Zero Waste Challenge
Trent’s Sustainability Office, along with volunteers, will be auditing waste from every dining hall
Event Details
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Thursday, February 1, 2024
12:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Student volunteers in Green Team shirts are starting to pop up all over Trent’s campuses to announce the 2024 Zero Waste Challenge. You will see this team of 28 student volunteers and our regular blueboxing@trent crew in every dining hall encouraging effective sorting of waste and answering any questions you might have about what goes where.
"We need to support students in adopting proper sorting habits. Sorting can be a challenge because recycling and composting aren't the same everywhere. There can even be significant differences from city to city in Ontario," says Shelley Strain, Trent's Sustainability Coordinator. Sorting correctly is a great way for the Trent Community to support the transition to a circular economy in the province.
The challenge starts February 1 until February 16. During this time, Trent’s Sustainability Office, along with volunteers, will be auditing waste from every dining hall to determine which college (or Durham) is the best at sorting their waste. The auditing process is when we take the bags from the dining hall sorting centres and measure how much was sorted properly by separating and weighing the correct material and the incorrect material for that section. We also measure how much material could have been recycled or composted but went in the landfill section.
We will repeat this across all of Trent and find which students are the best sorters.
We are excited to take the lead on the Zero Waste Challenge this year and we have a huge team to thank. This program is a collaboration between Food Services, Housing, Blueboxing@trent, the Department of Careers, Co-ops and Experiential Learning, and Trent’s School of the Environment. If you aren’t 100% confident in your sorting, take a minute to read a sign at our Resource Recovery Stations or visit our website.
Contact Info
If you have any questions or need further information about the event, please feel free to reach out to:
shelleystrain@trentu.ca