Waste not, want not — Whitehorse closes loop on waste cycle

A morning cup of coffee goes a lot further when you're working in Whitehorse. Employees in the Elijah Smith Government of Canada Building are turning their coffee grounds into rich garden fertilizer through a PWGSC-led composting program.

"This is great," says Maureen Osland, a Parks Canada Manager who works in the building. "Composting has become so routine now that we don't even think about it."

Lunchroom scraps have been getting special treatment for the past year at the Elijah Smith. Small compost bins are strategically located where employees eat, and compost containers in washrooms collect paper towels. Cleaning staff put the waste into biodegradable bags hitched to the front of their cleaning carts and the contents are taken to the city's composting centre.

"The waste in our garbage bins is only about a quarter of what it used to be since we started composting," says Bill Atkinson, PWGSC Building Supervisor. "Most of the reduced volume comes from composting the huge quantities of paper towel from washrooms."

A similar green operation is playing out in other Whitehorse PWGSC buildings, as well as some in Victoria, Nanaimo and Vancouver.

Amanda James, PWGSC Environmental Program Officer, Pacific Region, says the program was initiated after a 2002 waste audit made it clear that improvements were possible. The Region moved quickly to build on their sustainable development strategy and meet waste reduction targets.

"The audit showed us that the bulk of our waste was coming from the organic waste stream," she says. "Composting was the area that really needed some work."

It's a project that Tom Sparrow, PWGSC Yukon Director, is proud to support. He boasts of a 100 percent compliance rate among the building's 400 plus federal and territorial government employees. And the program is now sparking interest among the local municipal and territorial governments.

"PWGSC is showcasing that large scale composting within government buildings can be successfully achieved," says Mr. Sparrow. "Composting makes sense from all angles. It reduces pressure on our local landfill site, and as for its dollar value, our garbage disposal fees are reduced substantially."

Composting at work also gives employees a sense of satisfaction. Ms. James says employees can feel good about the fact that within a couple of days, their coffee grounds are working to become rich garden fertilizer. "Composting at work means people can really close the loop on recycling," she says.

The Pacific Region hopes to have active composting programs in all PWGSC buildings by the middle of 2005.

Depending on local conditions and resource allocations, PWGSC regions across Canada are pursuing similar waste reduction strategies within the workplace.

For more information about the Pacific Region's strategy, contact Amanda James at (604) 775-5065 or amanda.james@pwgsc.gc.ca.

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