Abstract
This paper looks at recycling in Manitoba through an analysis of current programs
in the province and through two relevant case studies. The case of the borough of
Rushcliffe in London is an example of a neighborhood performing far above the city
average in terms of the amount of waste diverted to the landfill. This good performance is
a result of strong goal setting, progress monitoring and effective communication as well
as convenient practices that make recycling easier. In the case of Francis Marion
University in South Carolina, a scientific experiment carried out by students
demonstrated the importance of combined education and facilities in order to help meet
their waste diversion goals. Currently Manitoba operates with industry stewardship
taking the majority of the control for the recycling industry Multi-Material Stewardship
Manitoba (MMSM) and Recycle Everywhere are two of the major non-profit, industryrun organizations responsible for improving recycling in Manitoba. My experiences
working with Recycle Everywhere provide a valuable insight into recycling in Manitoba,
particularly in the out-of-home context where I worked. Winnipeg, Manitoba’s capital
city, has recently put into place their new garbage and recycling master plan which will
likely help to increase recycling habits amongst residents, reducing dependency on the
Brady Road Landfill. Manitoba has a long way to go improving its recycling program,
but programs such as MMSM, Recycle Everywhere and the new master plan in Winnipeg
show steps in the right direction. Constant review through auditing, feedback and
continual goal setting are essential if Manitoba wishes to improve sustainability through
recycling within the province.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. 2
I. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 3
II. Case Studies ....................................................................................................... 5
Case Study: Rushcliffe, United Kingdom ............................................ 5
Case Study: Francis Marion University, South Carolina ..................... 8
III. Recycling in Manitoba ...................................................................................... 11
Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba ................................................. 11
Recycle Everywhere ............................................................................ 13
Winnipeg Garbage & Recycling Master Plan ...................................... 16
IV. Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 18
References ............................................................................................................... 19
1
Tables & Figures
Table 2.1: Household waste analysis (in 1000’s of tones) from 1998-2002 ............... 6
Figure 2.1: Total Waste vs. Total Recyclables ............................................................ 9
Figure 2.2: Comparison of the Two Experimental Groups Over Time (Recyclables as
Percentage of Total Waste) ................................................................................ 10
Table 3.1: Average Kilograms Recycled Per Person Across Manitoba ...................... 12
Acknowledgements
This paper would not have been possible without the experiences I had this summer
working at Recycle Everywhere. Special thanks go to Kyle Schappert, John Conklin and
Daryl Olson for helping make the program run. Thanks are also in order for Leslie
Goodman and Jodena Baertsoen for their work in the Co-op program at the University
of Manitoba.
2
I. Introduction
Sustainable development, a term popularized in the Brundtland Report of the World
Commission on Environment and Development, has been known to be an important
priority for 25 years. The Brundtland Report defined sustainable development as
development “which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED, 1987). The concept of sustainability
revolves around three key concepts – the economic aspects, the socio-cultural aspects and
the environmental aspects – which must be kept in balance in order to maintain a
sustainable society which will be able to flourish today and through to the future (IISD,
2012).
The waste management industry has the potential to vastly improve or damage
sustainability efforts. The huge amount of consumption in today’s society results in a
large amount of waste which must be dealt with accordingly. Sending all waste to the
traditional landfill site is not sustainable, these landfills have a large environmental
footprint, taking up huge amounts of space and potentially degrading groundwater
supplies with effluent leakage. The landfills of today’s consumerist western world will
eventually be unable to continue to handle the tons of garbage and waste produced, and is
thus not a sustainable practice. Finding alternative ways to handle waste is essential in
creating sustainable cities. These alternatives include practices such as composting and
recycling. Neither of these processes are new, but both of them hold the potential to reroute a large portion of the waste stream to better, more sustainable uses.
The process of recycling involves using waste materials to create new materials.
Metal and glass products can be melted down and re-used; plastic and paper products are
3
able to be re-puroposed for further use (Friends of the Earth, 2008). The use of recycled
products reduces societies reliance on new materials, which involve the extraction of
non-renewable resources from the earth while also reducing the volume of waste that will
eventually end up in the landfill where it is of no use. Recycled aluminum from items
such as canned food is highly recyclable and can be used to create new cans, airplane
parts and many other aluminum goods. Plastics can be turned into other recycled plastic
products, such as Frisbees, but can also be spun to create fabrics and used for t-shirts or
carpeting (Recycle Everywhere, 2012). Glass can be reused almost entirely or used as a
gravel substitute for road aggregate material (Recycle Everywhere, 2012). Paper and
cardboard can be made into recycled paper products such as newspapers. More and more
products are being made of recycled goods with advances in science and increased
demand for green, environmentally friendly, products (Friends of the Earth, 2008).
