This was the most comprehensive survey on sustainability at the college in 10 years, with questions on sustainability culture (how people feel) and literacy (what people know).  The survey results are used to help inform our Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) report and develop programs and initiatives. 

Here are some highlights from the survey results.

Sustainability Culture

The culture of sustainability at the college is resoundingly positive.  Most staff and students said that environmental sustainability is important, they want to learn more about sustainability, and they consider social sustainability when making purchases.  This echoes the value of sustainability in the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan.

Environmental Priorities

With sustainability as a value that guides us, there are many different areas we can focus our efforts.  Staff and students identified reducing / minimizing waste and other waste diversion programs as the most important environmental sustainability issue to address.  Waste reduction and diversion are some of the most visible sustainability programs at the college.  The second priority identified is to increase awareness and education, followed by support for sustainable transportation.  All three priorities help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainability Literacy

Understanding sustainability and its main concepts can help affect change. When asked to identify the three main components of sustainability, 41% of staff and 31% of students successfully identified economic, environmental and social, while 43% of staff and 52% of students selected reduce, reuse, recycle.

This is not surprising, given the effectiveness of the 3R messaging and the decrease in visibility and communication on sustainability during the pandemic.  Historically more staff answered this question successfully.  This year had the lowest successful response rate.  

For the other literacy questions, most staff and students could successfully define a life cycle analysis (89% / 68%); define the concept of Zero Waste (91% / 77%); and identify the food with the highest carbon footprint (81% / 67%).

Social Sustainability

Social sustainability is fundamentally interconnected with environmental sustainability.  We asked staff and students to identify examples of social sustainability.  Most staff (76%) and students (68%) identified truth and reconciliation, which could be connected to increased focus and education.  A much smaller number of staff (29%) and students (18%) identified accessible technology (using closed captioning in course materials).  For this question, all the answers are examples of social sustainability at the college.

The survey results showed that staff and students value sustainability and have a good understanding of the concepts.  The results provided us with feedback on what’s going well and where we can improve.  Thank you to everyone who completed the survey, your answers provide valuable input and help inform sustainability work at the college. 

With the recent launch of RRC Polytech’s Strategic Plan 2022-2026, In Front of What’s Ahead, it is time for many departments to set their own priorities and create strategies to complement and support the college’s bold vision. The Strategic Plan lists sustainability as one of the values that helps shape how we do our work and affirms our organizational commitment to “approach[ing] all our work with humility and a desire to improve the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being all Manitobans.” We are excited to work towards the outcomes outlined in the Plan, but to do that effectively we need to have a better understanding of where we’re starting from. That is where STARS comes in.

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) is a transparent, self-reporting framework for post-secondaries to measure their sustainability performance. Developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), in consultation with the higher education community, STARS is a comprehensive tool that looks at the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainability across an entire institution. Ratings (platinum, gold, silver and bronze) are achieved based on the percentage of applicable points earned. By undertaking this assessment, we will be better able to understand and communicate where we are as an organization and how we compare to our peers.

STARS by the Numbers

• 679: post-secondary institutions worldwide have earned a STARS rating
• 63: Credits across four categories: Academics, Engagement, Operations, and Planning & Administration
• 4: bonus points available as Innovation & Leadership credits
• 11: institutions have earned a Platinum rating

RRC Polytech last undertook STARS in 2012 and earned a silver rating. As a result, we were able to identify key areas for improvement and advance sustainability significantly at the college. It is time to do this again. Using STARS as a benchmark, we will gain a better understanding of what we’re doing well and where the gaps exist. This will provide a strong foundation as we build towards realizing the vision set out in the Strategic Plan.  

Below is the project timeline:

While this project is led by Environmental Stewardship & Campus Renewal, it is a college-wide initiative and we want to thank all of you who have been and will be involved throughout this process. If you have any questions about STARS, or want to know how you can be involved, please contact us, we’d love to hear from you! 

It’s 2022 and masks continue to be an everyday staple in our lives. Throughout the pandemic, mask guidelines have evolved as new information becomes available.  At the college, health and safety remains the top priority and a new requirement to wear medical grade masks or KN95/N95 masks was introduced in January 2022. 

