We Learned...We Grew...We Evolved

Was trying to get to inbox zero - a never-ending task, no less - in doing so, I stumbled across an email from my friend who always has such lovely things to say and his words always leave me feeling at ease ... I want to share with you what he shared with me, and upon asking he said I could use and disperse as needed. 

For some context - earlier we had met for a bulk blueberry exchange and a walk - a pretty standard occurrence - our talk reminded me of a quote from the book I'd been reading which I later shared with him via email once home. 

//The present suggests, but doesn't predict because we can't see all the factors in play. 

A lot can change between measurement and outcome. 

Saying you don't know doesn't deny the data, but it does allow you to release your convictions, widen your frame, see more options, head in a better direction, or slow down.

Understanding that even if my facts are correct my interpretations are not certainties liberated me to hope in a very new and invigorating way. 

I don't know how things will turn out. I don't know if what I'm doing will make much of a difference.

But I know that life hopes, and if I chose to hope, to stand in hope, to BE hope, then I am headed where life naturally wants to go.// 

And here was his response, among our other musings via email, and it makes me smile inside, so I wanted to share it with you :)

I was thinking about this on my walk this morning.

12 hours ago, it was dark and 15'C.

Now, it's sunny and 25'C.

At this rate, in 10 days, it will will so bright and hot,

it will cook everything and everyone.

But alas, nature adjusts and changes,

and night falls again.

The day after the Hiroshima bomb, one could have said:

"At the current rate, we will eliminate the entire world

population in 50 years."

But we learned, we grew, we evolved.

I think the hope is that the desire to survive

is unstoppable in the human species.

My grandparents saved and re-used everything.

My parents threw it all in the landfill.

And I have gone back to re-using, fixing and simplifying.

My children will probably improve on it again.

Everything we do, as individuals, as nations,

has something to do with ensuring our survival ...

From eating a salad to international energy conferences.

And every day, we are tweaking, and adjusting our survival plan.

 It's a good reminder that we must not judge so harshly what we are doing for we simply can only do our best and we can't underestimate the ripple effects, and natures (including us) ability and drive to thrive. Let's see where we go. 

Homemade Soap - Updates

One of the best workshops I attended was a soap making course put on by Homesteaders Emporium. It was an evening workshop and it gave me all the confidence (lye can be scary...and I respect it very much) and skills I needed to make my own soap! 

This was near the end of 2013 if I remember correctly. Below are photos from my most recent batch (batch #3). This time, I did the cold process, but didn't add anything - just left it as is to harden into mold (see below). It has a bit of a green tint to it and I'm not entirely sure why....perhaps the olive oil since it's yellow-ish but I have not yet looked it up.

Then, I grated it down, re-melted it on a double boiler and added essential oils, and spices for colour! All direct from nature :)

 Actually, I first tried to melt without the double boiler, and I added too much water (because I didn't want it to burn/stick) and it was a foamy mess! But, still turned out okay (see below) just a bit more water in it so it will take a while to "set" and be ready for use.

This is a minty bar (though it looks a bit fruity!), peppermint, spearmint, tea tree
...plus ground oatmeal/bran/clove.

I could use it now but...it's soft and would disintegrate within a few uses....so I'd rather wait and prolong its life.

 I used old almond milk/hemp milk containers as molds and they worked great! #upcycling  and a container I had lying around (made with silicone) - not actually a huge fan of it for food so glad I can use it for soap making! 

A few more pictures of the process.

This has rose flowers (which were rescued on their way to landfill)
plus essential oils of jasmine, ylang ylang, and patchouli. 

Tumeric is what I used to get this colour!

I added poppy seeds to the yellow one for exfoliant awesomness (they were poppy seeds I rescued from their way to the landfill, so it seemed like a good fit!) The scents in it are tea tree, lemon grass and a bit of patchouli. 