Manitoba’s recycling program is faced with many difficulties, from low populationsize to a predominantly rural population. Improvements are being made to increase
recovery percentages within the province through government run public programs as
well as through private industry corporate-social responsibility efforts. The City of
Winnipeg is in the midst of rolling out its new garbage and recycling program designed
to make recycling easier for residents. Programs such as Recycle Everywhere, funded by
the Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association (CBCRA), have been
implemented to help the province reach its recovery goals for beverage container
recycling. Through a series of case studies and personal experiences as an employee at
Recycle Everywhere this paper will analyze Manitoba’s recycling program, addressing its
positive aspects, shortcomings and its future.
4
II. Case Studies
This section of the paper will analyze different case studies in order to better
understand the policies, programs and psychology behind effective recycling programs.
Lessons and recommendations will be made from these case studies in order to benefit
the Manitoban context.
Case Study: Rushcliffe, UK
Rushcliffe in the United Kingdom is the site of the first case study, in an analysis of
public communications marketing on its effects on recycling habits. The United
Kingdom, London in particular, is the site of most of the recycling-centered scientific
research. The communications program developed was known as recycling2go and was
implemented in an attempt to help the borough of Rushcliffe meet the material recovery
goals set by the London government (Mee, Clewes, Phillips & Read, 2004). The goals set
by London included efforts to either compost or recycle 25% of waste by the year 2005
as well as policy limiting the amount of biodegradable waste that landfills are allowed to
accept (Mee et al, 2004).
With strong goals set by the government with the intention of improving overall
sustainability, the borough of Rushcliffe set out to meet these goals through a combined
communication strategy program and a new kerbside recycling program. Rushcliffe has a
population of 108,000 people and is considered to be a wealthier area of London (Mee et
al, 2004). In 2007, following the implementation of these programs in Rushcliffe, the
5
borough was recycling 50% of its municipal waste, almost double the national rate of
27% in London at the same time (Friends of the Earth, 2008). Scientific research was
carried out in the neighborhood over the years in order to track the effects of the program,
thus making it an effective case study for supporting similar recycling programs
elsewhere.
The Recycling program, recycling2go, was unveiled to accompany the kerbside
recycling program. The kerbside program included changes such as household recycling
carts for properties designed to increase recycling practices by simplifying the process for
residents. Recycling2go included pamphlet, nternet, letter and a roadshow style of
communication media (Mee et al, 2004). These communications provided the necessary
information to residents as well as educational material designed to stimulate recycling
practices. Table 2.1 displays a statistical analysis of municipal waste stream data for the
Rushcliffe region and clearly shows an increase in recycling habits up until 2002. This
trend was continued following 2002 as more people in the area learned about recycling
and were given an easier opportunity to do so (Mee et al, 2004).
Table 2.1: Household waste analysis (in 1000’s of tones) from 1998-2002
Source: (Mee et al, 2004)
6
Using survey data following the implementation of the Rushcliffe program, the
communication methods utilized by the recycing2go program were analyzed in order to
determine their respective effectiveness. Data showed that all types of media invoked
positive influences on surveyed participants (Mee et al, 2004). The different types of
media were then comparatively analyzed through the survey. The comparison showed the
Newsletter to be the most effective form of communication amongst the contenders, with
other forms such as internet much further behind (Mee et al, 2004). While the internet
being the least effective form of communication according to the survey this may be due
to scientific error or small sample size, it may also be a revealing fact. Media designed to
stimulate recycling practices is primarily used by homeowners, often an older
demographic, who may not be exposed to internet as a medium. The influence of the
internet, however, is likely to have changed as it is much more pervasive today than it
was in 2004 when the study was carried out.
With Winnipeg’s new garbage and recycling master plan being implemented, there
is reason for the city, and province, to look at the case of Rushcliffe in London where
effective and diverse communication methods were implemented alongside their new
kerbside program in order to increase the overall recycling of residents to help meet the
national goals for waste reduction. From this study it is clear that education and
awareness have a huge role to play in people’s recycling habits. This case also goes to
show that public policy, strong goal-setting, and continual review and monitoring are
essential in changing people’s behaviours and helping to maintain and improve them into
the future. The provincial government of Manitoba has the ability to set high but
achievable goals and targets for the province to reach, while local governments have the
7
duty to create policy and education programs designed to help meet these over-arching
goals.
