Leadership Opportunity: Recycling
The Ecovillage does a fantastic job at being as sustainable as it possibly can and carries forth a belief that nothing is ever “trash”. Everything produced and used is seen as having a never ending cycle of usable opportunities. For example, Leftover foods from a meal are saved and reused in future meals, while any plate leftovers not wanted for eating are placed in compost buckets and pig feed buckets. Another example is the reusing of glass mason jars as drinking glasses and storage containers. A really interesting concept developed here is the use of plastic food wrappers (with aluminum interior) to create solar energy initiatives.
An area in need of restructuring was their recycling area of items to be brought to the recycling centre. Since the Ecovillage is home to many visitors that come and go for short and long periods of time there is a constant intake of new faces, and new people who may not be very informed on the recycling procedures at the Ecovillage. UBC teacher candidates jumped on the idea of helping out the Ecovillage in developing an information board and effective bin organization with easy to understand signage.
First, we toured the recycling depot, Island Return-It, to deposit the village’s recycling and have a tour of their facility. Recycling depots began through the government enlisting Pepsi and Coke to find a program to solve the problem of the large usage of metal cans and plastic bottles. Each recycling depot is an independent business, thus the Island Return-It in Duncan is actually an independent company that has signed a licensing agreement with Encrop to be established as a recycling center. It was explained to us that a new addition to the recycling program in BC is the MMBC (multimaterial BC), which states that “if it’s not packaging, its garbage” and “if it’s in contact with food products (Except salad) it’s garbage”.
Items that can be returned:
– Refundable alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage containers – sorted into plastic, glass, and cans
– Juice cartons, milk products/alternative cartons
– Cardboard (flattened), egg cartons, newspaper, mixed paper
– Smoke detectors
– Plastic bags and overwrap (clean and dry)
– Paint cans and paint
– Florescent lights and other light bulbs
– Approved electronics – televisions, computers
– Clothing
– Batteries (all kinds incl. hearing aids, laptop batteries)
– Butter wrappers, foil wrappers
– Flammable liquid
– Aerosol cans
– Plastic/foam packing (except for packing peanuts)
The tour provided some valuable information about recycling to me that I had not known before. I did not know that the environmental fee charged upon purchasing products is actually a fee paid to the recycling plants with the concept that consumers will be recycling that product for a refund. For example, I did not realize that televisions have mercury and lead inside them and if you break a television there is high concern for lead and mercury poisoning. All their products are shipped out to locations mainly in BC but also to Ontario to either be destroyed or melted down for further use. As well, any plastic bags or containers must be cleaned and dried or it is considered contaminated and will not be accepted at the recycling center.
The big question is what happens after the materials are shipped out? Any aluminium and tin cans are changed into new cans, taking approx. 60 days to melt down. Glass bottles, like generic shaped beer bottles, are cleaned, sanitized and reused. Unfortunately glass juice bottles have to be shipped to Alberta (further transportation that contributes to our carbon footprint) so it is suggested to be mindful and possibly reuse these glass bottles. Glass, when not refillable, is crushed down and most likely down-cycled (not used for its original purpose and takes a lot of energy). Downcycling leads to lesser quality produces and reduced functionality. Upcycling is when minimal energy is required to transform something into new materials of better quality or better environmental value.Any batteries become melted down and remade into new batteries.
The Second tour was at the CVRD Dump and Multi-use site. This location takes recycling for free, such as metal, florescent tubes, batteries, oil filters, oil jugs and styrofoam packaging. They also accept mattresses, fridges and freezers. What really facinated me was witnessing a giant container of packaging being compressed into a foot by 1/2 foot brick to be sent out to be upcycled. We were also informed that 1 drop of oil can contaminate one thousand Litres of water. Any “junk” brought to the dumpsite and thrown into the bins can no longer be used by another individual – no one can take any products out of the bins for safety reasons. Some of the items we saw in the dumpsters were perfectly usable, and sometimes brand new products. There were bikes, brand new deer fencing, and brand new construction nails, no longer able to be used. It was heartbreaking to see this because so many cannot afford these items but could use them!
These tours were immensely educational for me as both a teacher and a learner! The Ecovillage’s technique of actually taking us to the sites and witnessing the productions that take place and the smells and piles of “trash” that accumulate was eye-opening. These locations do many tours for schools and I think this is a perfect way to integrate the students into the community, where they can also witness the consequences of not being environmentally responsible with our actions. The lessons learned are also retained more with students having a vivid memory of what they have seen. This experience has also provided me with a greater understanding of what can and cannot be recycled and what can be reused. A really awesome idea that I was exposed to was reusing a freezer as a storage unit for other products that don’t require freezing. For example, at a cabin a freezer can be used to store vegetables almost like a root cellar but in a sealed contained area where animals and rodents cannot get into.
After our tour of the sites we returned to the Ecovillage with hopes of recreating the recycling system with what we have learned. One night I had chosen to take a lead start making the signs for the project on my computer. When I visited the recycling center I took many pictures of the signage used there so I used these as templates for our own signs. My actions initiated a few others of the group to begin focusing on the project with me. Working as a team we created artistically pleasing and eye-catching signs with valuable information that was clear and concise. These signs were then laminated and a new system was implemented at the Ecovillage where all products were properly separated, cleaned and if possible reused at the Ecovillage!
Recycling is an exciting topic that should be implemented into every classroom. Incorporating Upcycling into every art activity and every lesson is crucial to help students learn to make upcycling a habitual action. These are valuable skills that students need to be building to allow them to be aware of the environmentally conscious decisions they can be making.
More importantly, we shouldn’t just be teaching Reduce, Reuse and Recycle but the 9 R’s (yes, 9) should be taught to our students:
- Rethink – Don’t take your consumption habits for granted. Why do we use non-biodegradable materials (eg. Styrofoam and plastic bags) and dispose of them so casually?
- Regulate – Outlaw frivolous and environmentally deleterious business practices! For example, ban plastic shopping bags and enforce the use of biodegradable to-go food utensils and packaging materials – we have the technology!
- Refuse – don’t give in to unsustainable methods. For example, carry your own reusable bags, eating utensils and water bottle
- Reduce – less is more! Consume less, enjoy it more, and be thankful for what you have. Another room means another room to clean! Live with intention and appreciation.
- Reuse – comes with two bonus R’s: Repair and Repurpose! Fix broken electronics, find new uses for building materials, and sew up rips in your clothes.
- Rot – compost everything you can! Hopefully by now that’s most, if not all of your waste!
- Recycle – Try not to get this far! And take note: this does not mean down-cycle! For example, plastic bottles that are turned into carpets were never meant for that function, hence the carpets are of lower quality! Properly recycle – or even up-cycle (eg. your old jam jars into drinking glasses!)
This whole project will impact how I organize my classroom and guide my students consumption and use of materials. For example, paper products are used extensively and frivolously in the class. How will students begin to understand that throwing out scraps of paper is damaging without knowledge of how the product we use is created and what happens when it is considered “trash”. Let’s be the change we want to see in this world!