Since the 1950’s 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been generated globally. Only 23% of those plastics have been recycled, and it is estimated another 12 billion tonnes of plastic will end up in the landfill by 2050.

About 40% of all waste produced at RRC is diverted from the landfill through reuse, recycling or composting. This is our chance to mindfully take a look at our behaviors, actions and habits and evaluate what we are doing well and what we need to change.

Join in on our events this Waste Reduction Week to learn more about yourself and your consumption habits, and make some easy changes with a BIG impact. RRC offers a variety of waste reduction programs available to all staff, faculty and students, so take a look and make sure you’re using them all!

Here are a list of the events happening:

Get Caught in The Act – Use your Reusables!

Monday, October 22 – Friday October 28^th | Mystery | NDC & EDC

Get Caught in the Act reducing your waste by using reusable materials such as reusable cutlery, water bottles, coffee mugs, bags or containers, and WIN! The Sustainability Office will be trolling the NDC and EDC hallways between Monday October 22 and Friday October 26 waiting to catch you using your reusable items and handing out some great prizes. But why wait, start now! #CaughtInTheActMB

Zero Waste Challenge – Live Waste Free for a Week!

Monday, October 22^nd |Registration 11:00 – 12:00 pm | Library Hallway (NDC)

Do you know how much waste you create a day? Challenge yourself and your colleagues and try to do everything you can to live as waste free as possible and collect ALL your waste generated on campus in ONE jar for a week. Register and enter to win both a great prize pack AND office bragging rights. Here’s how it works:

1. Register at our Zero Waste Challenge table and receive your free mason jar and be entered to win a great waste free prize pack. Use #ZeroWasteRRC to show off your efforts!
2. Start with using less. Make conscious decisions on the products you purchase and consume. How much packaging is there? Can this be avoided? Minimize what you send to the landfill as much as possible. Check out our resources below for ideas, tips and inspiration.
   

   The journey to Zero Waste starts with using less

3. Recycle what you can. Take a good look at our Pitch-In signs and see what goes in the Container bin and Paper bin.
4. Compost what you can. Collect and drop off all organic food waste DAILY in our designated compost drop off location (location provided when registering).
5. Collect ALL landfill waste you create on campus in your mason jar over the one week period.
6. Take a good hard look at what you’re consuming — and what you could do without. Could it be reduced even further? What changes can you make to send less to the landfill every day?

Want to extend this to your home or family? Check out these resources for tips and food for thought:

• Zero Waste in 5 Steps, Top 10 Tips, On Campus, On a Budget, Reducing Plastic, When Shopping
• Food Waste in North America – Discussion Paper

Pop the Top and WIN! – Reduce, Reuse, Recaffeinate

Tuesday, October 23^rd | 7:30 – 8:30 am | Tim Hortons NDC & Friday, October 26^th | 7:30 – 8:30 am | Tim Hortons EDC

Every year, RRC sends around 40,000 disposable coffee cups to the landfill. Let’s reduce this and buy your RRC ecomug or reusable straw for only $5. To make the deal even sweeter, pop the top and see what prize awaits inside. Prizes include vouchers for Campus Store items, including an Under Amour hoodie of your choice!

Already have an ecomug? Remember, you save 10 cents at all RRC Food Service locations when you use it. That’s almost $30 a year, and a ton of cups NOT piling up in the landfill.

Pulp Non-Fiction – Come check out the life-cycle of paper!

Wednesday, October 24^th | 11:00 – 1:30 pm | Library Hallway

Did you know that a piece of paper can only be recycled between 4-7 times? Join us in the Library Hallway to find out more fun facts about how pulp becomes paper, and what happens to your paper after you throw it in the recycling bin!

E-Waste Drive* – Recycle your e-waste from home and work!

Monday, October 22^nd to Friday October 26^th  | Shipping and Receiving at NDC and Roblin Centre (Please note Shipping & Receiving closes daily from 12:00-12:45PM. Collection closes on Friday at noon)

Electronic waste ready to be picked up for recycling.

