A truckload of trash was diverted from the landfill, thanks to a community effort at Pioneer Acres 41st Annual Show and Reunion, Aug. 5-7.
Irricana Recyclers Society, along with the Irricana Lions Club, Irricana Ladies Club and other community groups recycled and composted nearly all the material used for food preparation and serving during the show.
The garbage normally associated with food service including all the packaging for food supplies, plastic, glass and cardboard, as well as cutlery, plates, cups and glasses was kept out of the landfill.
Historically, the trash associated with feeding hundreds of people over the weekend would fill up a grain truck, according to Mavis Hallman, a volunteer with the Lion’s Club. This year, volunteers had a total of three bags filled with hamburger wrappers and butter cartons – the only garbage generated by the show.
“We took about 120 barrel-sized garbage bags away of recyclable material,” said Jim DenBeste, director of the Irricana Recylers Society, a non-profit organization that has been in existence for 20 years.
The Society helped organize the event and provided the recyclable cutlery, plates and cups as part of its public education and awareness program.
“I brought in a seven to eight ounce juice glass that looks and feels exactly like clear plastic but is made out of 100 per cent corn sugar,” said DenBeste, a retired biologist. “(We used) 6,000 cutlery sets made out of potato starch. We made an enormous effort to bring in state of the art green products.”
Many of the supplies were designed to compost in about 30 days and cost between five and seven times more than plastic cutlery and Styrofoam or paper plates. The recycling project was not the first for the society, which organized a similar event for Irricana Sports Day, but it was the largest in scale.
“When you look at the mountain of stuff that was composted and recycled, it was amazing,” said DenBeste. “We recycled over 95 per cent. We were pretty happy with that. This was the first attempt doing it on a three-day event the size of Pioneer Acres.”
More than 100 volunteers were involved in the massive project, mostly Irricana Lions Club members who prepared and served the food and helped sort the recycling, according to DenBeste.
The recyclable goods were transported to the Rocky View waste transfer site near Irricana, while the compostable materials were delivered to Adam’s Contracting, where they will be turned into black soil.
DenBeste himself put in five 16-hour days. However, he said the effort was worth it because it was well received by attendees and volunteers.
“It surprised me how much interest there was,” said DenBeste. “I had a lot of people approach me. We got a pretty nice standing ovation when this was done, so they were pretty pleased.”
Brian Culp, chairman of the Irricana Lion’s catering committee, said the experience was positive.
“People were more than a little amazed at both Sports Day and Pioneer Acres that they could throw their food plates, cutlery and cups in the same bin,” said Culp. “Some of it was pretty novel and got a good reaction.”
According to Culp, the concession volunteers, who served more than 1,000 breakfasts and 300 steak dinners, felt pleased to be doing their part.
“(In the past) I have only had one complaint about using Styrofoam so I didn’t feel compelled to switch…but we got a lot of positive comments,” said Culp. “And it really didn’t add to anyone’s workload. It was a really good partnership. Everyone is a winner in this one.”
According to DenBeste, Irricana Recylers is trying to create a greener future.
“Every one of us (Irricana Recylers) is a person who believes that recycling is the future,” said DenBeste. “The process of hiding waste has got to go. In a matter of years, there will be no more landfills, they will be illegal.”
