Organics diversion strategy symposium

• What should the economic, environmental and social outcomes for the plan be?
• What should organics waste diversion do for Winnipeg?

This is what we heard at the Symposium. Please feel free to add your comments below.

• Proper education (multi-language)
• Convenient
• Focus on largest generators-producers.
• Focused on residential because those are our citizens
• Ease of use (not a lot of sorting). Use incentives and disincentives (bans) charges
• Expect high use (we could exceed 50%)
• Refuse to pick up garbage if no organic bin is out.
• Check in with other cities about multi families.

• Polluter pays – those that waste more, pay more.
• Who will pay for Organics?
• We are already paying for it- either now or later.
• Don’t want the cost borne by taxpayer.
• Equity
• Love to put organics in green bin.
• I will pay for the cost as a taxpayer, but I want it to be convenient.
• Are we learning from Europe, Brandon, etc.?
• What potential exist to recover biogas, especially if we look at province-wide.
• City should sell compost back to citizens.
• How does Winnipeg want to be seen?
• Create jobs.
• Sense of pride to live here
• 100 years landfill is not a long time.
• Extend life of landfill.
• Reduce odor from landfill gas.

• People spend $ on compost.
• Buy it back?
• Reverse back to Public/ Schools.
• Transparency –Where glass go?
• All population considered (Glass) not communicated back. Least complicated, long barriers

• Use of end product
• Periodicity of pick-up (freezing in winter)
• Decentralization (transportation is resource intensive) – Consider energy footprint and space footprint- look at e.g. Vermicomposting.
• Find community niches.
• Community vs. municipal programs (e.g. in an apartment building) Need vision + perspective that composting is a public service.
• Public education critical (look at recycling learning curve)
• Safe (e.g. diseased firewood) –think Waste vs. Resource.
• Get started… with some part of system /grow.
• Consider ‘discomfort ‘of changing personal habits.

• Make citizen aware.  Except city to teach citizens
• Education- cost related to transporting, separating reduce environmental impact.
• Big scale; restaurants, apartment, office buildings
• How you get people to change behavior –changing the norm.
• City doesn’t seem committed
• Selling composting

• Education –easy
• Financially –do cost benefit analysis. Find a system that works for Winnipeg.
• Find end-use/ market for compost.
• Transparent with taxes –where is $ going?
• Value of “Waste” –neighbor patrol.  Use carrots + sticks.

• Educating people-motivation & high participation
• Just do it!!
• Start small-get feedback.
• Bring revenue.
• Long-term –sustainability
• Buy on?? Reason to participate
• Tax Credit; back yard composters. Other incentives??

• Cost – Bad habits of spending before funds are available.
• Must have effective plan, improve diversion.
• Have a well communicated goal explained to public strong education throughout.
• Make program easy to use. Current carts are hard to use.
• Try and introduce user pay system.
• Recognition for back yard composting e.g. rebate, credit, putting cart out 1/month vs. every week.
• Source identification, i.e. multifamily vs. single family
• Create zero waste programs to equalize.
• Target ICI just as strong as residential
• Community participation

• Frequency of pick-up
• Community composting (apartments)
• Buy-in from public
• Education
• Future thinking (vision)
• Business community
• Climate change
• Outcomes: Set targets (achievable) should make us a more sustainable city.

This is what we heard at the Symposium. Please feel free to add your comments below.

• How to make it convenient for folks (recycling bin issue)
• Training a generation
• 1/3 of households have curbside (expected lower)
• Economics and end use are important-should talk about business case more.
• Why are we still talking about this? Let’s just do it.
• Surprised we’re still talking about burning it.

• Residential (house) focus– consider for Condo/Apts.
• We are behind other cities/provinces in organics strategy.
• Brady is a mess.
• Everything is good idea-but who will pay? How will we recuperate the costs?
• Got to be easy + convenient, simple + cost effective
• Landfill is not without cost- today & future LFG (GHGs)
• Need extensive cost benefit analysis.
• No longer waste; valuable resource + economic opp.
• Support farmers, presenter to do organics.
• Manage organics within current economic model-cost neutral with life cycle.

• Cultural aspect of composts –being together/ life style
• 40 % divers or potential
• Where does it go?
• Odor / site of bin
• Apartments/ lack of backyard (2) Community garden

• “Flavors” of composting- lots of surprises (e.g. pet waste)
• End use-what happens? Sold? Donated? How accessed?
• Concern: 30 % of participants didn’t know why to compost. Some ignorance of WHY in panelists’ presentation – consider science of where planet is at. (e.g. climate change)- Kyoto protocol.
• So… communicate numbers + support overcome barriers to participation.
• Not much discussion of multifamily homes.
• Landfill space is abundant; little economic imperative.

• Amount that can diverted
• Benefit and challenge of diversion
• Financial plan-Who is going to pay for it. Need for participation.
• Low % of group not composting – on site composting is cheapest.
• Need all government –composting is a life style.
• How to reduce Organic Waste at the source and the environmental impact
• How to manage G.H.G.

• Other communities have double diversion of Winnipeg.
• Competing priorities – how did other communities make it NB.
• Why do we keep talking with no action?
• At some point you have to start. The ease of pick-up will make it effective.
• Less garbage pick-up = cost savings.

• Competing for resources
• Compile resources.
• End product (value/profit)
• Pro: keen/participation
• Con: need more involvement from City residence (how fast can you make your city compost pile?)
• Huge potential; commitment; keep going
• Contribution from communities
• Big effort= min. standards for schools.