I actually had help in making a video while doing the cold process - and at some point I will edit it and perhaps post it online....it was made for my cousin, and is super low key....but maybe will be helpful. 

Swap Shelf 101 - Sharing and keeping stuff out of the landfill - WIN WIN!

What do you do when you find a perfectly good shelf in the alley, whilst walking home from work? 

....And when you've been racking your brain for months on how to have a good system so that people waste less...and give/share more? 

Why you implement a SWAP SHELF - that's what! 

Found these in the Landfill bin...all still perfectly usable - heart breaking...but it was time to no longer sit by idly as I watch people toss perfectly good stuff! While diverting this..my head was racing.

......found in bin - once destined for landfill

I was a bit weary because I had been burned in the past....I tried to start something similar before, a year or so ago....and was met with a bit of opposition i.e. someone ripped my sign down, still unsure where it went....so perhaps a bit more than a bit of opposition.

This was my first attempt - perhaps a bit too much writing....
and there was never any shelf set up...
I had placed the sign on wall, to the right of the landfill bin.

But I figured, it was worth another shot, and I finally reached the point where the pain of not doing it and watching what goes into landfill was now greater than the pain of being shut down when I had tried before. 

So I figured, I'd take what I learned, and make it different this time, and hopefully people will use it and benefit from it.

This time I decided to keep it short, and sweet....but with my verbose nature ...it was hard to keep it simple. After a few iterations, I opted for this....a play on "have a penny leave a penny.." that reminds me of my childhood and sharing our cents to make peoples lives easier at the check-out. :)

The sign on the right placed on the door to the "recycle room" (formerly know as "waste room" and renamed (not officially but I refer to it as this)....by yours truly...language is important....many subtleties) - it lets people know if they have stuff - they have THREE options 1) Swap Shelf 2) Location of nearest thrift shop (5 min walk, if that) 3) Diabetes Association - Clothesline Program (offering free pick-ups!) 

Minutes after it's set up....the stuff on here is all stuff I found in the bin....but soon enough (same day and day after)...the items change! 

Yay!! Someone added their boots! 

Some items gone, some more items placed....a beautiful ebb and flow
 - keeping it out of the landfill low and our hearts full! 

If you have any questions or want to chat about starting something like this in your building....I'd be happy to help! 

Soon we will have electronics recycling, battery recycling, light bulbs, and soft plastics....can't wait! It's been a looooooooong time coming. But sometimes, things can only work best when the people are ready to have them.... it's a bit of an ebb and flow itself. 

I'm feeling super grateful for the positive feedback both verbally from folks in building, including our security staff, and in action (by placing and taking items), I've received.... yes to everyone! 

Giving your shoes a new life, and keeping them in circulation - drop them off at Quick Cobbler instead of the garbage!!

We all get to a point where our shoes  have so many rips/holes they simply can no-longer be worn.

But what happens if we're unable to repair it ourselves or with the local repair groups ( here in Vancouver we have....Vancouver Fix It Collective & Repair Matters)? Donating them is of course not an option since they are not really wearable at this point (at least for me). And more often than not, paying to have them repaired costs more than the shoes! What do we do?

I'm a huge fan of fixing....ourselves, but supposing we simply don't have the time or whatever else may be the case.

Are they destined for the landfill???

Nope! (phew!)

If you are close to Vancouver BC, you can take them to the Quick Cobbler - when you walk in you'll see a black round container that says "Shoes for Donation" (Or something like that) on it.

Quick Cobbler
Located at 430 W 2nd Ave
unceded coast salish territory
604.682.6354

Place them in there, and they will mend them then donate them.

This is a win win because it allows their staff to get practice, and train, it gives shoes a new life - keeping them in circulation for those who want/need them, and it keeps stuff out of landfill.

I'm a big fan of Win-Wins! :)

Don't live nearby? Call around to your local shoe repairs and see if they might like to implement this awesome initiative!

