This week across Canada individuals, organizations and businesses will consider how and what they contribute to their nations’ waste reduction efforts.

The scope of Waste Reduction Week includes a very broad range of local and regional events, awareness campaigns, and education programs covering an exhaustive list of audiences — from school children to CEOs.

It’s hard to know how many individuals will be reached through these initiatives or how many of those will actually step-up and make a change that will make a difference.

I’m an optimist

My experience within the waste management sector over the last twelve years has shown me that people genuinely care about the environment; the waste they create at work and at home; and the steps they can take to reduce their environmental footprint. Thousands of Canadians whose jobs are linked to the sector can testify to the effectiveness of recycling messages and changes in public attitudes towards waste as recycling programs, facilities and opportunities have grown.

At an industry level, it’s encouraging to see manufacturers focused on reducing energy and other resources in their processes while also innovating ways to transform their waste into feedstock for other kinds of enterprise. And sectors like packaging are supporting innovation to extend the useful life of their products after their original purpose has been fulfilled.

We’re taking part

The Carton Council of Canada salutes all of the innovators, participants and sponsors engaged in Canada’s Waste Reduction Week 2018. And we’re also proud to partner with SARCAN Recycling in Saskatchewan to sponsor a waste reduction week event at an elementary school in Saskatoon. The event will launch a new website focused on increasing recycling rates of all beverage containers in schools, with a special focus on cartons. SARCAN Recycling provides environmental protection, employment creation and economic development through a province-wide network for recycling beverage containers, paint and electronics in Saskatchewan.

We look forward to participating in this worthwhile event and seeing the results of these investments in the future.

There are few social movements that omit children from their list of important audiences. Just ask any parent who has been coached by their child to quit smoking, put their cell phones away at dinner or recycle their empty containers.

Social marketers understand that children are strong influencers in families. They areeager to learn and willing to adopt new ideas and new practices that are consistent with the values they learn at home. As a society we often leverage their enthusiasm to gently shift prevailing social attitudes. The non-smoking movement is a case in point.

Supporting environmental education that’s fun

This summer the Carton Council of Canada (CCC) partnered with the City of Vaughan in Ontario and Quebec-based Reseau Environnement’s Tri-logique program to deliver environmental education programs focused on teaching good recycling practices to children.

The Tri-logique program engaged 36 municipalities with a combined population of 400,000 between May 7 and August 10, an increase of 125% over last year. Under the theme “Sorting, makes sense!”, five outreach officers delivered 59 presentations throughout Quebec, in schools, day camps and at public events.

In Vaughan three libraries hosted a waste diversion basketball activity that attracted 372 participants at 10 events this summer. Response to the game was very positive with one youngster observing: “Now I know what goes where and I can do it at home.” One parent took a picture of the game because he was thinking he’d like to make one for his home.

The CCC provided both programs with support, including promotional banners, as well as stickers and tattoos for participants, adding to the fun and education.

Investing in young Canadians offers the promise that, as they grow and become more fully engaged in our society, they will associate the good practices they adopted as youngsters with positive experiences. And recycling should be one of them.

One of our biggest challenges and most important roles has always been educating consumers about how to recycle.

Recycling programs world-wide are in the process of adjusting to the effects China’s stricter regulations for recycled materials has had on global markets. Because contamination is a cost centre for programs already under pressure from current market conditions, we are asking consumers to be more particular about what they put into their blue box and how they prepare it for collection.

Quite recently I became aware of a municipality that removed cartons from the materials accepted in their Blue Box program. They had been instructed to do so by their processor, who thought it was necessary for these common containers to be rinsed by consumers in order to find a recycling home for them. Not so, I explained to both the municipality and their processor. Cartons just need to be emptied before they are collected. With the facts in hand, this municipality will consider including cartons in their program again.

The belief cartons must be rinsed – not just emptied – often comes up in discussions with industry stakeholders. While rinsed cartons make for a more pleasant recycling experience at home and in recycling facilities, it is left-over product that jeopardizes the recyclability of cartons and other containers. The distinction between empty and rinsed and the need to ensure there is no residual product remaining (as opposed to the requirement to rinse the carton) is important to communicate, especially in schools, where rinsing containers is logistically challenging.

Keeping consumers informed of adjustments to local recycling programs is time-consuming and costly. So, it’s important to ensure we share correct information when we communicate with them. Staying in touch with materials brokers and industry associations is one way of ensuring your community and your program are in line with market conditions and that you can achieve the highest value for your efforts.

Has your recycling program changed as a result of China’s National Sword?
We are interested in knowing how you are coping with changes to global recycling markets and the actions you are taking to keep consumers informed. If you’re open to sharing, please complete the very short (two minutes, tops) SurveyMonkey survey here. I’ll share the results in our fall newsletter.