Case Study: Francis Marion University, South Carolina
Professors at Francis Marion University in South Carolina studied the campus
recycling habits of resident students. Some of these students were provided with
recycling bins and some education on the importance of sustainability and recycling as
well as on how to properly recycle. Other students were only provided recycling bins and
the final group was given nothing at all (Pike, Shannon, Lawrimore, McGee, Taylor &
Lamoreaux, 2003). The recycling habits of these three groups were compared following
the study.
This sustainability initiative came about after the Ecology Club on campus tracked
the school’s waste stream in 1995, which increased awareness of the issues the campus
faced (Pike et al, 2003). The efforts were also initiated by a state policy mandate in South
Carolina that called for a reduction of state-run office waste by a total of 30% (Pike et al,
2003; FMU, 2012). Three professors at the school created this student-led research
project that aimed to answer the question of whether students will recycle given the
opportunity, and whether or not recycling education would increase recycling habits of
students (Pike et al, 2003). Students in the experimental group received recycling bins as
well as education. This education included flyers sent to their room, an information
seminar and other promotional material. The other experimental group was simply given
recycling bins, and the control group received nothing at all (Pike et al, 2003).
8
The experiment revealed some interesting data regarding recycling habits of
students living on campus. The students who received convenient recycling facilities
(bins for their apartment) significantly reduced their waste stream (Pike et al, 2003). Both
experimental groups diverted a similar amount of goods; in total they diverted 1/3 of their
waste stream (Pike et al, 2003). Figure 2.1 graphically displays the comparison of waste
streams between Group A (who received education and recycling bins), Group B (who
received recycling bins) and Group C (who acted as a control group receiving neither)
found through the experiment. While statistically no conclusions could be made
regarding the effect of educational program, the study concludes that in an analysis of
recycling habits as the semester wore on (and more education was given) recycling habits
of the experimental group which received education and the recycling bins increased (see
figure 2.2) over time.
Figure 2.1: Total Waste vs. Total Recyclables
Source: (Pike et al, 2003)
9
Figure 2.2: Comparison of the Two Experimental Groups Over Time (Recyclables as a
Percentage of Total Waste)
Source: (Pike et al, 2003)
It is quite easy to see the benefits of making recycling convenient as well as the
potential positive impact of educational and promotional programs for recycling in this
case. Manitoba stands to benefit from the results of this case study. Clearly providing
recycling bins is of the utmost importance in getting people to reduce their waste stream;
people will recycle if it is convenient. With two universities and multiple colleges within
the province as well as many other educational institutions such as elementary, junior
high and high schools across the province the introduction of sustainability education
should be implemented. Education, particularly at a young age, is highly influential on
future actions and habits (Simmons & Widmar, 1990).
10
III. Recycling in Manitoba
Manitoba’s Waste Reduction and Prevention Act (WRAP), first implemented in
1990, was designed to encourage and enforce industry responsibility for waste
management systems (Government of Manitoba, 2012). The Act created levies on
recyclable goods, which are designated funds to be used to internally fund recycling
programs for these materials and products. Two different groups run the majority of
Manitoba’s recycling programs. Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba (MMSM) runs
Manitoba’s at-home recycling and curbside pick-up in conjunction with Recycle
Everywhere, a newer initiative created by the CBCRA, who looks after outside of home
(on-the-go) beverage container recycling programs as well as public education initiatives.
Winnipeg’s new garbage and recycling master plan is also an important aspect in the
analysis of Manitoba’s recycling programs.
Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba
Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba is a not for profit, industry-funded program
which brings together stewards from multiple industries who produce recyclable products
under the WRAP Act (MMSM, 2011). These industrial sectors include paper companies,
beverage container companies and glass manufacturers as well as retailers who sell other
common recyclable goods. MMSM works in many municipalities within Manitoba,
including Winnipeg, Brandon and over 100 smaller communities, to create effective
recycling programs for the citizens of Manitoba (MMSM, 2011). Ultimately MMSM is
targeted toward helping Manitoba reach its WRAP recovery goals.
11
In MMSM’s 2011 report the results of Manitoba’s recycling efforts are profiled.
MMSM utilizes audits to reveal the recycling habits of cities and communities around the
province. This audit system ensures that the province has accurate data that can be used
to further improve the recycling program. According to this data, Manitobans, on
average, recycled 60.3 kg each (MMSM, 2011). MMSM uses an incentive-based
approach for municipalities to efficiently collect the recycling waste stream.
Municipalities are paid according to the amount of recyclables the collect. This system is
designed to offset up to 80% of the cost of the recycling program (MMSM, 2011). Table
3.1 below shows the recycling data collected by MMSM for the different areas across
Manitoba based on 2011 data.
