THUNDER BAY - The city of Thunder Bay produces more than 100,000 tons of waste per year, and while that number has been declining in the past several years, it is only because of continued effort by the city, community organizations, and the public to reduce waste and recycle more.
“We are generating less waste and recycling more from year to year,” said Lee Amelia, coordinator of waste diversion for the city of Thunder Bay. “So we are on the right trend, but there is always more we can be doing in our own personal lives that combined make a big difference.”
As a way of continuing that downward trend of waste produced, the city of Thunder Bay and EcoSuperior are once again launching Waste Reduction Week, which is taking place from Oct. 15 to 21.
The annual program is meant to raise public awareness about the importance of waste reduction through the six R’s: rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, and recycle.
The week will include several public events, activities, and workshops, such as how to reduce waste in the home, composting, and this year will also include a tour of the local Solid Waste & Recycling Facility.
“That is really informative and cool way to experience the end waste that comes from our community,” Amelia said. “We have wildlife out there, we have a properly managed site, and that is really cool to see.”
The tour will also include the recycling depot and the hazardous waste depot. Amelia said these tours allow people to see beyond the garbage can or recycling bin to where waste actually ends up and how it is processed.
“I think it’s important for people to have a face to face interaction with people operating these programs, whether it’s EcoSuperior or the city, or just personal relationships with people and talking about things that they can do in their personal lives to reduce waste,” Amelia added.
School boards across the city are also partnering with Waste Reduction Week, including Matawa. According to Amelia, institutional waste, including schools, is one of the largest contributors to the overall waste that ends up in landfills. So having school boards contribute to waste reduction plays a key role.
“Places like Matawa and other local school boards are doing incredible job with implementing waste reduction programs locally,” he said. “Things like using water fountains and reducing water bottle use. It’s incredible to see the participation from schools and it makes up a big chunk of waste that is generating.”
Brad Battiston, principal at Matawa, said students at the Matawa Learning Centre will be working on a variety of projects this year, including a recycling program, community based gardens, and environmentally friendly renovations to the Learning Centre on Lillie Street.
“We are working with EcoSuperior and using environmentally friendly products in the construction and the design and having students learn about the building process for their homes back in their communities,” he said. “A lot of the initiatives so far have been towards reusing building materials or items that were left behind in the building.”
But the lessons being learned by the Matawa students extend beyond the city of Thunder Bay, Battiston said, with students taking the lessons they learn about waste reduction back to their home communities.
“Back home the services are not readily available to them in their home community, so this education and knowledge they take back home with them, it gives them opportunity to build this within their home communities and help educate younger students as well as family members,” he said. “It helps with community based initiatives to reduce waste in northern communities.”
More information about Waste Reduction Week and how to contribute can be found on EcoSuperior’s website.