Jars over corn.....single use disposable musings at #VanFolkFest2015

Naturally, I was super stoked to see this sign upon first arriving to the Vancouver Folk Music Festival  this year.... and further stoked to see the actual volunteers (not shown in current photo), at each "nutrient station" helping folks put their stuff in right bin (getting them out of that auto-pilot-must-put-in-garbage mode).  I'm super grateful for those lovely beings who helped out and dedicated their time to stand out in the heat of the day helping people manage their items deemed no longer usable. THANK-YOU! :)

I also want to add a disclaimer, in case it's not evident through my words, that what I'm about to say is merely to raise awareness, and discussion, and food for thought - it is not to point fingers, or make people feel crappy because we have enough of that in this world....and what we need now is to find ways to work together. This isn't about bad-mouthing the folk fest, I love Folk Fest...it's about furthering a conversation, around waste in this instance ( there's actually a few other items I wanted to talk about too with Folk Fest too...) so that we can be together, pamoja, and improve our systems more and more, with the more information/experience/emotion we gain!

I will also say, coodos to having implemented the policy of not selling ANY bottled water this year at folk fest and encouraging folks to bring their own bottle and having ample fill-up stations with healthy, Vancouver water - tested way more frequently than bottled water anyhow.

I was a bit surprised, though, that "landfill" was an option, considering zero waste really means....zero waste...and the images depicted within that red area on the bottom right, all have homes....

1. Bringing your own re-useable cup/mug/jar/multipurpose anything
2. Bringing your own re-usable bag (why are plastic bags not banned GLOBALLY yet, by golly!)
3. Misc wrappers....ok, well this one I'm a bit conflicted about because I think that this stuff that comes wrapped in foil lined plastic should simply be banned, and we should have to go back to the drawing board to design packaging like nature #naturehasnowaste, packaging like....a Banana Peel, or an Egg Shell - both good at protecting what's inside from keeping it fresh, (egg shell even longer!), and will decompose at a natural rate...and give back to the earth when it does.... Nature...you are so smart. 

The festival also had a receptacle for cups! so the cups on the landfill portion of the Zero-Hero sign was confusing....

At my work we talk a lot about having clear, consistent messaging with regards to recycling, and I can see why.... either the Zero-Hero folks didn't talk to the Festival Guide folks, or it was a matter of re-using signage....which is of course, great to re-use! because re-using for the win....but communication between areas would have saved a lot of confusion.... even as simple as, covering up the coffee cup with this image.... and/or also encourage bringing ones own mug... and/or maybe just covering up the landfill part all together ;) pack it in, pack it out?

I digress, because my post was actually about what happened when I stepped foot into the beer garden.......and my heart broke a little....

Rewind a few hours....

At home preparing to head off to Jericho Beach....running through my relatively automatic series of ponderings on what to bring based on what I may encounter that day.....ensuring I have my cutlery, a container, coffee mug, water bottle etc - most of this already in my bag so no biggie...but then I remembered the potential for beer in the beer garden.....beers on a nice summer day whilst watching music is always a fantastical treat.

"Beer Gardens"...., I proclaimed......"We will need our own cups!" ....

Though shortly thereafter an emotion of dread and pain in my heart came over me....they won't let us use our own cups... :(

Flooded with many a memory of beer gardens past ....having been denied a brew in my own cup, rejected, as the line behind me of impatient-beer-seekers increased....pushing me along, scoffing at my silly ways. . . it hurts a little inside each time, but I have to keep trying..that keeps me sane.

Well, this year may be different! I thought, somewhat hesitantly and not really believing my words....It's folk fest, after all! .....they are more chill, aware, vocal about waste.... and whatever else...so we grabbed two cups, added it to the rest of our items and went on our way....though a fear inside me lingered....worried for what I would encounter later, when I would try to use my own cup.

I'm sure you can guess what happened, because I likely wouldn't be writting this big thing had it gone the way I had hoped.

