RioCan Property Services.
Success Stories
These days, most people attempt to recycle, at least their paper and plastic waste and even though it's just as easy to recycle organic matter, it's still not common practice. Traditionally the focus of recycling in the workplace has turned to the diversion of cardboard, office paper, newspaper, bottles and cans. As the need for further diversion of material from landfill increases some of the large generators of food waste are looking to organic composting programs as an answer for this growing concern.
Unlike other components of waste such as metal, cardboard and paper, organic waste is considered low-value and is rarely separated for financial gain. This dense material (it is composed predominantly of water) has other barriers such as handling cost , difficulty of transportation, the land required for processing, and the relatively low-value of resultant products. Organic waste tends to begin decomposing quickly -- within a day or so. Rotting organic waste is often responsible for the foul smell in bins, vehicles and disposal facilities. The products of decomposition are corrosive, and containers and vehicles need to be designed with this in mind, and cleaned frequently to reduce this problem.
Why Should Organic Waste Be Recycled? Around 50% of landfill waste could be composted but instead the buried organic waste, which cannot rot properly in a landfill site, turns to black slime that produces methane – a gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. It can pollute water and the natural habitat of many animals if it escapes. By composting domestic waste much needed nutrients are reintroduced into the land and in turn, the life of many animals and plants, including us humans.
There are three main ways of dealing with the organic portion of municipal waste:
- Feed for animals (which must be certified as containing no meat or meat byproducts and therefore limited primarily to manufacturing or processing pre consumer sources)
- Feedstock for anaerobic digestions (i.e. biogas plants);
- Aerobic composting. – Currently the most common method used for organic waste recycling.
Compost is a product of controlled aerobic decomposition of organic matter made using aerobic microorganisms, insects and worms. Microorganisms thrive in a moist, warm environment with an abundance of organic matter and air. The activity of the microorganisms generates heat which can act to kill pathogens and denature seeds. The composting process can take as little as two months. Ideally compost is matured for 3 – 4 months before use. The finished produce, Compost is a stable, dark brown, soil-like material which can hold moisture, air and nutrients. Contrary to popular belief compost does not smell rotten: often it will smell as fresh as a forest floor.
One advocate for the environment in their workplace has been the RioCan REIT Management, and RioCan Property Services. RioCan demonstrated this recently with their commitment to improve the diversion rates from one of their properties, an entertainment and retail complex in downtown Toronto, Festival Hall at 263 Richmond Street West. After conducting a waste audit for the complex (as required by the Ministry of the Environment Reg. 102/94) they discovered the contents of the waste stream from this property was extremely rich in organic food waste. With the anchor tenants being Milestone’s Restaurant and Cineplex Theatres it did not come as a surprise that a significant amount of the waste was organic food waste. The challenge would be enacting change within the building to capture the organic waste and redirect it into a recycling program.
The property manager Diane Oxley and the operations manager John Ducharme of Rio Can Property Services took up this challenge to divert the organic material within his property by distributing 32 gal tote bins to all of the tenants who were generating food waste. The two largest tenants who would make the greatest impact with a successful diversion program were the restaurant and theatre. John and U-Pak worked directly with these tenants to ensure all of the staff were trained and aware of the new procedure of diverting the wasted organic materials to these new tote containers. The materials which could be included in these totes included all produce, fruits, vegetables, cooked meats, cheeses, bakery items processed foods, coffee (with filters), low grad paper products (paper towels) and most important to the theatre – POPCORN! After training the staff and ensuring proper signage was in place, the program began with U-Pak Recycling installing 40+ totes. The totes were scheduled for collection multiple times each week and on weekends. Each time the full totes were exchanged for sanitized clean units which would go back to the tenants for use without the need for the site to be doing any tote washing.
John’s program has proven to be a great success. It is estimated that the recycling efforts will divert over 100 metric tonnes of material annually. This will result in a significant increase to the waste diversion rates for the complex, exceeding the goal of 65% in 2009. In, addition John’s tenants have commented that the new program has realized other benefits with the use of the totes. The tenants no longer need to carry heavy bags down the service corridors as the totes are easy to manage being on wheels and the waste bags are significantly lighter with the removal of the organic materials. The loading dock has a renewed cleanliness now that the liquid waste is no longer being deposited into the large compactors or spilling on the floors. With RioCan’s entire corporate management structure committed to the environment and recycling they are certain to realize even greater benefits with the maturity of the program. The tenants all are eager to participate and promote their recycling efforts to their patrons, showcasing the service and the value which this brings to their businesses.
