Learn to Recycle Right with City of Calgary- this Tuesday

DID YOU KNOW? All Participants of the Skills N Stuff workshop are eligible for a 10% discount on purchase or renewal of any level of HSCA membership!

Our Zero Waste night is this Tuesday evening at HSCA Hearth Room, and we have a lot of information and fun activities planned. Here are a few things to remember: 

• Come early grab a seat, enjoy some refreshments and a chance to win some great zero-waste prizes. Starting at 6:30pm, the kids of Kensington Clean-up Crew will host icebreakers and games. Sunnyside Market will be set up with zero-waste solutions for your kitchen, and Canary Goods will display plastic-free items for your bathroom. 

• BYOC!  Bring your containers to take advantage of our pop-up refillery, or bring extra for our container swap.  

• Prince Agbata will be in attendance as well. Prince is visiting Canada as an Kumvana Fellow with Engineers without Borders for his inspiring work reducing plastic waste in Guana.  You can learn more about his work here. 

• City of Calgary presentation on Recycling Right starts at 7pm, followed by a short talk from BluPlanet Recycling. There will be time to ask questions before we open the pop-up refillery for you to take home some detergents, cleansers and other goodies in your own container. 

We hope to see you there, and we hope you’ll leave inspired to reduce waste. 

3 Things We Can Do to Reduce Waste Now

By Hillhurst Sunnyside Resident Jocelyn

Waste and recycling doesn’t receive a lot of love on the “Most Liveable Cities” list, but there’s a lot to be proud of after those carts are emptied into the truck. Calgary has set an ambitious goal: To divert 70 percent of waste from landfill by 2025! Here are some small things we can all do now to reduce our household waste and take full advantage of the resources in Calgary.

 1. Compost More 

Calgary’s green cart system is to waste management what the Central Library is to architecture. A critical piece of infrastructure that makes our city unique! 50% of residential waste has been diverted from landfill since the introduction of the green cart. Watch this video to learn how it works. 

All items marked compostable should not go in your green bin. The city only accepts bags with certification, broadly available in Calgary. Be especially skeptical of biodegradable or bioplastics made from bamboo or sugarcane. These should never go in the green bin.

For an easy visual reference, check out the City of Calgary’s handy Green Cart Guide here.

 You can compost paper when it’s food soiled. Use your junk mail to make compostable bags to line your compost bin.! Our informal testing at HSCA kitchen reports that layers of paper are solid. Check out the City’s YouTube video to learn, ‘How to fold newspaper to line your kitchen compost pail’ .

2. BYOC

BYOC sign outside Sunnyside Natural Market (338 10 St NW)

Bring your own container (BYOC) as you head out to shop in Kensington! This is becoming more and more common as residents try to reduce waste, and most businesses are willing to fill your clean container with your purchases. You can even BYOC for take-out! Sunnyside Market and Canary Goods are great places to shop for common household and pantry items. Feel good for reducing plastic waste, and with an HSCA membership you get a great discount shopping local! They will also accept your clean containers for other customers to use.

Bring your own Container to Zero Waste night on March 3 at HSCA. The City of Calgary will speak about recycling right and you’ll have an opportunity to fill them up at our pop-up refillery for free.  Check out our Facebook event page here.

3. Bookmark What Goes Where

The City has put together an encyclopedic database of waste for citizens to reference. Bookmark it and use it for your recycling questions. https://www.calgary.ca/UEP/WRS/Pages/What-goes-where/Default.aspx

Meet our new Executive Director!

Message from Tyler Chalmers, President, Board of Directors for Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association:

The HSCA Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Kate Stenson will take over the executive director position. Kate stepped up as interim ED during the previous transitions and has been instrumental not only in coverage for that position, but also in ensuring that the board, staff and volunteers remain on focus with our vision and objectives.

Kate’s connection to the Hillhurst Sunnyside community and HSCA is a lifetime one. Kate grew up in the community and attended Hillhurst School and was a participant in the HSCA Out-of-School program. Kate also participated as a vendor and volunteer of the Hillhurst Sunnyside Farmers’ Market for many years. Her passion for food security and advocacy brought her back to HSCA in the spring of 2013 when she joined as our Community Food Program Coordinator. She progressed to Manager of the program and then lent her skills and expertise to oversee HSCA’s community programs (Daycare, Out of School Care, Community Food Program and Community Connections).

We believe that HSCA has flourished under Kate’s leadership and will continue to do so as we move forward as an organization. Please join the HSCA board of directors in welcoming Kate to her new role.

Sincerely,

Tyler Chalmers President, Board of Directors Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association.