• City will introduce an Organics Program whether people like it or not.
• Significant residents already composting
• Hauling schools will be/is important in overall participation.
• Not a strong business case.
• How does this fit into being a great city.
• Garbage into resources is important. Continue changing perspective on those programs.
• Strong piece on financial/Cost impact
• Why is this important?
• Create more organics pick up/ less garbage.

• The 3 pillars approach (Balance)
• Comprehensive
• Wanting to engage with community
• Funding balance with cost + needs of people /family
• Make the business case
• How do we live good lives?

The success of an organics program depends on how well it is used.  How could we get good participation in a new program?

This is what we heard at the Symposium. Please feel free to add your comments below.

• Back yard composting still encouraged.
• Residential, commercial and institutional at the same time
• Keep yard/leaf waste pick up the same and add weekly kitchen pick up.
• Free bins with mandatory education; otherwise pay for bin.
• More frequent pick up for compost and less frequent for garbage.
• Organic waste reduction program
• Kitchen catcher & bag to move to a bigger pick up cart

• Convenient
• Easy to use (where will I put my cart? How will I use it?)
• Education –School level – Public/Adult population (TV, Billboards)
• Answers what goes in the bin.
• Create a brand.
• Accessible
• Cost affective
• Has to work in the winter months

• Simple program
• HDR’s best practices (Good start)
• Apartment – outside storage, frequent p/u.
• Easy to use containers/ compact
• Victoria BC – people could choose container size.
• 0 cost to Winnipeg.
• Organic Waste Methane Gas
• Cost/ Timeline/ Schedule
• Create jobs?

• Organic disposal ban (By-law)
• Can use liner bags-make them available at libraries (consider cost/economic disadvantage)
• Easy to use in home- e.g. kitchen counter container provided.
• Communicates;  Why this is important.
• Tied into a community garden program-return resources  to generators.

• Collected
• Compostable bag availability
• Accessible everywhere – office, apt, schools.
• Education; from schools
• City has a plan for growth and commit.

• Peer-peer pressure
• Competition
• Report on amounts + compare to other communities/ neighborhoods.
• Need to use bags-freezing.

• Bi-weekly grey bin. Weekly blue/green bin
• 60% reduction
• Using various composting tech to capture more stuff.
• Address the “yuck” factors –school participation.
• Reverse “yuck” factor –easy/convenient.
• Good Marketing of end product/promotion of how to compost.

• Like Brandon: sign up system to show all others and then adopt for everybody.
• No reason organics should go into garbage.
• Strong education on how to deal with all organics
• Strong school participation/ how people learn/participate early and often.
• Convert the non-believers.
• Show cost benefit to everybody.
• Maximize knowledge through media options.
• Make participation a habit, not a chore.

• Mandatory
• Regulated
• Socially acceptable (Clears plastic bags for trash)
• Easy, convenient
• All inclusive (pet waste, etc.) everything in
• Consistency (symbols, etc.)
• Education
• Keep backyard composting etc.

This is what we heard at the Symposium. Please feel free to add your comments below.

• That it’s happening.
• Timelines
• Cost + what kind of enforcement there will be.
• What is the driver? Why would we do it given Brady will be good for 100 yrs.
• Where will it be processed + how
• End product? What is happening?
• Clear decision we’re doing it.
• Show successes.
• Get a director / staff the office.
• Explain cycle of food +nutrients + soil health.
• Give citizens information.
• Stimulate responsibility
• What other cities are doing –Social shame / “We compost too”.

• Can’t please all the people all the time
• Timelines-how long will it take?
• Goals
• Who are the partners?
• Cost to taxpayer
• What will the system look like? –User pay?
• Education
• Repeat the issues, facts, and why it’s important to do –critical to changing public values.
• Reduce food waste at its source (how do we do this?)

• Transparency –cost
• Capturing gas- What to do with it?
• Ease of use
• Apartment

• Big picture numbers-including energy/emission footprint of system.
• Consider emotional needs of users.
• Collection vs. participation in a system
• Feedback- regular/monthly, regular environmental impacts

• Understanding what other cities are doing.
• Integrated waste management plan for a better understanding.
• Regular public reports on progress – cost, transport costs vs. value of compost. What is the cost of not doing it?
• Education (tours of landfills to public groups) to public how and future systems
• Cost of organic collection.
• City commitment to program
• Integrated waste system as a whole and organics for all citizens

• What happened to 2011 plan? Is this stalling?
• Couldn’t we be starting already at existing facility? –We are frustrated!
• Report back, show timeline.

• Better promotion –Social Media
• Better /dedicated website- app/twitter/etc… (Don’t model the snow zones!!)
• Education
• Good leadership-down stream
• Environ benefits- GHGs, climate change (overall benefits), connection of global issues.
• Continuous improvement

• Cost of options, what work forces
• What strong business plan is?
• Who, What, Where, When, Why, How.
• Compare to other municipalities to show possible reasonable cost.
• Define problems i.e.is this a priority?
• Look at disposal fees to encourage these programs i.e. raise fees.
• Need more convenient information availability of programs
• Keep momentum of diversion.
• Cost. What is it, why?
• Convenience, simple/ easy to use
• Education /outreach convert the non-participants
• Make sure all sources are represented. I.e. SF, MF, ICI.

• Incentive
• Knowing what the “punishment” will be. Consequences of not following the program
• Rewards! (Lowered taxes, recognition)
• Education