Many people are concerned about the environmental impact of disposable masks. In response to these concerns, Red River College Polytechnic was proud to be the first public institution in Manitoba to set up a disposable mask recycling program at our Notre Dame Campus in February, 2021.  Since then, we have sent an estimated 44,000 masks to be recycled!

Building on this program’s success, we’re excited to announce the expansion of the disposable mask recycling program to the Exchange District Campus.  All faculty, staff and students can bring their used disposable masks – including 3-ply surgical, dust masks, and KN95/N95 masks – to any of the mask recycling boxes listed below:

Exchange District Campus Mask Recycling Locations

• Roblin Centre, north entrance
• Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, third floor by the lockers

Notre Dame Campus Mask Recycling Locations

• South Parking Lot, by Commissionaires Booth
• STTC Building, main entrance
• Building J, north entrance

Masks can only be recycled in the boxes at these locations, and not in the regular recycling bins. The masks are recycled using TerraCycle’s Zero Waste Box program, where they are separated into component parts and recycled into plastic lumber and composite material used in outdoor furniture, decking and shipping pallets.  Find out more about mask recycling here.  Thanks to our wonderful faculty, staff and students for supporting this program and helping to keep disposable masks out of the landfill.

We are proud to say that most of these items are reused.  They are reused within the College, sent for auction or donated to local organizations.  So far in 2021, we have reused, auctioned or donated over 1,900 furniture items and over 3.5 tonnes of books and household items.  Reusing items is an important part of the College’s zero waste program and it reduces our carbon footprint.  Reusing items provides a way to extend their useful life and often saves money, energy and natural resources – a win for the College and the environment! For Waste Reduction Week, we compiled a list of the top 3 stories of reuse at the College for 2021:

#1 The Great Office Cleanout

The Language Training Centre (LTC) in the Via Rail station had 30 years of furniture, equipment, books (and many 1990’s board games) to sort through to prepare to move to the Innovation Centre. Thanks to the effort of Materials Management, Space Planning and the LTC staff, over 1,250 furniture items including desks, tables, chairs and cabinets were given a new life, including 440 furniture items donated to schools in Winnipeg and northern Manitoba. Susan Darazsi, Principal of Strathcona school, talks about the benefit of the furniture donation:

“On behalf of Strathcona School, I would like to thank Red River College for the extremely generous furniture donation. We have been able to use the chairs and individual student desks in the grade 4-6 classrooms. The comfy couch and chairs, along with the shelving units and tables have been used to create a family room. Additionally, the cupboard and filing cabinets are being used in our Literacy Lab to organize reading materials and resources.”

Another school used the furniture to rebuild their learning spaces as they recovered from a fire. 

In addition, over 3.5 tonnes of household items including clothing, dishes, binders and over one thousand books were donated to Centre Flavie-Laurent, a local non-profit organization that provides items to people for free and serves up to 500 families per week. 

#2 Reusing in Residence

At Paterson GlobalFoods Institute (PGI), the Campus Living office runs several reuse programs to minimize items sent to landfill. Gently used mattresses are donated to local organizations. Household items such as brooms, dishes, kettles, etc. that students leave behind are organized, cleaned and made available for new students to use. A great way to encourage a culture of reuse for the residents! Dale Kujanpaa, Manager of Campus Living, talks about the reuse program at PGI residence:

“The reuse program started over 5 years ago at PGI and has been very beneficial to the students living in residence.  Located in the 7^th floor lounge, students can find items that are relevant to their suites, such as cutlery, clothing, hangers, school supplies and more.  Many of these items would be headed towards the landfill, but now they can be reused by the next group of students!”

#3 Binders, Binders and More Binders

With various RRC processes going paperless, many staff are tidying up their spaces and clearing out old paperwork (do the contents of your filing cabinet spark joy?). This leads to many, many boxes of binders and other office supplies that are longer needed.  These items are donated to the Students’ Association or local organizations for reuse.  We continue to look for creative ways to make these items available to students on an ongoing basis. 

From podiums to toolboxes, bookshelves to stretchers, binders to mattresses, reusing items is an important part of our journey to become a Zero Waste campus.  When items are reused and kept out of the landfill, everybody wins. 