We got out tickets and handed them to the woman behind the counter, explaining that...we brought our own cups, can we use them? :D

She said....no

She went through the series of reasons that are actually not reasons at all (namely Health Canada....but we know that's not true, Jenn and Grant taught us that)...and justifications on why it's "ok" or not that bad at all to use single-use disposables (it's corn, and they decompose!!).

"Yes.. but... we're right by the ocean! And look at all the cups!! "....does no-one see the connection?!?! Piles and piles of cups ...all for a beer that lasts a matter of minutes in the hot sun?

Rows and rows of genetically modified corn crops grown for this brief  experience? Chemicals sprayed on the fields, harming not only our lands and soils, but the people whose job it is to spray those harsh toxins, the communities who live by these fields, the animals who drink from the waters, and the lives that have been displaced to make room for more and more could-be-food crops for an ever increasing amount of single-use disposables to be made from something that generates a-little-less-guilt when we use it up......

...to be used to hold one.single.beer, only to be tossed in a matter of minutes.

What struck a bit harder too was the fact that this festival was actually trying.... and yet, such a significant aspect was not being recognized, or deemed appropriate because "We can compost them!!".Which is extremetly short-sighted and not considering the larger picture.

I don't blame anyone....it's easy to buy into the compostable craze... I get it, and yes, it's arguably better than plastic...but what is our end goal here? What are we ultimately comparing it to?

Especially when we use it even more care-free cause we think, it's okay because hey, it isn't plastic? (a little Jevons paradox-y, no?) It gets composted... But we don't know or we don't think about the larger context, and what had to happen in our world to bring that cup into our hand....for one.brief.moment. All the energy and resources that went into making that one cup!

Growing, petrochemicals, transportation, soil depletion, harvesting, more petrochemicals, fossil fuels, more transport, blah blah.... it's insane actually...

It even says "we welcome your own cups" in the festival guide...so clearly there is some mixed messaging - I wish I had seen that prior to trying to order a beer, as I would have had it on hand to show them and re-request my cup be used.... 

Anyway the point of all this isn't to make them feel crappy or point fingers, because that helps no-one. I merely want to raise attention that.... 

We can figure out a method to allow folks to bring their own cups! I know we can!! 

If we allow guests to bring their own water bottles and refill them at their leisure, why can't we have the same system for beers? Sure it would be a bit of a re-jig of a process but ....why not? Isn't it worth it?

They have the return-it plate regime too and so clearly there are ways to use re-usable items in a safe, and fun way.

I will be contacting someone at the festival who deals with waste, to chat about options for next year as I was a bit too late for this year (also these kinds of conversations need to happen with millions of festivals, and it can get overwhelming, so please, join in! It takes all of us!). If anyone reading this knows who to speak to or is someone dealing with waste at the festival directly - please do let me know!

P.S - I don't think we have to re-invent the wheel......other festivals have done this, and places in Europe that are known for their beer festivals serve beer in re-usable mugs...so let's get with the program North America!

And now... for some inspiration....!

Obtained Online - from "Just Add Cheese" Wordpress blog. :)

The Coffee Cup Saga - To Compost, To Recycle, or To Landfill? What is REALLY happening?

I don't buy Starbucks coffee. Yet, I some how get intertwined in figuring out what the heck is going on. 

I do not enjoy their coffee, but more importantly, I do not agree with their practices (how they source their coffee), and their misleading methods and greenwashing - i.e. having bins in their stores to "take-back" their coffee cups, but having them merely end up in the landfill. 

Photo: starbucks.com

So, while these unaware citizens happily place their disposable, plastic ridden, petroleum lined cup in the bin, feeling good because they recycled....the truth is much harder to swallow.

To be fair, it's not just Starbucks, it's all coffee places where they do not have compostable cups but we think somehow they are being dealt with responsibly. 

Of course bringing ones own cup is the best option. But....what I think is scary is thinking we're doing good when we're not doing anything but the same, but only appears different. 

