Ms Shamim’s grade 4/5 class had a cool field trip at the end of November. First, they got a great tour of the Ootischenia landfill thanks to Todd, Travis, Karen and Stan. There was a great visual display of all the different types of materials the RDCK now can recycle (there are a lot!), and they saw all the different ways materials such as wood, metal, appliances and garden waste are diverted from the landfill. They got to see the active phase of the landfill, joining many ravens in watching the compactor repeatedly crush the trash to try to make it as small as possible. They learned composting is coming to the area soon, probably in 2022, and what a difference that will make to the amount of stuff that goes to the landfill. And they learned the difference between a dump, where you just leave whatever trash or leftover-whatever you’re not using anymore, and a landfill, which is carefully managed to try and divert and recycle and reuse as much as possible.
They then went for a brief look at the Waste Management facility in Brilliant, where Paul reminded them of the importance of recycling right. It was a fantastic overview of where our waste goes after the trash or recycling bin, and all the work that happens at that stage.