Since coming to Red River College, Daniel has made a significant positive impact on the culture of sustainability at the College and is an ambassador for showcasing the College to the wider community. In 2017, not long after attending a New Employee Orientation session where Daniel learned about the Sustainability Department, he visited our office and asked whether we would be interested in participating in the city-wide Bike Week event. Bike Week is a week-long celebration that encourages cycling as a way to get to work, school and more. One way community organizations can participate in Bike Week is to host a Pit Stop. Located along main cycling commuter routes, Pit Stops greet cyclists passing by with encouragement, food, prizes, bike tune-ups and more.

Because of Daniel’s gentle encouragement, the College held our first-ever Bike to Work Day Pit Stop in 2017 at the north end of the Omand’s Creek footbridge. This turned out to be a prime location as our team of College volunteers greeted approximately 115 cyclists, including Mayor Brian Bowman. Over the next two years, our Pit Stop greeted hundreds of more cyclists.

Since meeting Daniel in 2017, he’s hosted six events with our office to remove barriers and instill confidence in students, staff and faculty in promoting cycling as a viable commute mode. In 2017, he hosted a “Bike Repair Workshop” demonstrating how to use the College’s newly installed air and repair stations. In 2018, he co-hosted a “Cyclist Meet-up” where experienced cyclists shared tips and answered questions with novice cyclists. That year, he also hosted an “Ask the Expert” drop-in session to answer any cycling-related questions. This year, he hosted a “Bike Repair 101” workshop, a workshop on the “A-B-C’s of Cycling” and most recently a “Winter Cycling 101” event where he made a video demonstrating some aspects of winter cycling and answered questions about winter cycling. In addition to all of this, Daniel has become our “resident cycling expert” and is always ready and willing to support cycling at RRC any way he can.

Daniel’s work at the College in Civil Engineering Technology and the Building Envelope Technology Access Centre (BETAC) is directly related to advancing sustainability in the building sector. While his professional work is hugely important to sustainability, he’s awarded this year’s Sustainability Leadership Award because of what he does outside of his day job. It’s a gift to find a volunteer like Daniel who not only comes up with innovative and engaging ideas, but rolls up his sleeves to help see the ideas to fruition.

As an avid cyclist himself, Daniel leads by example by participating in the Commuter Challenge every year, signing up as a cycling mentor on GoManitoba in order to be matched up with those interested in cycling to campus and riding with them, and is one of the few “winter warriors” at NDC who cycles to work year-round. But his approachability and dedication to making cycling accessible is what makes him a leader. When he is hosting events his quiet leadership makes him approachable and his honesty and genuine care for people make him trustworthy. Anyone who has a conversation with Daniel leaves with a little more knowledge and a little more confidence about cycling.

While cycling is Daniel’s key area of interest, he also shows leadership by supporting sustainability in general at the College. Daniel attends and participates in many sustainability events at RRC including Earth Hour, the annual State of Sustainability, the climate strike and more. Daniel is always willing to pitch in and support any sustainability initiative and thanks to his leadership, he has made cycling to RRC accessible for many people.

Congrats Daniel on this well-deserved award!

 While the leaves are changing with every season so is sustainability. There are so many colours of sustainability and places to find where it may be. To share everything Red River College is growing, changing, and creating to be a sustainable campus, we have a map for you!

Every week from October 21^st – November 22^nd we will be posting a Sustainability Scavenger Hunt with a prize for participating drawn every Friday. Not only will there be prizes for every week, but additional entries for every week you participate for a GRAND PRIZE created from our upcoming Made by RRC Winter Market. Along with the hunt, these next few weeks will be filled with even more fun events including our Fair Trade Campus Week, Waste Reduction Week & E-Waste drive, so stay tuned.

To discover everything we’re doing check out more details below and forage through our page to find answers for the hunt. When you’re ready to begin, click here for this week’s scavenger hunt.  Happy scavenging!

