The Kootenay Co-op resumed its bring your own containers bulk service. The very next day, I went shopping with containers to test it out. Good feeling!
– sliced meats and on Friday, whole chickens (meat department)
– anything from the cafe, including a drink in your mug
– more coming.
I bought some chocolate, some hair conditioner, sandwich meat, and a coffee to test. I also brought extra jars and my cloth bag. I ended up with a piece of wax paper with my meat but still much less plastic.
Feeling rusty at bulk shopping?
Bring your own clean glass or plastic containers. No need to buy the fancy expensive ones. Reuse what you have.
Before you put anything in them, weigh your containers. You will find the tare station in the bulk section at the back. Write the weight and the code of your item. That’s it!
Bring wide containers or a funnel. I brought a wide mouth Mason Jar and it was almost too small for the bulk tubes, almost made a mess. Wider is easier.
Check for barcodes
If you reuse food containers like a yogurt container or an empty spice jar, make sure to cross off the barcode with a sharpie, as they get scanned at the till.
Reduce!
Have fun while cutting down containers and packaging! Enjoy buying the amount you really need and reduce food waste!
Life is fast-paced! Part of our low waste revolution includes slowing down and making choices, setting priorities, and not having everything the day before we want it.
Here’s a list of investments to ease the transition into low waste living:
A water bottle.
Chopsticks or utensil of choice: You’ll be surprised at how many things you can shovel into your gaping mouth hole with two sticks.
A container: If you’re going out to eat, bring a container for your leftovers. Some restaurants offer discounts for this initiative, and if they don’t, please suggest it. I’ve received only compliments anytime I’ve done this so get ready to feel like the King/Queen that you are!
COVID dependant pro-tip: Use a container to buy cheese and meats at delis.
Bulk containers: Dish soap, shampoo, hand/body soap bars, dry goods, beans, spices, nuts, condiments, tofu, dips, spreads, cheese, etc. Ask your local grocery store to stock options you wish to see. The beauty of bulk is that you can buy a little and see if you like it or not. If that isn’t a YOLO move, I don’t know what is.
(COVID dependant) Mesh bulk bags: Use em’ for fruits and veg, for bread from bakeries, for bulk nuts, pretzels, and corn nuts, for chocolate covered almonds and candy, for flour, cocoa powder, and spices, etc.
Fruits and veggies not wrapped in plastic: You just tried chard for the first time, and it was great? That was easy.
Recycled toilet paper: Le duh. And less of it!
Organic food: My mom always says, “Pay for it now or pay for it later.” It’s worth every cent knowing you’re feeding your body to the best of your abilities. I spend about $400 on high-quality organic groceries every month which is about $13/day, for 3 meals and countless snacks (I’m a big, hungry, active gal)! Good luck beating that with 7/11 grab and go’s.
Food from farmers, if you can: support local, eat in season, reduce transportation.
Pick textiles carefully: Share clothes or do thrifty shops. When buying new, pay some attention to the materials used and opt for hemp, organic cotton, recycled polyester (made from water bottles), etc.
“Crystal Wash” or “Eco Egg”: Reusable laundry balls can be used for up to +1000 washes and work out to as low as $1-$4/year for about 30 years of clean clothes if you do laundry once a week (but you don’t cause you nasty). I have yet to try Tru Earth detergent strips which seem like a lovely alternative.
Freeze your own food: Homemade burgers, sauces, corn, berries, bananas.Pro-tip: peel and chop bananas, freeze, remove and blend with cocoa powder and maple syrup, SHAZAM you made yourself a healthy ice cream
Make broth from scraps: Keep scraps from onion, garlic, carrot, celery, pepper, and tomato without the tops, herbs, bones, and more in the freezer and make a huge batch of free broth which is shelf-stable when properly pressure cooked. Or can and keep them in the fridge
Walk, bike, and use public transportation: I promise your ass will be so firm!
Wrap gifts in old paper, newspaper, tax paper, whatever paper, just please stop with the wrapping paper.
Read the resin code: A. Find out what numbers can and cannot be recycled in your community. B. Avoid products wrapped in plastics not accepted in your local recycling program. Buying in glass jars is always best if possible. Wash EVERYTHING before recycling, ALWAYS, like no exceptions, sister.
Read and understand the ingredients: Boycott Monsanto and Nestle by stepping away from the high fructose corn syrup and modified corn starch and say goodbye to the palm oil if it’s not RSPO while you’re at it. We talk about these super corporations destroying our planet yet we keep buying their products. It’s time to put our money where our mouth is.