Now’s your chance to properly dispose of electronic waste from home and work in an environmentally responsible manner. Allowable items include: computers and computer equipment, printers, stereos, speakers, cellphones, microwave ovens (for a complete list click here, or contact us).

Please note: College assets must be accepted by someone at Shipping and Receiving to ensure they’re disposed of properly.

* Please ensure that private data is removed prior to dropping off personal equipment that may contain confidential information. Red River College and Powerland do not accept liability for data or any other digital content left on your device.

Staff rank campus sustainability priorities

These results aren’t surprising considering the significant financial and environmental impacts that come with them. Chew on this:

• The amount of electricity consumed at College-owned campuses is enough to power the RM of Headingley for nearly two years.
• As a college we use 14 million sheets of paper every year. Stacking our annual paper use is taller than putting the One World Trade Centre (1,776 feet) on top of the Burj Khalifa (2,717).

These numbers are big and somewhat daunting… but we’re up to the challenge!

The Resource Reduction Specialist position is being filled by Whitney Crooks, our current Sustainability Coordinator, on a two-year basis. (Whitney’s current position will be backfilled through a competition.) “I’m very excited about this opportunity. We know that there’s a great culture of sustainability at the College. I’m continually amazed at the support for sustainability and the great energy and ideas generated from students and staff. I’m committed to working collaboratively with all College stakeholders to addressing paper and energy reduction at the College.”

So stay tuned. The consultation process will begin in late Fall and we hope you’ll be a part of it!

If you are planning an event – MAKE IT GREEN

Greening an event means taking steps to minimize your environmental impact. Start by looking at your event as a whole, break down each activity and use the 4 R’s – Rethink Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Planning and executing a green event is an easy way to adopt the practice of sustainability; not only will you reduce your impact on the environment, but you typically will reduce costs and set a leading example for others to follow.

An event can be large or small, a small event might be a coffee meeting where you ask everyone to bring a reusable mug, or you ask your caterer for glassware instead of plastic plates and cups for a lunch meeting or workshop. When planning a large event consider things like, electronic invitations, using local growers and organic food, encouraging guests to carpool or take transit. These are just a few ideas – the options are endless.

One large event we are helping to green on campus is the annual Chili Cup. Working with the Wellness Committee, the Office of Sustainability put forward these recommendations to reduce waste:

• To cut waste, we will promote that guests bring their own “bowl and spoon”.
• For those who bring their own bowl and spoon, we will provide an incentive – and enter them into a draw for a $25 dollar gift certificate.
• We will use compostable cups and spoons.
• Each taster will receive only one tasting cup, rather than several small cups.
• We will promote “How We Greened this Event” – and let people know how we have reduced our impact.
• We will contact the Recycling Team to make sure we have extra compost collection bins for the compostable cups and spoons and provide signage directing guests where to put their waste.

If you are planning a meeting, workshop or other event, and would like help making it green, contact Sue in the Office of Sustainability (204) 632-2144 or email shayduk@rrc.ca.

For more information on sustainability and what Red River College is doing to reduce waste visit the Red Goes Green blog.

To meet the College’s commitment to sustainability, PGI is being built to achieve LEED certification.  Check out this video to see how PGI is reducing energy and conserving resources.

Whenever possible, the building’s original materials were retained and restored. The exterior facade, window frames, marble and hard wood floors and plaster walls are all more than 100 years old. Reusing these materials preserves a piece of history and reduces the environmental impacts from extracting, manufacturing and installing new materials.

Prior to renovations.

Student Residence

Cyclists will be will be happy to see that PGI has 35 secure, indoor bike racks.

A sustainable building is a lot more than how it’s constructed. We’re working hard to put programs and good practices in place to ensure PGI operates as sustainably as possible.

Some items in our PGI + Sustainability To Do list include:

– Implementing a post-consumer compost program

– Creating a “Green Residence Guide” to give our residents tools to reduce their impacts

– Developing a green building tour to showcase the building’s sustainable features.

See you at PGI!