 OCTOBER 21-25

Scavenger Hunt Week One

Get Caught in The Act – October 21st &  22nd | Mystery | NDC & EDC

OCTOBER 28- NOVEMBER 1 FAIRTRADE CAMPUS WEEK

Fairtrade Campus Week gives us a time to educate and promote Fair Trade, and celebrate the Fairtrade products on our Campus. As a consumer, supporting fair trade is a way for you to ensure that the people who created the product you are purchasing were paid a fair wage, had safe working conditions and that the product was created in a sustainable manner. This week dives into everything you need to know about Fairtrade and where you can support fair trade here at RRC!

Scavenger Hunt Week Two

This week’s Scavenger hunt is all about purchasing at Red River College. To discover the products we use on campus and where you can find Fairtrade at RRC go to our page and complete the scavenger hunt to win our weekly prize pack.

 Win FairTrade Coffee for a Month | Draw open all week | NDC Voyager

On October 28 – November 1 you can find our prize draw box in the Voyageur cafeteria at NDC and enter to win. Have a busy week, and brewing Fairtrade coffee at home? Tag us in a photo demonstrating your Fair Trade commitment on social media channel ( Twitter, Instagram) using the hashtag #RRCFTCampus to enter to win too!

FairTrade Film Screening| October 28th 12-1 | NDC Library

Short films will be running throughout the hour so bring your lunch and stay to see them all or stop by for a just one or two! What’s a film without a treat? We have you and your sweet tooth covered with Fairtrade chocolates while you watch!

FairTrade Trick or Treat | October 31st  11-1 | NDC Library Hallway

Come trick or treat for Fairtrade and check out Ten Thousand Villages here with Fairtrade merchandise alongside our table full of Fairtrade treats giveaways and your chance to enter to win a great prize pack.

Compost Your Pumpkin| November 1st 7-1 | NDC Bus Loop Doors

November 1^st is on its way. That time where your pumpkin is looking a little less spooky and not quite jolly enough to stick around with the rest of your  porch décor. Even if you don’t have your own compost pile at home, you can compost your pumpkin at the Notre Dame Campus where there will be a drop off site immediately after Halloween.

NOVEMBER 4-8

Scavenger Hunt Week Three – Play to win all week!

Winter Cycling 101  | November 5th | NDC Library Hallway

It’s beginning to look a lot like.. Winnipeg! Winter is here and there’s so much to look forward to from Jets games, skating on the Red River Mutual Trail, Festival du Voyageur and getting your bike winter ready! With a little preparation, winter cycling can be a lot of fun and an active way to commute. Join us this to get answers to all of your questions about winter cycling. We’ve got you covered with tips including: How to stay warm, bike maintenance, Winnipeg’s best winter cycling routes, and any extra gear that is necessary (or not). Already a winter cycling pro? Come share your own tips and tricks! To usher us into the winter cycling season, we’ll have the bike blender on hand blending up frozen hot chocolate.

Compost Your Pumpkin| November 4th 7-1 | NDC Bus Loop Doors

 NOVEMBER 12-15  WASTE REDUCTION WEEK & E-WASTE DRIVE

Scavenger Hunt Week Four – Play to win all week!

This week’s Scavenger hunt is all about waste and resource reduction at Red River College. To discover the changes we have made, and the impacts we have in our everyday actions go to our page and complete the scavenger hunt to win our weekly prize pack.

E-Waste Drive| All Week| NDC & EDC

Make sure to set a reminder to collect all your old, broken and unwanted electronic waste and batteries from home and work to recycle at both our NDC and EDC campuses next week. Bring in all unwanted e-waste to the locations below, from Tuesday November 12^th to Friday November 15^th.Not sure what to bring? Click here for a list of acceptable items.

Notre Dame Campus:
Drop off at Shipping & Receiving (B183) Monday to Friday. Please note Shipping & Receiving closes daily from 12:00-12:45PM. Collection closes on Friday at noon.
Exchange District Campus:
Drop off e-waste at Shipping & Receiving (W101) Monday to Friday. Please note Shipping & Receiving closes daily from 12:00-12:45PM. Collection closes on Friday at noon.

*Please note: RRC equipment can be brought in, but must be accepted by someone at Shipping & Receiving to ensure they are disposed of properly. Please ensure that private data is removed prior to dropping off personal equipment which may contain confidential information. Red River College and Powerland do not accept liability for data or any other digital content left on your device.