Table 3.1: Average Kilograms Recycled Per Person Across Manitoba
Source: (MMSM, 2011)
MMSM also works with schools within the province in order to provide recycling
facilities as well as promotional and educational information to younger students.
Through a partnership with the Green Action Centre, MMSM orchestrated presentations
12
in schools. These presentations were heard by more than 10,000 students province-wide
(MMSM, 2011). MMSM also contributes to partnerships with the university campuses in
the province, providing them with facilities and funding for their programs as well as to
conduct waste audits and greening initiatives (MMSM, 2011).
In order to help tackle the issue of Manitoba being a predominantly rural province,
MMSM has created partnerships with many remote communities and first nations
communities, which would otherwise have no access to a recycling program (MMSM,
2011). This initiative, known as the Northern Community Clean-up Program, not only
provided facilities to help collect recyclable materials, but also helped to fund the
transportation of the collected materials from the remote communities (MMSM, 2011).
Ultimately this program resulted in the collection of nearly 3,000 kg of recyclable
materials (MMSM, 2011).
MMSM is a good example of Manitoba’s industry-based recycling program. The
province has done a good job of enforcing responsibility and stewardship from producers
under the WRAP Act, however recycling is still not as good as it could be in the
province. MMSM and the province as a whole would stand to benefit from more specific
and stringent goals and targets designed to push Manitobans to reduce their overall waste
and increase diversion to the provinces recycling facilities.
Recycle Everywhere
Similar to MMSM, Recycle Everywhere is an industry-funded stewardship
program. Financed by the Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association, a group
13
of stewards from companies such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Minute Maid and Nestle
(CBCRA, 2012). Recycle Everywhere focuses on outside of home beverage container
recycling by providing recycling bins to parks, schools, municipalities and other public
spaces as well as by educating and promoting recycling around Manitoba. The Recycle
Everywhere program is working in conjunction with MMSM to help Manitoba meet the
government set goal of 75% recovery rate for beverage containers in the province
(Recycle Everywhere, 2012). Recycle Everywhere fills an important role in meeting this
target as many of these beverages, at least 30% according to statistics, are consumed
outside of the home where recycling facilities may be limited or non-existent (Recycle
Everywhere, 2012).
Recycle Everywhere provides recycling bins (of varying sizes and styles) to public
spaces, schools and offices on a contractual basis for free. These bins can be found across
the City of Winnipeg in areas like Assiniboine Park. They can also be found lining the
streets of many rural municipalities like up north in Thompson Manitoba. Temporary
event recycling is also a large part of Recycle Everywhere’s collection plan. Each
weekend throughout the summer there are many festivals and events, such as the Red
River Ex and Blue Bomber football games, that take place (Recycle Everywhere, 2012).
Recycle Everywhere attempts to provide all of these events with appropriate recycling
bins to facilitate the proper collection of recyclable materials where otherwise everything
would end up in the landfill.
I had the ability to travel with Recycle Everywhere this past summer as a member
of the Recycle Everywhere Street Team, a promotional team who was responsible for
providing education to Manitobans as well as for setting up temporary recycling facilities
14
at many events across the province. This experience gave me a snapshot of attitudes and
perceptions towards the recycling industry as well as the many misconceptions people
have about the process. The months I spent with Recycle Everywhere provided valuable
experiences that have helped me to contextualize many sustainability related issues.
Views on recycling and the environment as a whole varied widely across the province, as
did the demographics and economics; some towns and communities were highly
environmentally conscious while others dismissed the idea or recycling and waste
management entirely.
The team I was a part of travelled across the province attending as many events as
we could across the province. In total the Street Team attended over 200 event days in the
summer months alone. While not every event was large scale in their consumption and
waste, they all benefited and seemed to appreciate having the option to recycle. The
promotional booth that we set up gave us a chance to interact with the residents, in
particular the children in order to teach them something about recycling through trivia
games or recycling factoids. We would give out recycling-centric prizes to people who
showed an interest in recycling and in our program. Items made out of recycled plastic
and aluminum provided a way of physically showing kids, parents and other event-goers
what could be made with recycled goods, making the process of recycling less abstract
and hopefully instilling the importance of proper and responsible waste management
actions.
While Recycle Everywhere is only in its infancy as a program in Manitoba as it was
initiated in 2010 (Recycle Everywhere, 2012), it has had a distinct impact on the
province. Provincially, Recycle Everywhere has over 300 partners who make use of the
15
program’s recycling bins to help promote outside of the house recycling (Recycle
Everywhere, 2012). The program provides a positive service to Manitoba by making
recycling convenient and by educating Manitobans, two very influential factors in
creating a strong recycling program and in turn improving Manitoba’s overall
sustainability.
