1.0       INTRODUCTION

 

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n 1989, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) challenged all government departments to reduce the amount of waste they produce by 50% by the year 2000 using 1988 as the base year[1].  In 1994, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Energy (MOEE) passed the 3Rs Regulations which stated that all office buildings, including federal facilities, with an area greater than 10,000 meters must perform waste audits and implement waste diversion plans.  In 1995, the Federal Government included these goals within the Greening of Government Operations Policy.

 

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is committed to being the “greenest” department in the federal government.  Solid waste reduction is one area where the department is demonstrating this leadership. 

 

In October 1995, the Office of Environmental Affairs (OEA) implemented a waste reduction program called Waste Free which consists primarily of deskside recycling for fine paper, centralized multi-material recycling, and various communications initiatives.  Waste Free is contributing to diversion rates as high as 58% at a number of facilities in the National Capital Region (NCR).  With the Waste Free program, NRCan has accomplished its objective of 50% waste reduction.

 

Later in 1995, OEA presented a pilot waste management approach called Enhanced Waste Free which includes all Waste Free initiatives as well as the replacement of deskside waste bins with mini desktop bins; the installation of centralized waste and organic material collection units in common areas on each Enhanced Waste Free pilot floor; and the switch from the collection of deskside waste bins by maintenance personnel to the management of mini desktop bins by NRCan employees.  With the Enhanced Waste Free program, NRCan has achieved a 93% diversion rate on three pilot floors at 580 Booth Street. 

 

It is believed that the main key to the success of the Enhanced Waste Free program is the replacement of deskside waste bins with mini desktop bins for the collection of waste and compostable materials, and the switch from the collection of deskside waste bins by maintenance personnel to the management of mini desktop bins by NRCan employees.  The purpose of this report is to confirm this belief, to discuss the lessons learned to date, and to determine if the system should be expanded further at NRCan.

 

 

2.0       Evolution of Waste Management at NRCan

 

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he development of a successful waste management program is a stepwise process.  OEA at NRCan has one of the best waste management programs in the federal government.  The following is a description of the development of the NRCan waste management program.

 

2.1  Waste Free Program

During the early part of 1994, OEA developed an Environmental Performance Review and Strategic Plan that would enable NRCan to become a leader in the field of environmental management within the federal government.  The main recommendations within the plan stated that NRCan should expand its waste reduction program; that the success of this expanded program should be measured; and, if successful, the program should be implemented at NRCan facilities across the country. 

 

By the fall of 1994, NRCan had implemented multi-material recycling and communications programs in facilities in the NCR and had conducted waste audits to assess the programs’ effectiveness.  The waste diversion systems in place, at the time, were designed to capture glass, cans, mixed office papers, newsprint, and old corrugated cardboard (OCC) for recycling.  The waste audit conducted afterwards at 580 Booth Street demonstrated that this program was effective in that it was contributing to a diversion rate of 48%. 

 

In October 1995, OEA implemented an improved waste reduction program called Waste Free.  Waste Free is now contributing to diversion rates as high as 58% at a number of facilities in the NCR.

 

Waste Free includes a variety of reduction, reuse, and recycling activities.  They are:

 

·         deskside recycling for fine paper;

·         central multi-material recycling for polystyrene and plastic films, rigid plastics, clear glass, coloured glass, mixed papers, aluminum and tin cans, and corrugated cardboard;

·         recycling programs for batteries and fluorescent light tubes;

·         the reduction and reuse of paper, office supplies, and various other products;

·         communications initiatives such as the production of educational brochures and posters; e-mail messages to all employees from the ADM of the Corporate Services Sector; kiosks and displays, a regular column called "Econotes" in The Source, and reporting successes to management on a weekly basis; and

·         a composting program for organic wastes produced in the cafeteria.

 

2.2  Enhanced Waste Free and Mini Desktop Bins

In late 1995, OEA presented an alternate waste management approach to NRCan’s Departmental Environment Operations Committee, a committee made up of sector representatives.  This new approach, called Enhanced Waste Free, would include all of the Waste Free initiatives as well as the following changes.

 

·         The replacement of deskside waste bins with mini desktop bins;

·         the installation of centralized waste and organic material collection units in common areas on each Enhanced Waste Free floor; and

·         the switch from the collection of deskside waste bins by maintenance personnel to the management of mini desktop bins by NRCan employees.

 

The mini desktop bin approach was conceptualized based on “Parkinson’s Law of Garbage” which states that “Garbage expands so as to fill the receptacle available for its containment.” (“A Perverse Law of Garbage” in Garbage, December/January 1993, p. 22)  It is anticipated that the mini desktop bin approach will do the following.