How do we change when we don't even know? When are a blinded and seduced into thinking we are "doing the right thing"? 

How do we get the word out? 

I just played the ol' rigamarole on the phone, being transferred from one person to another, as Starbucks failed to answer my, what I assumed were simple, questions:

1) Where do the cups go that are put in the "take-back" bins that I've seen in stores? 

2) They are meant to be recycled, but are they? 

Below is another exchange I had with them in 2013 but I had one again today, as I look for options for a client that comes into contact with a lot of Starbucks cups. It's frustrating how hard it is to find answers to such seemingly simple questions. Talking to multiple people at head office who are confused and dumbfounded as I ask, again, what I thought were pretty basic questions. 

Why weren't these questions answered from the get-go? As design was taking place? Why was this not on the minds of those who were birthing this? Shouldn't this be the most important thing we consider before we pump a product out into the environment, especially one that's getting consumed so rapidly and being tossed "away"? ....Surprise, there's no "away".

I'd love to tell my client, replace the Starbucks bistro with a local, organic, fair trade alternative....and, you know, I will suggest that...because then, we can be supporting local business, using compostable cups, or heck even refusing to serve in disposable cups - as one brave coffee company did in the US. Much respect their way. 

Maybe they won't take my recommendation, but I sure as heck won't be recommending they put in a bin that "take's back" Starbucks cups, only to then have them dumped into the same bin that garbage is...hauled away by the garbage truck. That's just misleading. 

Why are organizations not held accountable to this? Not liable to this? This is misleading the public. 

Source:Sudhasrinath.blogspot.ca/2010/04/
starbuck-left-me-aloneand-they-say-dotn

Another interesting thing? MMBC now accepts Starbucks (and other) coffee cups in your blue bins as a Metro Vancouver resident (and other areas I believe too). But are they actually being recycled? 

It seems odd to me that they are accepted residentially, but not commercially. Why are they not accepted commercially? Because no recycling facilities exist. But recycling facilities, whether for commercial or residential are all the same - all stuff comes to the same spot...so what is going on? What is  actually happening? I have my ideas, but plan to find out for certain. 

What I do know is, we really need to stop blindly enforcing rules, and actually start asking questions, and following through on those.....what's the point otherwise? 

It is my goal to research this further, look deep into it, and ask more questions - ask the companies, ask the haulers, ask our city councillors and other people involved in these regulations and mandates....do they realize how they play out in the "real world"? 

You can help too! Start asking questions, if you've already been asking them, great! Ask more! Or ask your friends to ask, too....! I don't think it's possible to ever ask enough questions (and that goes for all things in life, by the way). 

Pop into a Starbucks and see if they know what happens to the cups? Then share what you find out. 

Tweet @Starbucks and @RecyclingInBC @MultimaterialBC - ask them what's going on.

Gotta get the word out...... To be continued. 

Email response from CSR at Starbucks - Click to enlarge

If you can't read it in the image, here it is transcribed: 

Greetings Jocelynn!

Thank you for contacting Starbucks.

Thank you for your interest in our recycling processes.  Our disposable hot cups are made out of 10% post consumer recycled fiber for hot cupsused in the U.S and Canada.  I'm not sure if the wax lining is petroleum based or vegetable based, but the hot cups do contain an inner polyethylene lining which offers the side and bottom seam seal when heated.

As for your inquiry about the disposable cups being compostable or not, our cups are not rated as compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute or Cedar Grove Composting.  However, in some areas local composters will accept our hot cups even though they have a plastic coating.  Your best bet would be to ask your local composting hauler to confirm if they will accept them or not.  Clean cold cups may be accepted for commercial and/or residential recycling, but again, please check with your local hauler for confirmation.