Winnipeg’s Garbage and Recycling Master Plan
In October Winnipeg residents saw the first section of the new garbage and
recycling master plan come into action. The replacement of traditional garbage and
recycling bins with new wheeled carts is just the first step in a long list of improvements
being made to Winnipeg’s waste management program (Garbage and Recycling Master
Plan, 2011). The new program also calls for the creation of four community resource
recovery centres to be completed by 2014 (Kives, 2012). These centres, one in each
quadrant of the city, will provide a convenient and central drop-off point for large
recyclables such as construction material as well as for yard waste and hazardous
materials (Kives, 2012). Eventually a composting program could be possible through
these centres. Ultimately these improvements to Winnipeg’s waste management program
serve to minimize how much waste ends up at the Brady Road Landfill.
Winnipeg’s Brady Road Landfill is also subject to change under the new master
plan. Currently the landfill accepts an average of around 400,000 tonnes of garbage every
year (Speak Up, 2011; City of Winnipeg, 2012). Hopefully with the added conveniences
of the new recycling program, the amount of waste ending up in the landfill will
decrease. The goals for the Brady Road Landfill include 35-50% decrease in garbage that
16
requires burial by 2020 as well as an increased level of diversion within the landfill in
order to facilitate the proper handling of each type of material to help with sustainability
efforts (Speak Up, 2011). Other sustainability improvements for the landfill include the
recapture of natural gasses emitted by the site. Currently the Brady Road Landfill emits
greenhouse gasses equivalent to the emissions of 70,000 cars in a year (Speak Up, 2011).
The new master plan has the goal of improving sustainability in Winnipeg by
helping the city economically, socially and environmentally. Economically the new
program should create jobs within the recycling industry. Also, the streamlining of
garbage and recycling collection with the new autobins should reduce overall collection
costs to the city, making the process more economically efficient (Garbage and Recycling
Master Plan, 2011). Socially, the new program should provide equity amongst all
households in Winnipeg, providing all houses with collection of garbage, recycling and
yard waste from the provided bins (Garbage and Recycling Master Plan, 2011). In terms
of environmental benefits, the program aims to divert a significant amount of waste away
from the landfill, allowing more materials to be reused through proper recycling
processes (Garbage and Recycling Master Plan, 2011).
The City of Winnipeg, being the only major city in the province, has to be the
leader in pioneering environmentally responsible waste management practices for the rest
of the province. The improvements made in the new garbage and recycling master plan
that was approved in 2011 are much needed. Hopefully the success of these new
programs will be monitored through audits in order to help the city continually set new
goals and targets for improvement.
17
IV. Conclusion
Recycling is an important part of sustainable waste management. It allows
materials to be used to their full potential instead of simply as single-use, disposable
items. Recycling fits perfectly the definition of sustainability as it provides economic,
social and environmental benefits. Through an analysis of the case of Rushcliffe Borough
in London and the case of campus education and recycling at Francis Marion University
in South Carolina the necessary tools for implementing a successful recycling program
can be seen. Clearly education, promotion and convenience are of the utmost importance
when it comes to increasing people’s use of recycling as opposed to simply using the
garbage can.
Manitoba’s recycling programs reflect industry-funded incentive-based initiatives
run by commercial stewards through non-profit organizations such as Multi-Material
Stewardship Manitoba and Recycle Everywhere. These programs are valuable
components of the recycling system in Manitoba. My time at Recycle Everywhere
allowed me to see first-hand how diverse of an issue recycling really is. Clearly creating
recycling programs in Manitoba is not simply a one-size-fits-all solution. It is a multifaceted discipline requiring a multi-lateral response. Education, promotion, availability
and perception all play a role in people’s decisions of how they deal with their waste.
Winnipeg, Manitoba’s capital city is in the process of beginning their new Garbage
and Recycling Master Plan. Hopefully this program will see the success that is expected
and help to alleviate reliance on the Brady Road Landfill, while also generating revenue
for the city through increased recycling. While this is only the first step, it could help lead
the way for the rest of the province in improving its overall sustainability.
18
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http://www.winnipeg.ca/waterandwaste/garbage/bradyroad.stm
FMU (Francis Marion University). 2012. “Recycling”. http://www.fmarion.edu/about/recycling
Friends of the Earth. 2008. “Recycling: Why Its Important and How to Do It” [Briefing].
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