BONUS
Set aside one day a week to GYLT: “Get Your Life Together.” Seriously y’all: do your laundry, meal prep, make homemade snacks and food, read a book, call a loved one. Slow down, make choices, and set priorities.
Though most importantly, just keep trying, failing, and learning. Know that you are amazing for even reading to the end of this list.
This blog post is part of a series written on waste management in Nelson. The objective is to understand where and how to deal with waste and where it ends up.
The Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) joined Recycle BC (RBC) to offer a new recycling depot program that launched in June 2020. With upgraded equipment, the Nelson recycling depot is now accepting a wider variety of materials.
Source: recyclebc.ca
The RDCK Resource Recovery Technician, Travis Barrington, describes the new recycling program and its challenges and successes. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What do you do in your position?
The Resource Recovery Technician’s mission is to increase opportunities for diversion for residents of the RDCK. The main feature is the depot recycling program, which had a few changes this year. The other aspects are the household hazardous waste events, as well as working with other extended producer responsibility groups, such as the bottle, paint, and electronics recycling. We are working to increase access to these services. How is the RDCK working with RBC?
The RDCK runs the depots using its own staff to ensure items are being sorted correctly, while Recycle BC collects the materials to take to processing facilities. What is a simple way to describe the RBC program?
RBC is a stewardship program for the collection and recycling of packaging in BC. The eco-fees that consumers pay at the time of purchase on things such as paint or electronics are used to fund their recycling.
Businesses in BC also pay RBC a fee to pay for the recycling of all the bags, boxes and packaging that their customers take home. This fee is the reason RBC is able to keep our recycling going even in times of plastic bans in China and things like that.
What are some challenges the RDCK has faced since the program debuted last June?
A large number of depots spread over a large area is a major challenge. This includes training and maintaining the staff for these depots and coordinating with our partners for the collection and shipping of materials. Additionally, we underestimated how much people in this area like to recycle. This led to occasional site closures due to shipping constraints at the start of the new program.
Another challenge has been educating users at the sites. Our staff members are doing an excellent job in this respect. People need to get used to a new routine.
Now we have the extra categories, the extra sorting, etc.I totally understand people are busy and when you go to the recycling depot, you just want to drop your stuff off and get out but now we need to take the extra time for sorting, ideally at home.
Photo Credit: Marie-Paule Berthiaume
What are the successes of the program?
The majority of people are happy with the program because they can recycle more, especially styrofoam and plastic bags. A lot of people were waiting for that.
The investments and improvements we have made to our depots have been positive. The sites are much cleaner with onsite staff. There is less litter on the ground, there is less contamination, less garbage.
The new equipment and everything we ordered came out looking really good. All the attention that is going to the sites makes it look more professional; a place where you want to go and recycle and feel like you are making a difference. Do you have some waste management advice for Nelson residents?
A common comment is that our recycling system is complex. However, it’s because the items that we buy are complex.
It starts at the store. For example, with groceries, you have boxes, plastics, metal, Tetra Paks and all these things. I know that it is not always possible to buy the simplest packaging but that is a good way to simplify your recycling. Again, another thing is being organized at home. Although it takes more space, having multiple bins at home to sort everything before going to a depot will make things easier.
How does the RDCK program fit within Nelson’s recycling landscape?
The RDCK operates the landfills and recycling depots, while the towns and villages operate their curbside pickup independently. They have to bring their curbside waste to our landfill facilities but their curbside recycling programs are independent from what the district does.
Now the district and all the towns and places with curbside programs are all using RBC for recycling. This has made it a lot easier because we have the same rules as those curbside programs. That is a really big thing and I am really happy with that.
What options do businesses have for their recycling?
Due to our isolated area, recycling options for private business are limited. RBC is very helpful for our residential recycling because we get the benefit of their network of big haulers and transporters that can take the material back to the lower mainland. However, RBC is not responsible for commercial recycling therefore businesses cannot rely on their transportation network. We only have two big haulers in our area that can service businesses, Alpine and Waste Management, but they are expensive because we are remote.
The big challenge is to get the material you collect to a place where it can be recycled.
In Nelson, there is the additional challenge of the small alleys and compact streets downtown. Many of the businesses do not have room for a big recycling bin. There is a bin available for business cardboard recycling at the Nelson depot and it is very busy and popular. We saw there was a gap there and we offered that as a kind of compromise service for them.
Is there a plan for adding options for businesses?
