thank you to everyone who participated in our programs and helped us meet our goal! We look forward to continuing our success. 12