Waste ReForum 2021

Waste ReForum 2021

The Path Forward

April 27-29, 2021 – Virtual

SWRC’s 2021 Waste ReForum Conference was held virtually April 27-29. The conference theme was The Path Forward, which considered the directions we could take to get to zero waste and a circular economy.

Tuesday, April 27

Keynote Speaker — A crisis on top of a crisis: How COVID-19 has impacted the recycling industry in North America    VIDEO

Sponsored by Saskatchewan Association for Resource Recovery Corp.

Dan Leif will walk us through both the predictable and totally unexpected effects of the pandemic on recycling markets and waste issues.

Dan Leif is the managing editor at Resource Recycling, Inc., which publishes Resource Recycling magazine as well as Plastics Recycling Update and E-Scrap News. For 40 years, Resource Recycling has covered the municipal recycling sector, and Leif joined the company in 2013. He has worked as a business journalist since 2005.

Here at Home: Local experts comment on Dan’s insights and how they apply here in Saskatchewan

Wendy Yaworski is the CEO for the regional waste authority, REACT Waste Management District.  Wendy has worked with REACT since 1996, and brings insight on the challenges experienced of day to day operations of a fully integrated waste and recycling region in Saskatchewan.  She is passionate about managing municipal solid waste properly to divert waste from the landfill and protect the environment for a better tomorrow.

Dale Schmidt has been in the recycling industry for the past 8 years and is currently the facility process manager for Loraas disposal north the largest waste and recycling company in Saskatchewan.

 

Parallel Path I: Innovative Approaches to Collecting Organics

     Sponsored by Quantum Lifecycle Partners

• It’s Time to Stop Trucking Around Water: City of Nelson’s Pre-Treatment Organics Program  VIDEO  — Ginger Lester, City of Nelson & Alex Hayman, FoodCycler
• Community Composting: The Benefits of a Diverse & Distributed System  VIDEO — Brenda Platt, Institute for Local Self-Reliance
• Regina’s Food and Yard Waste Pilot  VIDEO — Garrett Ruiters, City of Regina

Parallel Path II: The Building Cycle

• Building Better Communities  VIDEO — Alex Miller, BigBlock Construction
• Don’t Demolish — Unbuild  VIDEO  — Adam Corneil, Unbuilders
• Construction/demolition Material Recovery VIDEO — Doug Dawley, KBL

---

Wednesday, April 28

1 less seat 1 world 2 keep — ATMO Car Seat Recycling — VIDEO
ATMO Recycling Ltd is a Canadian not for profit/social enterprise, created in 2017 by industry leader Graham Lewis. ATMO Recycling Ltd™ quickly established itself as the first and only social enterprise dedicated to responsibly recycling child car safety seats in Canada.

 

Lightning Talks — Leaning into the Curve — VIDEO innovators in circular economy solutions have five minutes and ten slides to inspire and intrigue.

• Reducing the “Supply Chain Link” through Food Waste Reduction — Bruce Hardy, Myera Group
• Circular Packaging Options: “The Box” — Emmanuel Lemor, Living Packets
• From Trash to Gold: How a New Bio-Plastic is Paving the Way for a more Sustainable Economy  — Derek Schaefer, UBQ Materials
• Reusable Takeback Systems — Nancy Prevost-Maurice and Caroline Thibault, Nulla Project
• Food Ecosystems through a Circular Economy — Catherine Beaudoin, Zesty Kits
• From Disposable to Sustainable: “Grin” – Simon Cooper, Grin Toothbrush 
• Digital Platforms: Simplifying Food Waste – Eric Tribe, FlashFood
• Carbon Neutral Commercial Building Materials – Dallas Klassen, Interface 
• Circular Denim: An Alternative to Fast Fashion Mud Jeans – Laura Vicaria, Mud Jeans
• Designing Products for a Circular Economy – Ferdinand Tchounkeu, Nespresso

Parallel Path III: This One’s a Fixer Upper
Sponsored by Canadian Electrical Stewardship Association

• Fixation: Creating a Repair Culture  VIDEO — Sandra Goldmark, Author
• The Right to Repair VIDEO  — Michael Coteau, Ontario MPP
• Prince Albert’s Repair Cafe VIDEO  — Les Dickson

Parallel Path IV: The Home Front
  Sponsored by Call2Recycle

• New programs for Agricultural Plastics  VIDEO — Tammy Shields, Cleanfarms
• Moving Forward Together — an update on Saskatchewan’s Solid Waste Management Strategy VIDEO — Brienne Bennett & Pamela Berry, Ministry of Environment
• Leading the Charge: Saskatchewan’s Battery Collection and Recycling Program VIDEO — Kristen Romilly & Chad Moussa Call2Recycle

Thursday, April 29

Virtual Tour: Re-Matt mattress recycling
Sponsored by Product Care Recycling

Keynote Speaker  — Where Do We Go From Here?  VIDEO

Moji Igun will help us consider the path forward. Where does it lead? How will we get there?

Moji Igun is the founder of Blue Daisi Consulting which offers zero waste + sustainability consulting services to small and mid-sized businesses. She supports her clients in reducing waste by helping them find creative ways to keep trash out of the landfill. Moji is certified as a TRUE Zero Waste Advisor and enjoys drawing connections between zero waste and the broader spectrum of sustainability. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Zero Waste Washington.

Parallel Path V: Sketching a new direction — Redesign
Sponsored by Emterra Group

• NextGen Fibre: Redesigning paper and rayon VIDEO — Valerie Langer, Fibre Solutions Strategist, Canopy
• Dell Circular Design – Product Takeback, Materials, & Packaging VIDEO — Allison Ward, Dell

Parallel Path VI: On the right track — Working on Reducing Contamination
Sponsored by the Carton Council of Canada

• StreamSight: Reducing Recycling Contamination through Machine Learning VIDEO — Sam Dietrich, Prairie Robotics
• Applying Behaviourial Insights to Address Recycling Contamination VIDEO — Bernadette Celis-Clarke & Dennis King, Region of Peel
• How can Psychology Contribute to Waste Reduction?    VIDEO — Jiaying Zhao, UBC

Thanks to Cleanfarms for sponsoring grassroots / student registrations.