Compost Crusaders: VCH staff reduce waste sent to the landfill.
Compost Crusaders: Organic Diversion – Growing City
A progressive group of Green+Leaders working in Employee Engagement at 601 West Broadway, have made a big dent in the amount of waste their office sends to the landfill.
Now in its third year of existence, Green+Leaders Delia Bortignon, Katerina Iliakis and Kevin MacDuff, spearheaded this project that has resulted in 55 VCH staff turning their food scraps into black gold. The Growing City compost bin is sleek and discrete, sitting in the small staff kitchen collecting approximately 60kg of compostable waste per month – a full bin each week. The bin is collected and thoroughly cleaned once a week and all involved report that there are no issues with odour or fruit flies.
Each month, they receive a fact sheet that lets them know exactly how much waste and CO2e they have diverted – so far, over 134 weeks they have diverted food scraps, coffee grounds, paper towel (which can all go into the compost) equivalent to 168 mountain bikes, or 309 push mowers, or 503 watermelons! That is a lot of compost.
Logistics
Support for the program comes from the executive level and is made successful by staff participation. Anne Harvey, Vice President of Employee Engagement has been very supportive of the program. “It’s a shared effort,” says Delia Bortignon, “and we are learning all the time.”
Signs, humorous graphics and informative materials are posted around the kitchen, ensuring that everyone knows what can and cannot be composted and recycled. The recycling streams are clearly labeled, with an additional cork board to display updates and extra information, tips and facts.
Reducing Waste
The group at 601 have created such a streamlined system that hardly anything heads to the landfill. Milk cartons, batteries, foil, containers, paper, food scraps and a more, are all recycled. There is hardly any real garbage at the end of a week. It’s fair to say that the Green+Leader’s “Materials & Waste Reduction” campaign is a part of their workplace culture.
You can read how Kevin MacDuff inspired change and built community with his “One-Less-Cup” campaign in the “GreenCare Heroes” section of the BCGreenCare.ca site. Log-on to read the full story: https://bcgreencare.ca/heroes
Want to learn more about reducing waste and the Green+Leaders program?
Please join us in the quest to transform health care into a more environmentally-responsible sector focused on both human and environmental health. Take a moment to check out our vision and read stories like this on the GreenCare Community website .
We would love to hear your feedback and comments. As well, if you want to find out more and start your own composting program, check-out the story on BCGreenCare.ca for more details.
If you are interested in the Green+Leader program, click here https://bcgreencare.ca/program/greenleaders or contact olive.dempsey@fraserhealth.ca for information about resources and training dates.
For more information on recycling options in VCH leased and acute sites, visit https://bcgreencare.ca/program/recycling-renewal-program