Pop-the-Top| Nov 12th NDC |Nov 14th EDC | 9:30-11:30 in Tim Hortons

Small changes have big impacts. To cut down on our disposable cups (but never on coffee), we’re playing Pop-the-top where you can buy an RRC ecomug for only $5,  pop the top, and see what prize awaits inside. Each ecomug is a prize winner and every time you bring your mug you’ll receive a discount.

$1 Coffee All Week – Bring Your Own Mug!|Nov 12th-15th NDC | Voyager and Buffalo Cafeteria & STTC (Tuesday only)

Show your support for Waste Reduction Week at NDC by saving your cup from the landfill. All week by bringing your own mug you’ll be rewarded and receive $1 Coffee at the following locations listed.

 NOVEMBER 18-22

Scavenger Hunt Week Five – Play to win all week

We’re so grateful that you’ve fallen into sustainability with us these few weeks. Before you go, learn a little about us here too, in the final scavenger hunt!

Scavenger Hunt Grand Prize Draw| Nov 22

Now the hunt is almost through, we can’t wait to see all of you that participated. To give you some more time, all scavenger hunts will remain open until November 22nd. For each time you have participated, you have received a ballot into the grand prize draw! This prize will be gathered from wonderful vendors at our Made by RRC Winter Market. So if you missed a week now is the time to go back and complete all entries!

]]> Fall Into Sustainability /redgreen/2019/10/18/grow-a-row-2019-a-record-to-beet/ Fri, 18 Oct 2019 14:16:08 +0000 http://www.rrc.ca/redgreen/?p=6232 Read more →.]]>

The last days of autumn fell quickly and just before the snow landed, ACC baking students joined our Grounds Department to assist with this year’s Grow-A-Row harvest. Led by Grounds Gardener Shivcharan Sandhu, the team broke the RRC record with 4,270lbs of carrots, beets, onions, pumpkins and potatoes.

The Grow-A-Row initiative started here at RRC in 2013 and has since helped to support the greater community by providing over 17,376lbs of RRC harvested produce to Winnipeg Harvest, which supplies over 64,000 Manitobans a month with emergency food. The hard work planting, harvesting, digging, trimming, scrubbing, and all the behind the scenes work made this year a massive success thanks to Sandhu, Brady, Charles, Ron, Alexis and Bryan.

While the majority of the produce grown on campus is donated to Winnipeg Harvest and the Students’ Association Food Bank, Food Services also uses herbs and vegetables from the garden all year round as well as the ACC baking students. You may have even had a pumpkin pie made by ACC baking students this thanksgiving from our garden.  Click on a photo below to see the full gallery of the 2019 Grow-A-Row Harvest.

Red River College’s community garden initiative has really grown, and so has the amount of produce we’ve donated to Winnipeg Harvest.

A key ingredient in the growth of our gardens on campus is nutrient-rich compost from our onsite windrows right on campus. This compost is full with fruit and veggie scraps from our cafeteria kitchens and coffee grounds from food services locations (also making a great stride in reducing our organic waste going to the landfill)!

Millions of youth and adult supporters around the world took to the streets last week to raise awareness about climate change and the need for urgent action through the Global Climate Strike. Locally, over 10,000 people attended a General Strike for Climate Action at the Manitoba Legislative Building on Friday, September 27.

We know that the College community cares deeply about climate issues and that we play an important role in our community to bring a climate lens to everything we do. During the week, the College provided opportunities for those wishing to show their solidarity with the Global Climate Strike movement while on campus. We spoke with many students, staff and faculty who shared their concerns with us last week.  Below is a brief summary of some of the ways our College community got involved.

Green felt circle pins show support for the climate strike. The red bead symbolized RRC.

Students, staff and faculty were invited to make and wear green circle pins to show their support for the Climate Strike. Pin-making events were scheduled at both NDC and EDC and staff and students were encouraged to request a pin-making kit for their areas if they were not able to attend one of the events. Requested kits made about 200 pins, while between EDC and NDC, approximately 175 people came out to make pins.

