LFS 350 Proposal – Little, Hardy, de Demko
Week 7 Objectives:
- To complete a phone or in person interview with Recycling Alternatives and ask some of the questions outlined in the appendix of the proposal. This will give us an opportunity to speak/hear from someone who is involved in the compost system and understands the pros and cons of how compostable products are currently being disposed.
- To attend the monthly Vancouver sustainability breakfast on compostable materials. The city representative, Sarah, who helped us outline our project, suggested this event. It will give us some insight into Vancouver’s current knowledge of compostable products and the strategies used to raise awareness.
- Will gather a list of municipalities in North America including California, New York, Maine, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Delaware and other nations who have progressive waste disposal legislation.
Achievements
So far we have conducted two telephone interviews. Our first interview was with a city farmer representing the city of Vancouver via a service called the compost hotline. This is a service for citizens to call and ask questions regarding composting. Maria, from the hotline, gave us the background information about composting that directed our approach to the project. We were able to focus our research on the types of materials that are used to create compostable bags. She also gave us the names of the facilities that conduct composting within the city. The company Harvest Power picks up the vast majority of residential compost throughout the city. A number of smaller independent companies pick up the remainder. She also told us that not all compostable bags break down at the same rates and that Harvest Power doesn’t accept any compostable bags due to this reason.
This lead us to wonder, if the City made a bylaw that said that the bags that composted completely were the only ones that could be used in Vancouver, would Harvest Power switch its position? This question is extremely important as Harvest Power is the major composter for the City. Another challenge that goes along with this would be educating people to always put their bags in the yard trimmings box, how would we change such a long-held consumer habit of throwing bags in the trash?
Our second interview was with Amanda, a representative of Recycling Alternative. This company picks up mainly organic material produced by businesses in metro Vancouver and delivers it to West Coast Lawns and Enviro-Smart compost companies. She informed us that these companies require their clients to use bpi certified compost bag. Recycling Alternative supplies the clients with these bags.
Linkages
We believe our project highlights the importance of social responsibility and long-term environmental protection, two ideas that are very central to the mission of LFS. As students in this faculty, we all have a common sense of pride in our land and we all aim to protect it in some way or another. This project is enabling us to answer some questions that no one has really answered. Although we understand that this is a small project that probably won’t result in the City turning to using solely compostable bags, we are excited to be able to contribute unique information that may aid in the City’s decision making process. Through this act, we are demonstrating the value of an education that pushes students to be curious and creative in solving environmental issues, like that offered in LFS.
There is a major parallel between this project and the Think&EatGreen@School project that LFS students do in LFS 250. In both projects, students are required to directly contact the stakeholders, thus instilling a sense of maturity and leadership in students. This highlights another important message conveyed to us over our years in LFS: take charge! The fact that students are being put in managerial positions (albeit on a small scale) gives them the chance to break out of their comfort zones and get a sense of what it would be like to organize or research something in a professional setting.
What? So What? Now What?
What?
At the beginning of the semester, we were having trouble finding a way to contribute valuable research to the City of Vancouver. They have done extensive research on plastic bag bans associated effects but they have done little work on assessing the viability of using solely compostable bags or what types of compostable bags are most useful for composting facilities.
So what?
After much discussion, the City agreed that this avenue was a good one to focus our efforts on. Through our communication with the city, we have seen that seeking a plastic bag alternative is very much a pertinent issue for them and we are glad to have found a way that we can be of value to them.
Now what?
Now that we have a project to work on, we have been in touch with composting facilities to schedule a meeting where we will be able to learn about their point of view on the issue. From these interviews, we will provide the City with a report detailing important aspects of a potential switch to solely using compostable bags. We hope that this information will help the City in their decision making process.
Future Objectives and Strategies to Achieve them:
- To visit Harvest Power to set up a time to conduct an in-person or phone interview to ask the interview questions that we’ve laid out in the appendix of the proposal. We have called and attempted to do this already, but haven’t heard back from the company. We plan to call again and suggest a range of options including in-person, phone or email interview so that we are more likely to find an option that works for everyone.
- To contact Jacob Simonsen from the Danish Waste Association. Denmark has a very low amount of waste that enters landfills and we would like to understand how a successful system such as this one was initiated, and any challenges that were faced in doing so. We will get in touch with Jacob via phone or email to request an interview.