2003 Waste Minimization Awards

The Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council and Tetra Pak Canada hosted Saskatchewan's eighth Waste Minimization Awards ceremony on March 17th in Moose Jaw. The Awards recognize waste minimization leadership by individuals, non-profit organizations, municipalities and corporations for the year 2003.

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The Individual award recognizes those whose initiative and dedication have impacted waste reduction their communities, workplaces or governments. The 2003 award was presented to Mary Rooney Cooper from Dundurn. Mary is a long-time recycler and composter and finds ways to reuse many household items that are commonly thrown away. She promotes these practices throughout her community, to schools, to churches and to her friends and neighbours. Mary has been active in the Saskatoon Regional Waste Management Association for the last five years, serving as its Secretary.

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The Non-profit organization award recognizes the significant contribution that non-profit and grass roots groups make in helping us all reduce waste. The 2003 recipient is In Kind Saskatchewan from Regina. In Kind promotes efficient resource use by transferring surplus materials from business to the charitable sector. Charities obtain these products, much of them new, at a fraction (10%) of the fair market value, thus allowing the charities to do more with limited resources. The 10% fee helps cover transportation and warehousing costs. In its short, two year, existence, In Kind has provided over $3 million in benefit to Saskatchewan charities. Of the products they handle, 99.45% are reused in the charitable sector. A further 0.5% is recycled.

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The recipient of the Corporate Leadership award for 2003 was Newalta Resources (Regina). Newalta collects used oil materials from Saskatchewan businesses and municipalities and creates Industrial Fuel Oil at its Regina facility. The fuel is used in road construction to dry gravel aggregate for asphalt production. Newalta diverts millions of litres of used oil into productive use every year. They also arrange for the recycling of used oil filters and containers.

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The 2003 Saskatchewan Waste Minimization award for a Municipality was presented to the City of Swift Current. In recent years, Swift Current has initiated or expanded several waste reduction programs. In April 2001 the city began a seasonal, bi-weekly residential yard waste program. The materials are mixed with straw and manure from Heartland Livestock. Delta Rock & Sand does the composting and markets the finished compost to the public. Since the program began, nearly 46,000 tonnes of materials have been diverted from landfill and 6100 cubic yards of compost has been created. The City has also expanded its paper recycling program in 2001 and has diverted more than 1000 tonnes of paper to Urban Forest Recyclers, a local company. At the end of 2002, they began a plastics recycling program in partnership with the local Abilities Council and a Calgary company. They have collected more than 47,000 pounds of plastics in the first 13 months of operation. The City of Swift Current also organizes a popular biennial Environmental Trade Fair. The City’s Engineering Department is skilled at developing partnerships with local companies and community organizations, which adds to the strength and continuity of their programs.

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All of the winners demonstrate a strong commitment to waste minimization and have made our province a better place to live. We congratulate them!

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