 

·         Maximize the use of existing waste diversion and recycling systems;

·         sensitize employees to the waste that they create and to the way that they dispose of it;

·         convey the message that employees should seek to reduce and reuse through the small size of the bin; and

·         reduce waste haulage costs.

 

The mini desktop bin approach is being used by many organizations including 20,000 employees at Bell Canada, 4,500 employees at Environment Canada, and 18,000 employees in the Ontario provincial government, and many more public and private organizations. 

 

OEA has, so far, implemented the use of the mini desktop one floor at a time.  This has allowed OEA to learn from their experiences and to improve the implementation process each time.  The Enhanced Waste Free program has now been implemented on three floors at 580 Booth Street, including the 7th and 13th floors, the “Green Floors”. [2]  The following is a description of the lessons that have been learned and applied throughout the implementation process of Enhanced Waste Free.

 

·         It is best to coordinate the implementation of the mini desktop bin approach with the implementation of other “green” initiatives, an office move, or similar changes in office structure.

·         Employee acceptance can be increased by an awareness campaign and training. 

·         Employee acceptance is highest when support from senior management is clearly demonstrated.

·         The program must be as convenient as possible in order to minimize the real and perceived time that employees spend on waste management.

·         The use of a second mini desktop bin for organic material can be used to increase the program’s convenience.

·         The waste management program should have a distinguishing name, theme, and / or logo.

·         There should be a contact number for employee comments and suggestions.

·         The program’s achievements and successes should be communicated to employees on a regular basis.

 

The use of the mini desktop bin approach is based on the belief that this initiative was clearly worth pursuing, that support from senior management would increase employee buy-in, that employee awareness is key to the success of any waste management program, and that the use of the liners would increase the convenience of the program by reducing the amount of time that employees would have to spend managing their waste and cleaning the organic waste bins. [3]

 

2.3  A Voluntary Approach to Enhanced Waste Free

In the past three years, NRCan has conducted a number of surveys to determine employee attitude and knowledge about waste reduction activities at NRCan.  One such survey, conducted in early 1996 revealed the following.

 

·         92% of the employees at NRCan believed that waste reduction is important; and

·         50% of the employees feel that additional 3Rs communications and education are needed, with emphasis on paper products.

 

However, surveys regarding Enhanced Waste Free specifically revealed the following.

 

·         67% of the employees on the 13th floor stated that the mini desktop bins convey a message to reduce and facilitate waste reduction by making it difficult for employees to develop or sustain wasteful habits, but only 52% on the 7th floor agreed; and

·         54% of the employees on the 7th floor stated that the mini desktop bin approach is inconvenient, while only 27% of the employees on the 13th floor held this view.

 

Recognizing the need for employee satisfaction and participation, OEA looked for ways to improve NRCan’s waste diversion programs.  OEA knew that management support was important, that raising awareness and increasing information availability was necessary, and that minimizing the time that employees would be required to spend on waste management was important.  In response to the survey and employee suggestions, OEA decided to do the following.

 

·         Install a centralized waste, organic material, and used toner cartridge collection unit in common areas on all floors at 580 Booth Street;

·         leave the deskside waste bins in place; and

·         maintain the collection of deskside waste bins by maintenance personnel.

 

This purpose of this approach was to provided employees on all floors with the opportunity and means to participate in the Enhanced Waste Free program on a “voluntarily” basis, as opposed to the “imposed” mini desktop bin Enhanced Waste Free approach.

 

 

3.0       Methodology

 

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n October 1997, NRCan conducted a success measurement of the voluntary Enhanced Waste Free program on two sample floors at 580 Booth Street.  The primary purpose of the measurement was to determine the waste reduction successes attributable to voluntary employee participation in the Enhanced Waste Free program.

 

The specific objectives of the study were the following.

 

·         To audit the 10th and 18th floors at 580 Booth Street to determine the waste diversion and reduction rates of the voluntary Enhanced Waste Free approach; and

·         to discuss the lessons learned throughout the implementation of this voluntary approach.

 

The audit was conducted throughout the week of October 6th, 1997.  During this time, the audit team weighed and sorted 100% of the waste being sent to landfill and the materials collected for recycling and composting from the pilot floors.  A detailed description of the waste material categories is shown in Appendix A.

 

 

4.0      Current Findings and Potential opportunities

 

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he following is a summary of the results obtained from this success measurement study, a comparison of these results with those obtained from previous success measurement studies, and an examination of the potential results that can be obtained with Enhanced Waste Free at NRCan.

