Transitions

Transitions

If you read December’s Green Living Blog, you’ll know that our friend Naomi has retired from writing for us. And if you know Naomi, you’ll understand that it’s because she has many projects on the go. Luckily, the staff at SWRC will be able to keep in touch with her, as she is also the Community Manager at The TwoTwenty, our office building. We’ll get to see her friendly face when office life returns.

Going forward, our household waste reduction blog will have a new name and a new writer. My name is Meg Dorwart and I’ve worked with SWRC since 2018, currently filling the role of Communications and Events Coordinator.

When I was young, the idea of landfills confused me. I remember in high school not having beverage container recycling in the cafeteria and bringing all of my friends’ juice boxes home so that my parents could recycle them. “Why do we create all these products and packaging only to throw them in a landfill?” The inefficiency really bothered me, and it started a waste reduction journey that led me to cut out most plastic purchases in 2015, then commit to a low waste lifestyle in 2017. I now generate between one and three grocery bags of garbage, and a similar amount of recycling, per year.

While I’m happy with the progress I’ve made with my personal waste reduction habits, I also acknowledge many privileges that enable me to reach these goals. I am able-bodied and can enter and shop at any store, I don’t have any severe food allergies that stop me from shopping at bulk stores, I don’t have children and have a fair amount of free time and energy. I have the budget to purchase items in bulk, I have a vehicle that allows me to pick up used items bought through Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace, and I live in Saskatoon, a city with many options for zero waste purchases. 

While my situation made it relatively easy for me to reach my goals, having access to good information is also a key component to success.  I look forward to bringing you content and having a practical discussion about waste reduction in Saskatchewan. Let’s move lower together.