A special shout out to the Portage Campus where students, staff and faculty made and wore green ribbons to show their support for the climate strike. Students were also encouraged to write on the student lounge windows their thoughts on how they could support the action and what actions they could take to mitigate climate change.

In total, an estimated 400 pins and ribbons were made and worn by RRC students, staff and faculty.

On Friday, September 27th at noon, RRC students, staff and faculty gathered together at the Notre Dame Campus and the Roblin Centre to take a photo showing their solidarity with the climate strike.

See the photo gallery below for some photos from the week of Climate Strike activities at RRC.

Large events can have large environmental impacts which is why we have partnered with RED Forum to help make it greener. Planning an event with a small environmental footprint can be hard without the right tools and resources to help you. We’ll be launching a Green Event Guide soon to help you green your College event, but in the meantime our partnership with RED Forum is a great opportunity to not only demonstrate the College’s commitment to sustainability but to also showcase some of the ways to help make any event a little greener.

To help RED Forum Go Green we need your help! Here’s a list of what you can do to green your RED Forum experience and what we’re doing too:

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION

There will be a lot of people coming to the Notre Dame Campus on May 10 from many different directions – this can add up to a lot of traffic and a lot of GHG emissions. Consider greening your commute by trying one of these sustainable transportation options:

Bus – Plan your bus trip to NDC by using Winnipeg Transit’s easy-to-use Navigo.
Carpool – If you’re driving to RED Forum, we encourage you to team up, share your ride and carpool – particularly if you’re coming from our regional campuses. Finding carpool partners can be done through word of mouth at your campus. Or, you may want to try GoManitoba, the college’s online ridematching platform. GoManitoba can also be used to match biking or busing partners.
Bike – Bike racks are located around campus for your convenience. Remember to use these bike locking tips to help keep your bike secure.

SUSTAINABLE COMMUTING PRIZE PACK: If you use sustainable transportation to get to RED Forum, come by the Sustainability table in the Library Hallway during registration to get a sustainable commute pin and to enter to win an awesome prize!

REDUCING WASTE

A big event often means a lot of waste. Here are some ways you can help reduce the amount of waste generated at RED Forum and some of the ways we’re working to reduce waste too:

Pack Your Reusable Water Bottle and Travel Mug

Keep your coffee warm and your water cool and avoid the disposable cup by remembering your reusable water bottle or mug. Not sure where to fill your water bottle? Check out the list of drinking fountains and bottle fill stations near RED Forum venues.

WIN A PRIZE: At any point throughout the day, get “caught in the act” using a reusable drink container by one of our Sustainability team members and be entered to win!

Go Digital

Did you know you can bookmark the RED Forum sched site on your phone and download your schedule to your calendar? Save some trees by using your phone as your guide to a great RED Forum instead of using a paper schedule (you may be less likely to lose your phone too!). Click on the “Mobile App + iCal” icon located on the right in sched for more information.

Did you know that RED Forum has never printed presentations as handouts and has reduced the number of printed handbooks by half? That’s a lot of paper saved!

INCREASING WASTE DIVERSION

Reducing waste is the first step in reducing the impact our waste has on the environment. But once waste is created, we want to divert as much of it as possible from the landfill. Look for Pitch In signs in the hallway to help you sort your waste into the correct stream: container recycling, paper recycling, and landfill.

You can compost your food and compostable waste too! Watch for the compost bins at the Voyageur and key locations in the morning, and at the food trucks at lunch. Volunteers will be on hand to help your sort your waste properly.

We have asked food vendors to provide recyclable and compostable materials where possible.

SHOWCASING SUSTAINABILITY

For the second year in a row, RED Forum is giving presenters Red River College branded stainless steel water bottles instead of bottled water. These water bottles are not only sleek and functional, they are also a strong statement to anyone that attends from the College and beyond that RRC is committed to sustainability.

Throughout the day, you can attend various sessions focused on the different pillars of Sustainability (look for the sessions highlighted green in sched) including a session about how the Mechanical Engineering Technology department drastically reduced their printing and won this year’s BRAVO Award for Sustainability Leadership (Keeping Paper from Becoming a Staple in the Classroom at 2:45pm).

Our team will be around throughout the day, please feel free to talk to any of us about your sustainability ideas.

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.