Regarding the actual recycling process, and what the cups eventually become as the end result of the recycling process, we generally have no control over that aspect.  Most of our stores are located in shared spaces like malls, where it is often the landlord who controls waste collection and recycling, not Starbucks.  For more information on this please visit  http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/environment/recycling.

Thanks again for writing us.  If you ever have any questions or concerns in the future, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

We would love to hear your feedback. Click here to take a short survey.

Sincerely,

Shana G

customer service

Received: 7/25/13 8:55:00 PM MDT
To: <info@starbucks.cust-serv.com>
Subject: Corporate social responsibility

Hi,I'm both personally interested, and on the green team at work and have a few people ask me every now and again at work....and in general, I've been having this conversation/debate with people for a while now... I'm hoping someone can provide me with the answers! It is with regards to your disposable cups! 1) what are they made of? i.e. a % of post-consumer recycled paper, and new paper, and is the wax lining petroleum based or vegetable based? 2) this leads me to my next question which is - can they be composted? My rule was "if you can rip it, you can compost it" ...I can rip starbucks cups... so I've been composting them, BUT not in my own place, I compost by taking my stuff to a drop spot (I have a worm compost too but, the cups don't make it in there)...so I have not yet had a chance to see if there is any plasitcy residual upon composting... can you provide any insight? 3) lastly - what do you do with the cups you recycle in your stores - i.e. those blue bins you've put out, where it notes the cups get recycled - could I please have information on what that process is? how they are recycled, where they are recycled, and what the end recycled product is? Thank-you!

Hide the garbage cans - the rest will follow aka 100% ZERO-WASTE Events

YEAR 1 (for me) - 2013

The Neighbour Savour IV Potluck was set to occur October 8, 2013 from 6-9pm. This year, I noticed that in the event write-up, the words Zero Waste appeared, that of course caught my eye! I was delighted to attend, especially because I saw the words "Zero-Waste" appear in the title.

I was excited to see how the evening would unfold, and how zero-waste would be approached - as the concept can have varied meanings for many people.

There were re-usable cutlery, ceramic plates, glasses, and mugs - a sure sign we were off to a good start. But then it came time for clearing the plates. I realized quickly that there was no spot for compost and my heart broke. I quickly decided I'd convert the glass container I brought my potluck item in (as it was now empty), into a compost holder, surely we wouldn't have that much assuming none of us were wasting food on our plates!

Unfortunately, someone thought that was a dirty bowl that needed washing, depite the sign next to it which read "Compost", dumped it in the garbage, and proceeded to take it to the kitchen. I had walked away and was cleaning up other stuff so I was not there to witness this or of course I would have explained the situation. But as I walked up to check on the scene, this is when I noticed my bowl was gone, and there was a lot headed into the garbage!

Asking people if they knew where it went, or what was going on, I was matched with looks of confusion and chaos as if I was speaking a different language. This confused me utterly because generally folks at a Village Vancouver event, especially one with Zero-Waste in its title would be more aware than most....

Long story short - I ended up taking the garbage  bag home with me (and to be fair, 1 big black garbage bag for 200+ people isn't so bad but....of course we can do better!)....and sorted it at home.

My roommate certainly wondered what the heck I was doing but she knew me well enough by now to not be too shocked to see me walk in the door with garbage - most people leave their front door with garbage.... I like to do things a little different. Actually I don't like it.....because it is the result of humanity being on auto-pilot, and of course it's entirely unsustainable for me to take garbage home, sort it, and clean the recyclables (waste water, no less)  that have been soiled with food waste.

Here are some pictures, diversion rate after I was done with it? 100%....

For comparison sake, what's Metro Vancouver's diversion rate, you ask?

The stats I have, as at the most recent Sustainability Breakfast in Dec 2014, showed a current diversion rate of 60%, which they would like to be at 70% by 2015 (I guess that's this year...felt a lot further away in December 2014), and 80% by 2020.