Businesses have been vocal about wanting more service. However, currently RBC’s mandate is only to collect residential packaging. That allows residents to recycle but not businesses. This has been a problem for other districts as well.
We have been lobbying RBC to add commercial recycling.
As RBC already has the network of haulers and facilities, it only makes sense for them to add commercial recycling versus creating a whole new separate network for it. Due to Covid-19 these plans have been pushed aside for now. If RBC does decide to include commercial recycling, it will take a while to implement.
Is the RDCK doing anything to pressure companies to simplify their packaging?
The RDCK and even Recycle BC are such small entities in the overall scheme of recycling in North America. Therefore, we cannot have much impact until there are more similar programs to put direct pressure on companies. The best we can do at the local level is demanding simpler packaging and utilizing reusable containers.
The RDCK could be doing more to promote simpler packaging and the use of reusable containers in its messaging. Reducing before even getting to recycling. I think we have that kind of mentality here already, there are a lot of places you can go for groceries and food that will let you bring your own containers, this year being an exception.
However, when that option does come back, I think we are well set up and I know that there are a few local champions that are behind that. For example, I buy all my coffee from a local roaster, I bring a jar in and he fills it. Over four years, I have saved almost 200 bags of coffee. This is definitely a thing we the RDCK could be promoting more. I think we are in an area that really embraces that type of action.
After a quiet inward winter followed by a COVID-19 spring adjustment, Slimmer Waste is re-emerging and nothing better to do it on the beautiful Earth Day.
Like many of you, Life did change a lot since mid-March going from figuring out the new normal for a while to keeping eyes wide open about the Earth and going back to slowing everything down. It is now time to reconnect.
Less garbage in Nelson these days
Hmmm, well not easy right now. I thought about it a lot lately.
Shopping is a lot different with social distancing, many stores closed, no bulk, no reusable cup and bags, and so on. I figure it’s now time to focus on the 5-R’s with new eyes.
1-Refuse: refuse to give up hope. Refuse to stress out. Time to be really creative (especially with a 6yrs old in the house full time while working from home).
2- Reduce: reduce all my travel, my big projects, my goals. Time to chill out and enjoy what is. Time to enjoy the weather, the lake, the forest, the connections with friends and family, and simple meals.
3-Reuse: oh yeah! Reuse is amazing right now in the house. As we are spending lots of time inside, almost everything has the potential to be reused and not just from the recycling bin to make craft projects. Reuse smaller clothing and transform in a doll blanket, reuse a large sheet to create a hammock with the kitchen table (so cool). Not only reuse but USE any little thing we have in the house, those books to observe animal tracks and birds, all the music instruments, all the seeds in the garden, all the unusual spaces, all the games and puzzles, all the food in the cupboards. We all have so much!
4-Recycle: Recycle my thoughts about was is true, what can I do, what should I let go, and actually do those little things and let go of all those little things. How come letting go is so hard at first? What a relief to let go. Recycle my goals. How to become a normal, not a super mom, worker, blogger while attending to her needs in those days to get more alone time. Recycling my thoughts is a pure gift right now and it’s working!
5-Rot: Compost is so amazing. I see the forest differently now. I see the beautiful way the nature compost and regrow. It takes a long process and a long time with certain conditions. How can I apply this to myself? I let the winter (perfect time for me) to compost my rhythm, the story I think I have, what is good, what is not for the planet, and let it sit a long time until I felt the growth of a little something and then today, I celebrate and RE-EMERGE! Happy Earth Day!
Earth Day Gifts
Uplifting FREE documentary
REUSE! Because You Can’t Recycle The Planet. (Official Full Documentary)
If you ask my family and friends back East to describe me when I was younger in one word, they would say green, Lyne the green girl.
In 1995, I studied ecological waste management. I worked for a Montreal Ecosociety and my job was to help businesses on Mont-Royal street reduce their waste. I was mostly introducing recycling as it was a new concept for everyone. If you ask my family and friend at that time they would say: green with a grunt, as they were resisting recycling.
Many years later, I saw a video of a mother holding a glass jar, claiming this was the family garbage for one year. Uh…I was completely puzzled. How could this even BE possible? The woman didn’t inspire me that day but a zero waste seed stayed in me. It was now me, the green girl, resisting a new concept.
Later, I saw many disturbing videos about tons of plastic floating in the ocean, animals dying, filled with or caught up in plastic, beaches covered in plastic. I cried. I felt how big the problem was. I HAD to have less plastic in my family life. I decided to start the zero waste journey along with creating this blog. This is where the fun began!
