How much trash do you think a typical person creates in a day? How about in a school? Do you separate and recycle? Did you know that there are certain types of plastics that can and cannot be picked up via Courtenay’s curbside pickup program?
Despite our best efforts, we seem to be generating more trash than ever. You know that it’s important to do your part to reduce, reuse and recycle, but did you know of the project underway at our landfill as part of the Comox Strathcona solid waste management plan?
On Tuesday, October 1, Courtenay Elementary Community School Society invited Tina Willard-Stepan, an environmental educator with Comox Strathcona Waste Management to give a talk on the Comox Valley landfill project and offer tips on how to we can reduce what we throw out.
The surprise of the night came when participants helped conduct a waste audit on a single bag of school trash. The bag initially weighed 5.6 kg, but was separated into what was recyclable, reuseable (some perfectly good pencils and crayons were in the bag), compostable, and what should go in the landfill. Of the 5.6 kg of trash, only 500 g should have gone to the landfill!
With reducing our waste in mind, all participants took part in making “unpackaged” no-bake granola bars and energy balls. These snacks are perfect for a lunch. Not only are they nutritious and filling, they are cheap and reduce the amount of trash that ends up in the landfill.
It was an excellent workshop: educational, eye-opening, and delicious. Be sure to download the attached PDF handout for more information on the landfill and the recipes for the snacks.