On April 8th, Mr. Geddis’ Grade 5/6 class had the opportunity to see firsthand where our waste ends up by visiting our region’s landfill at Ootischenia. Many were trepidatious of the trip as they were worried about hanging out at the “smelly place where our garbage goes”. Before heading to the “smelly location, they explored several places in our community that help reuse and recycle material, showing students that the landfill should be the last resort for the things we throw away.
The day began with a tour of Positive Apparel, generously hosted by owner Aviva. Students got a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run a second-hand store and how clothing, furniture, toys, and other donated items are given a second life instead of ending up in the landfill. Aviva shared that many high school students who once participated in Beyond Recycling programs now shop there regularly. A few students were especially excited to spot some video game consoles and were already hoping to return with their families. They were amazed by the huge number of donations that arrive each day and the work it takes to sort everything before it reaches the sales floor.
Next, the class visited Nelson Leaf’s recycling depot to learn about even more ways to keep waste out of the landfill. Students discovered the wide variety of items that can be recycled, including batteries, cooking oil, and electronics.
The group then traveled to Castlegar for a tour of Selkirk College’s sustainability programs, run by program lead, Kayla Tillapaugh. Students learned about the college’s advanced recycling systems, which help reduce the amount of waste sent to the landfill. They also got to see industrial food cyclers that process cafeteria food scraps into material that can be shared with local farmers. The class was evenly split on whether they liked the smell of the processed food waste!
Finally the students arrived at the place they were worried about smelling, the landfill. To their surprise as many commented, the landfill did not smell at all! Thanks to a tour led by RDCK staff, Todd, Akane and Stan, they learned that even at the landfill there are recycling options. We then got to do the fun part of driving on top of a mountain of our trash! While doing so, the class got to witness the large compacting machinery do its work and how operators of the landfill manage our waste to ensure it doesn’t become a contamination issue by either blowing away or getting into our waterways through leachage ending up in the groundwater.
By the end of the day, they had seen how many choices we can make to reduce waste, reuse resources, and help keep our community cleaner and healthier. One student, who had been a part of Beyond Recycling’s program last year said she was surprised about how much she still learned on the trip the second time.