 

4.1  Current Findings

The results from this study indicate that the employees on the 10th and 18th floors are diverting 57% of the waste that they produce, and that they are reducing the amount of waste they send to landfill by 65%, based on the 1994 baseline year.  These results are shown in Table 1.  Figure 1 indicates that this is approximately the same as the diversion that was being achieved with Waste Free and 36% less than what is being achieved with Enhanced Waste Free and the mini desktop bin approach.

 

 

Table 1 - Annual Diversion Rates for the 10th and 18th Floors at 580 Booth Street

with the “Voluntary” Enhanced Waste Free Approach

 

 

 

 

Figure 1 - Diversion with Waste Free, Enhanced Waste Free

and the “Voluntary” Approach to Enhanced Waste Free

The study results also indicate that the contamination rates for many of the recyclables are less than 1% by weight and were therefore negligible.  However, the results also indicate that the contamination rates for coloured glass, polystyrene and plastic films, organics, and the deskside paper recycling blue bins ranged from 2% to 50%.  A qualitative study of the types of contaminants found in each recycling stream indicates that there is a significant number of paper in the coloured glass, paper cups and miscellaneous paper in the polystyrene and plastic film, polystyrene and polypropylene in the organic waste, and several red file folders, food items, glass containers, pieces of tissue paper, and padded envelopes in the blue deskside paper recycling stream.  Details regarding the weights of the contaminants in each recycling stream can be found in Appendix B of this report.

 

Contamination in the recycling streams can be a problem when rates reach these levels since contamination can reduce the income that is generated through the sale of recyclable materials and reduce the efficiency of the recycling process.

 

These relatively high contamination rates are most likely caused by a lack of employee awareness.  Such problems can be overcome with continued employee education and training.

 

 

 

4.2  Potential Opportunities

Many valuable lessons have been learned throughout the implementation of Waste Free, Enhanced Waste Free, and the “voluntary” Enhanced Waste Free programs at NRCan.  The most notable lesson is that the use of mini desktop bins at NRCan can help yield the best results in waste diversion.  This is as expected since the mini desktop bin approach gets employees involved by transferring the responsibility of waste management to those employees that produce the waste. 

 

Table 2 indicates that by extrapolating the results obtained from the success measurement of the Enhanced Waste Free program using mini desktop bins, employees at 580 Booth Street can reduce the amount of waste that they send to landfill from 79,065 kg in 1994 to 7,035 kg in 1997.  This diversion represents over 36 truckloads of waste per year.

 

Although the cost benefits for this approach have not been documented in detail, it is certain that a reduction in waste translates into a reduction in the cost of hauling waste to landfill, the associated tipping fees, and a sizable increase in paper recycling revenues.  In fact, it is estimated that an annual savings of $10,000 can be achieved through reduced hauling and tipping fees.  The switch from the collection of the deskside waste bins by maintenance personnel to the management of mini desktop bins by NRCan employees can also mean a significant savings in reduced housekeeping costs.

 

 

Table 2 - The Potential Diversion for 580 Booth Street

with Enhanced Waste Free

 

5.0       Conclusions

 

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hanks to the active participation of employees, Waste Free is a model of success and Enhanced Waste Free promises to be even better.

 

With the Waste Free program, NRCan employees at 580 Booth Street have achieved a 58% waste diversion in 1996, successfully achieving the Federal Government’s Greening of Government Operations goal and exceeding the Provincial 3Rs Regulations requirements four years early.  With the Enhanced Waste Free program, NRCan employees can increase their waste diversion rates to over 93%.  Expanding Enhanced Waste Free to all floors at 580 Booth Street and other NRCan facilities in the near future is a feasible next step.

 

It is obvious that OEA, managers and employees at NRCan are committed to being leaders in waste management.  Throughout the development of the Waste Free and Enhanced Waste Free programs at facilities within the NCR, employees and managers at many other NRCan facilities across Canada have been implementing waste reduction, reuse, and recycling initiatives.  It is expected that the result of these and future endeavors will keep NRCan at the forefront of environmental stewardship and waste management within the federal government.  This will not only benefit the environment but will also continue to be a source of employee pride.


[1] If a 1988 baseline year does not exist the earliest audit year is used.

[2] The “Green Floors” are working demonstration and testing areas for a variety of environmentally preferable technologies and programs.

[3] It should be noted that the use of the liners is in itself a pilot project.  It is expected that the liners will breakdown during the composting process.  If the process is successful, the liners will be used in all of the mini desktop compost bins.