1.1 Introduction

One of the most important environmental concerns in the City of Markham is the problem of garbage disposal. Every year Markham transports over 50,000 tonnes of waste to be landfilled in Michigan. Landfilling garbage represents a waste of the earth's energy and resources, and is costly for communities that are exporting their waste to distant landfills. In order to address the growing concern on our dependency on the Michigan landfill, the City of Markham developed Mission Green. The Markham Conservation Committee (MCC), an environmental advisory group, helped launch the Ambassador program to disseminate information regarding Mission Green to the people of Markham.

2.1 What is Mission Green?

Markham has developed a plan to divert 70% of our waste from landfill. The plan is called Mission Green. To reach its goal, Markham has introduced new initiatives that encourage composting and recycling and discourage landfilling of waste. Reaching the 70% target will generate both environmental and economic benefits by recycling precious resources. A key component of the Mission Green plan is the three-stream collection system. Three-stream collection means collecting materials in separate ways in order to divert more waste from the landfill. The three-stream system was implemented in two geographic phases. Phase I began on September 17, 2004 for all households east of Highway 48/Markham Road. Phase II includes the balance of the Town and began the week of July 4, 2005.

The Mission Green plan includes an organics collection program that encourages participants to dispose of organic waste (fruit, vegetable scraps, diapers, paper towels, coffee grinds, etc.) in a Green Bin for weekly collection. The Town has provided each household with a Green Bin and an indoor container so that everyone can participate. The current Blue Box program has also been expanded to accept new materials such as empty paint cans, empty aerosol cans, aluminum food trays&foil and all plastic bottles, containers and jars. Mission Green means less garbage! While the Blue Box and organics will continue to be collected every week, what's left (dry garbage) will only need to be collected every other week.

(http://www.markham.ca/markham/channels/wastemgmt/missiongreen/overview.htm)

3.1 The Ambassador Program

Since education and outreach is an important tool in creating awareness regarding any environmental issue, MCC launched the Ambassador Program to educate and answer questions about the new garbage collection program for the citizens of Markham. A training session for the volunteers was organized by Claudia Marsales, Manager, Waste Management Department. The volunteers who could not attend, educated themselves by reading the information provided to them and the Mission Green website. All the volunteers were appropriately trained and highly motivated.

This report is going to be helpful for other environmental groups if they want to organize a similar program. Also, it informs other groups about the active role the MCC plays in our community. Dissemination of this report might encourage other citizens to join the MCC.

3.2 Objectives

The objectives of the program were as follows:

To educate and raise awareness about the new garbage collection system in Markham;
To answer any questions or concerns the citizens might have; and
To support the larger goal of waste minimization by the City of Markham.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the main method to deliver outreach was by setting up information booths at various locations throughout Markham. We used comprehensive materials provided by the city staff to disseminate information regarding Mission Green. MCC volunteers set up booths on Saturday, July 2^nd and Sunday, July 3^rd 2005.

3.3 Locations

There were 14 locations chosen for the Ambassador Program, of which we received permission from 11 of them to set up information booths (Map 1). These locations were:

Sobeys
Farmer’s Market (Markham)
Garden Basket
Loblaws
Markville Mall
Food Basics
First Markham Place
Longo’s
Longo’s
Farmer’s Market (Thornhill)
Food Basics

Map 1: Locations of Mission Green Ambassador Program

INDEX

Locations of Ambassador Program

^ Sobeys

# Farmer’s Market (Markham)

@ Garden Basket

* Loblaws

* Markville Mall

* Food Basics

@ First Markham Place

^ Longo’s

$ Longo’s

@ Farmer’s Market (Thornhill)

# Food Basics

Of these locations, there were seven grocery stores, two malls and two farmer markets. The reason for choosing these locations were as follows:

1. They had good spatial spread therefore we could reach people throughout the community;

2. Our target audience was adult females, who are, generally speaking, responsible for their family’s garbage disposal. Therefore, we chose places like malls and grocery stores where there was a greater probability to reach our target group; and

3. These sites are located in highly visible areas of the city and therefore might attract more people.

4.1 Results

The phase 2 of Mission Green Program included approximately 55,000 households. Based on the reports filed by the volunteers, we reached approximately 1500 people over the weekend. The volunteers had set up their booths for approximately six hours each on Saturday and four hours on Sunday.

