Waste Management
Minimizing waste reduces pollution, GHG emissions and energy
use, while easing pressure on local landfills and saving costs.
Like our host communities of Whistler and Vancouver, and many of our surrounding communities in the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District and Metro Vancouver, VANOC has embraced a zero waste challenge. This requires planning to minimize and divert as much waste as possible from landfills during venue construction, Games planning and operations, and during the post-Games decommissioning phase.
Our initial analysis and forecast indicates we will be able to divert 85 per cent of our Games-time solid waste from landfills through source reduction, reuse, recycling, waste-to-energy methods and disposal reduction. Our total forecast for 2010 Winter Games solid waste generation during operational phase (September 2009 to May 2010) is 4,530 tonnes. Total Games waste is equivalent to 0.00145 per cent of the annual waste generated by Metro Vancouver and the Resort Municipality of Whistler combined. Another way of viewing this information: every 13 hours, Vancouver and Whistler generate as much waste as will be produced during the busiest months of the Games period.
We have also integrated waste management practices at our head office through recycling and composting. In addition, no waste from land clearing at our mountain venues was sent to landfill.
We engaged a variety of stakeholders, including environmental non-government organizations, governments and some of our corporate sponsors and suppliers, regarding our shared interest in exploring the possibility of a municipal-scale compost facility — or pilot project — in the Metro Vancouver area.
We have minimized waste at our offices and venues during the last two reporting periods. The bulk of our waste is not generated on a per capita basis by our workforce, but rather by venue development and overall operational activities.
Like our host communities of Whistler and Vancouver, and many of our surrounding communities in the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District and Metro Vancouver, VANOC has embraced a zero waste challenge. This requires planning to minimize and divert as much waste as possible from landfills during venue construction, Games planning and operations, and during the post-Games decommissioning phase.
Our initial analysis and forecast indicates we will be able to divert 85 per cent of our Games-time solid waste from landfills through source reduction, reuse, recycling, waste-to-energy methods and disposal reduction. Our total forecast for 2010 Winter Games solid waste generation during operational phase (September 2009 to May 2010) is 4,530 tonnes. Total Games waste is equivalent to 0.00145 per cent of the annual waste generated by Metro Vancouver and the Resort Municipality of Whistler combined. Another way of viewing this information: every 13 hours, Vancouver and Whistler generate as much waste as will be produced during the busiest months of the Games period.
We have also integrated waste management practices at our head office through recycling and composting. In addition, no waste from land clearing at our mountain venues was sent to landfill.
We engaged a variety of stakeholders, including environmental non-government organizations, governments and some of our corporate sponsors and suppliers, regarding our shared interest in exploring the possibility of a municipal-scale compost facility — or pilot project — in the Metro Vancouver area.
We have minimized waste at our offices and venues during the last two reporting periods. The bulk of our waste is not generated on a per capita basis by our workforce, but rather by venue development and overall operational activities.
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