THUNDER BAY – Municipal Green Awards were presented at Monday night’s City Council Meeting to four community organizations who achieved success in reducing, reusing, recycling and diverting waste in 2011. The Chair of the Zero Waste Action Team (ZWAT), Alan Forbes, Acting Mayor Paul Pugh and Jason Sherband, Coordinator of Solid Waste Diversion & Recycling, presented the awards, which are a joint venture between the City of Thunder Bay and Zero Waste Action Team (ZWAT).
The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre was awarded for environmental leadership through a variety of waste reduction and recycling initiatives. Their expanded plastic recycling program resulted in a 25 per cent increase in diversion of plastics in 2011.
Superior Collegiate & Vocational Institute implemented a variety of waste reduction programs, including a weekly collection of recyclables that translated into recycling approximately 41,000 kilograms of material in 2011.
Ecole Catholique Franco-Superieur encourages litterless lunches, the use of reusable dishes at school events and composting. Along with other initiatives, the school has switched to ‘green’ certified cleaning products.
OLG Casino continues to demonstrate environmental stewardship by recycling 85 per cent of recyclable material. They have reduced paper consumption by 4.4 per cent this year, bringing the total reduction to 27 per cent since 2008.
ZWAT is open to members of the Industrial, Commercial and Institutional Sectors, Community Organizations and citizens of Northwestern Ontario who are committed to working towards a goal of Zero Waste. To learn more about ZWAT or apply for a Municipal Green Award, visit www.zwat.ca.