While it sounds admirable, I say...we can do better Metro Vancouver! Why not aim for 100%? Even if we don't reach it, isn't it better to have a goal of 100%? I think so! And 100% IS possible, I live it every day (so do the other members of the collective house I'm living in), and we did it at these events, too.  Photo evidence, below...it IS possible!

This was the bag that came back home with me. We rode the bus together, along with my friend Peter. A great zero-waste ally. 

Boo was my little helper. She is a zero-waste kitty warrior. :)

This is showing the contents now diverted, bag emptied (was washed to be re-used, as you can see foodbits in the bottom), and the food waste to the right, which was taken to the compost. 

Had this all been sorted before it hit the "garbage", it would not have required as much washing - which is of course why proper set-up is key!

 Here's what we ended up with when all was said and done.

Here is everything that was generated at the event - so all in all a very small load which is great! In large thanks to the re-usable dishware/cutlery. But ALL of it can be diverted from landfill, 100% diversion rate. The plastics/foil-lined/unnumbered hard plastics, and numbers that city doesn't take went to Pacific Mobile Depot through Village Vancouver monthly plastic drop-spot, The remainder composted and that's about it!  

YEAR 2 - 2014 - Better Equip, Lessons Learned

The following year, Neighbour Savour V, and I was ready. I contacted the crew and let them know I'd take the reigns to create and manage a zero waste station. I know what we went through last year, and I didn't want the same thing to occur.

Having these re-usable plates and cutlery is incredibly key! (We did have these last year, too!)

Got there early, and set-up shop, having the help of my good friend was incredibly useful too, her and I sat there a good portion of the night and helped people sort their materials into the proper bins. I also went back and forth into the kitchen to explain that soft plastics with food had to be first rinsed/washed before we could recycle them.

The ultimate step 1? Hide all garbages.  I can't stress this enough. When people cannot find the garbage then they start to think "what can I do with this?" They usually find a better solution to the auto-pilot garbage bag toss. We have become so accustomed to tossing stuff that when a garbage is present, even if it's next to a recycling bin and a compost bin, it will, more often than not, end up in the garbage....we get on auto-pilot, too many other things running through our minds. I get it. So just hide the garbage cans and it will save you a tonne of frustrations and grief.

Our zero-waste station. My friend and I sat on either side, and helped people when they came with materials to renew. 

I made signs for the station, but I made signs in other places too - the bathroom, for paper towel (ideally we'd have a re-usable towel roll, or mini hand towels but we worked with what we had).

This was in the upstairs bathroom (the only one I thought existed until mid-way)

Where the garbage used to be, I put this sign as I figured folks may have remembered from last year a garbage here. 

Shhh, don't tell: Garbages were sill around, (in the below photo they are at the very back and to the left), but no-one will search that hard for a garbage....however, just in case.... I put a little sign on it. Gotta play it safe. 

Garbages hidden? Check

It wasn't until mid-way through, as people started showing up, I learned there was another bathroom, downstairs, this time, genders were seperated. So, I made some signs, ensured the men's was clear and replaced the garbage with the compost collector. :) Phew, close call!

 So - what did we end up with?

City recycling (blue bin, and yellow bag), compost (green and white buckets), and one bucket of soft plastics/foil-lined recycling to go to Pacific Mobile Depot. I was able to take the recycling, and compost as I was living super close to the hall at the time, and Ross was able to take the soft plastics. Thanks Ross! 

A BIG thank-you to everyone who attended the event, used the system in place, and participated in a zero-waste potluck. We couldn't have done it without you! 

200+ people served. 

ZERO-WASTE. 

That's how it's done, yo, that's how it's done. 

Here are some other photos from the Green Party Gala - 2014 Fundraiser; also a zero-waste event. Warms my heart! :) Especially nice to meet and work with the event coordinator who was equally as passionate and dedicated to zero waste as I am - what a treat! 

Garbages? Hidden

Diversion Rate? 100%

...And, of course, Elizabeth May - doing her thing. :)