Now if you have been to certain events in Calgary you may have seen stations that look like:
It’s not rocket science. The labels are self-explanatory. Said waste goes into said bins. There may even be attendants that help to direct what waste goes where, and at that point there is no excuse for putting your Pepsi can in the landfill (not that there should be any). If you’re part of the Youth Volunteer Corps that has volunteered at these large events before you might be familiar with this process. Including the next part, that is: the sorting. Because my lovelies, once the bags at the bins get full, someone must sort those bags. And this year, I am one of those people.
I applied to a job with Green Event Services this year after volunteering with them last summer, and the mission of the company in one long run on sentence is to reduce the amount of ‘stuff’ that goes into the landfill. ‘Stuff’ being anything that is recyclable, compostable, or refundable. And that might be as unpleasant as it sounds. Standing under a tent for several hours sorting corn husks from cartons of poutine and cans of beer… yeah. But it’s not that bad. And so I worked my first shift at the Lilac Festival along 4th St, on Sunday, June 4th. And now I’m writing this, hoping to give you some perspective toward those events through a different lens.
While I’m on the topic of waste diversion, I should slide in a quick lesson on what belongs where. (These get pretty complicated so I’ll keep it simple and hope it becomes routine.)
Recycling: stretchy plastic or cardboard that is bigger than your hand (can’t be too dirty)
Refundable: anything you can take to a bottle depot (pop cans, bottles, jugs)
Compost: anything you eat or come from animals or plants (organic waste)
Landfill: anything you are unsure about or anything obvious
Click here earn more about recycling
Okay I’ve gone around and you might be thinking, so what Tom, what’s the point of all your incoherent rambling?
I want you to realize that the magnitude of waste generated at these kinds of events is enormous, and extending that to the entire city, it’s on a scale that’s unimaginable.
From one afternoon of waste sorting I’ve been exposed to the physical manifestation of all the waste we produce as a society. That was the waste from 8 hours of one day serving mere thousands of people. Literal mounds of garbage, compost, bottles and cans, etc. It’s hard to imagine even articulate that amount, now try your hardest to imagine the amount of waste the city as collective produces constantly, forget mounds, we’re seeing mountains. Per day. Now imagine that 365 times bigger, then how many years old is Calgary?
One of the guys on the job was telling a story about how someone called this job “inefficient.” And that’s right. It is inefficient. But it needs to be done. Sustainability is a real thing we need to strive for.
I mean it sounds bad, but I think we should try to put me out of a job. And this is really what I am getting at. A team of us can only sort so much waste. Most of the work still has to be done by everyone.
So now I need to give my lovely reader audience some responsibility.
Number 1. Start small at home: recycle all your bottles and cans, recycling all your paper and cardboard. City of Calgary is implementing compost bins (You can help this project by volunteering with Youth Central in the green cart bag stuffing projects). Please use them. Remember your three R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle.
Number 2. If you go to events like the Lilac Festival, don’t buy so much from vendors that use one-use containers. Many food trucks use compostable containers which we love to see.
Number 3. Please do your best to cooperate with the bins and just put things in the right places to begin with.
Number 4. Be conscious about your decisions.