Sipekne’katik Diversion Starts at Home
- Location: Sipekne’katik, Nova Scotia
- Project Partners: Mi’kmawey Green Communities Program & G-man Waste Removal
Project Description
The Diversion Starts at Home project in Sipekne’katik aimed to educate and assist Sipekne’katik First Nations in dealing with solid waste within the community. The Mi’kmawey Green Communities Program contracted G-Man waste removal and provided 2 education officers to roll out the project. Many community members weren’t familiar with the rules of the sorting guide and a lot of recycling/compost ended up in the garbage, resulting in high tipping fees at the waste facility. Our in-home education package provided users with an updated sorting guide, a pickup schedule for each stream of waste and proper items to help simplify waste sorting. This project provided indoor and outdoor systems for roughly 470 households in the community.
The Diversion Starts at Home project in Sipekne’katik aimed to educate and assist Sipekne’katik First Nations in dealing with solid waste within the community. The Mi’kmawey Green Communities Program contracted G-Man waste removal and provided 2 education officers to roll out the project. Many community members weren’t familiar with the rules of the sorting guide and a lot of recycling/compost ended up in the garbage, resulting in high tipping fees at the waste facility. Our in-home education package provided users with an updated sorting guide, a pickup schedule for each stream of waste and proper items to help simplify waste sorting. This project provided indoor and outdoor systems for roughly 470 households in the community.
Projects Results:
- Each household in the community received both indoor and outdoor systems to help separate and properly dispose of waste.
- The indoor systems included an education package, 1 three-tier sorter, 250 blue bags for recycling, 250 clear bags for garbage, 130 Greenlid compost buckets for food waste, and 1 battery bin which is used to collect used batteries until they can be properly disposed of keeping them out of the landfill. The battery bin comes with a battery tester on the lid which will indicate if there is any charge left in the batteries.
- The outdoor systems included 3 roll bins; 1 black (for garbage), 1 blue (for recycling), 1 green (for compost) and a steel rack that the bins fit into to keep them aesthetically pleasing. The black and blue carts are secured to the rack via bungee to prevent them from blowing over in high winds.
- The indoor systems included an education package, 1 three-tier sorter, 250 blue bags for recycling, 250 clear bags for garbage, 130 Greenlid compost buckets for food waste, and 1 battery bin which is used to collect used batteries until they can be properly disposed of keeping them out of the landfill. The battery bin comes with a battery tester on the lid which will indicate if there is any charge left in the batteries.
Project Outputs:
- The Community now uses the indoor and outdoor systems provided for the separation of garbage, recycling and compost.
- There is significantly less litter in the ditches and alongside the road.
- There was a decrease in wildlife complaints and an increase in community participation in diverting waste at home.
- Tipping fees were reduced for the community.
- There was a boost in morale within the community.