4.2 Main Questions/Clarifications

Following is a list of the main questions, clarifications and comments made by the people who stopped at the booths (starting with the most important):

There appeared to be a flaw in the information about how the disposal of plastic film was explained in the literature. People were confused whether or not kitchen catcher garbage bags would be considered as plastic film or not, thereby necessitating the use of biodegradable garbage bags. The ambassadors explained the new super-pulper that is being used to separate plastics from organics and that regular kitchen catcher garbage bags were fine for collecting and disposing of organic waste.
Many people wanted to know where to get extra green bins, kitchen-catcher and blue boxes.
Some of the latches in the green bin were broken so people wanted to know if they could get replacements.
Some people expressed concern that sorting the garbage as required was going to be time-consuming.
Some residents had not received their green bins by July 2/3so the ambassadors noted their addresses and contact information and forwarded to the Town’s waste management department.
There were concerns raised about what would happen if they collected more organic waste than they could fit in the green bin.
There were concerns raised about alcohol-free all-natural baby wipes having to be separated from diapers before being disposed of. This was a contentious issue.
Some people asked whether they should still continue with the backyard composting and where to buy the black composter. Some questions were more about the details of the backyard compost process and how to prevent unpleasant odours from the composter.
Some people wanted to know if they could use big green plastic bag with label that says Organic Materials and put them outside for weekly collection instead of putting green bin outside especially when they are on vacation and do not want to leave their Green Bins outside for an extended period of time.
Concerns were raised about the odour problem and maggot- infestation.

4.3 Suggestions for improving the program

Develop a way to attach a deodorant puck to the top of the bin to eliminate the odour.
The handle of the Green Bin should be lengthened for taller residents because it can be uncomfortable and awkward to pull the bin as-is because of its height.
Include a wire bracket with the kitchen catcher to attach it to the kitchen cupboards like was done in the City of Toronto.
The Town should distribute copies of the sorting list with little pictures to make it easier for senior citizens (or even those who are younger with poor vision) who really want to participate but had difficulty trying to read the small font on the lists. Even if the Town could make a simplified list with logos and then in large font write “food” or “wood chips/plastic wraps” etc. for the basic items it would help these residents.

4.4 Concerns

Positive comments far outweighed negative comments. Almost everyone who stopped at the booths saw some value from the Mission Green program. However, some of the residents felt that the new system is too confusing and time-consuming. Some wondered whether the Green Bin is raccoon-proof.

5.1 Lessons Learned

We could have chosen a few more locations on the north side of Markham.
We could have included a few other stores like Home Depot, Canadian Tire and various gardening centers.
Volunteers needed more help from the city staff by at least dropping off and picking up the booth kits for us. In one instance, the legs of the booth table were poorly secured, and caused damage to a personal vehicle when they became loose when removing the table from the car.
We had to discontinue the First Markham Place site because there were several non-Markham residents who were confused by the program and questioned if it was being rolled out in their community. There were only 18 to 20 people who approached the table at this location and it would have been beneficial to have a Mandarin or Cantonese speaking volunteer at this location.
Not all Ambassadors received posters due to a shortage of supply.

6.1 Conclusion

Overall, the goal of reaching out to the people of Markham and raising their level of awareness about Mission Green was a success. According to the latest information available, the launch of Mission Green has achieved a greater than 90% participation by the people and with a diversion rate of over 66%. MCC members and other volunteers had a major role in the launch of one of the most significant public participation projects in Markham. Without their efforts, the launch of Mission Green might not have been as successful.