Category: What’s Happening

Job opening: Zero Waste Assistant Coordinator

Posted on by zerowaste

Zero Waste Assistant Coordinator

 

Compensation: $25-35 / hour
Position: Full-time, permanent
Benefits: Health spending account & Common Good Retirement Savings with employer contribution

While respecting and embodying Raven’s zero waste and community building philosophy throughout; the incumbent’s focus is engaging with and encouraging community effort towards better waste practices overall (becoming a zero-waste community).

Job Description:

1. In collaboration with the Zero Waste Coordinator (ZWC), developing and implementing zero waste programs and communications campaigns and strategies.
2. Developing creative and engaging social media outreach, including video and interactive content and increasing Raven’s social media reach.
3. Coordinating website updates.
4. Creating posters & signage.
5. Assisting the ZWC with research, analysis, identification and development of new opportunities / projects to inform and influence public opinion and stakeholder views including writing articles, creating projects and partnering to move the needle.
6. Working with the ZWC to build momentum in support of zero waste.
7. Assisting the ZWC with Zero Waste Initiatives such as waste reduction week activities, community wide garage sales and Zero Hero profiles.
8. Assisting the ZWC with outreach in all Yukon communities: school, tradeshows, the depot, displays, social media and the website.
9. Working with the ZWC to assess and review Zero Waste programming effectiveness and strategize long term goals.
10. Responding to public inquiries as needed.
11. Participating actively on various joint committees as required to maintain ongoing relationships of the Raven team as a whole.
12. Implementing Raven’s Philosophy and code of conduct.
13. Undertaking related duties as required such as: provision of technical support to the ZWC on a variety of projects, technical review of documents and participation in strategy sessions.
14. Assisting the ZWC with preparing budgets and reports for yearly and project based funders.

Working Conditions

• The work is performed under normal office conditions, on site in Raven’s facilities and in a variety of locations throughout Yukon.
• The Zero Waste Coordinator must live in Whitehorse, but some remote work is a possibility.
• Flexible hours.
• Some travel and work on weekends is required.

Knowledge & Skills

Required skills

• Diploma, degree or relevant work experience in Communications, or equivalent experience.
• Relevant work experience in a related environmental field, or equivalent education or experience.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills. Plain language skills.
• Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft office, graphic design and social media management.
• Excellent organizational skills, prioritizing, attention to detail and ability to multitask with minimal supervision.
• Ability to work in a team environment.
• Demonstrated ability to utilize the internet effectively for research and promotion.
• Commitment to a zero-waste lifestyle and deep comprehension of Raven’s underlying philosophy and goals.
• Valid driver’s license and own vehicle.

Skills considered an asset

• Public speaking/presentation skills
• Graphic design experience
• First aid

Please email your resume and a cover letter that clearly demonstrates how your experience relates to the job description and why you want to work for Raven Recycling Society and Zero Waste Yukon to info@zerowasteyukon.ca or call (867)667-7269 ex.5 for more information. We will review applications and contact eligible applicants for an interview at the end of April.

 

 

Take the Textiles Pledge: No new clothing in 2023!

Posted on by zerowaste

Due to the use of toxic dyes, fossil fuels, shipping, micro-plastic contamination, pesticide use on cotton farms, and so on, the fast fashion industry has been named one of the largest polluters on the planet.

Because the impact is so big, this provides us Yukoners with an opportunity to make an impact as consumers. Above all the other R’s in the chain, Reduce and Reuse have the most impact in terms of the waste we generate. By practicing these 2 R’s when it comes to clothing, we can eliminate the need for another clothing item to be made as well as all the resource extraction that goes with it.

We therefore invite you to join Zero Waste Yukon and Love2Thrift in committing to reducing our impact by buying no new clothing in the year 2023.

Sign our pledge to buy no new clothing in 2023! At year’s end, when you have completed our survey, we will enter your name in our draw for one of 3 zero waste prizes:

•  2 adult admission tickets to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve
•  Yukon Refillery gift certificate
•  Gift certificate for Lumel glassblowing workshop for 2

Find resources to help you fulfill your pledge here.

Sign the pledge here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fast Fashion in Focus

Posted on by zerowaste

Happy 2023! Zero Waste Yukon has been a bit sleepy in the last year, but we’re back up and running and looking forward to another year of Zero Waste education, outreach and inspiration.

For this year, we’ve decided to narrow our focus to a specific area – and we’ve chosen that focus to be textiles. While we may do other things unrelated to textiles, this focus will allow us to be more strategic about the projects we run and the content we create.

Why textiles? This theme was in part inspired by the artist residency program we piloted in the summer of 2022. The first artist, Janet Patterson was appalled when she heard that the average Canadian discards 70 items of clothing per year. She used her time in the Depot to make this data tangible by dressing mannequins in 70 items of clothing each. The end result was that her mannequins were weighed down to the point of being bulky, clumsy and unmoveable — a poignant metaphor for how material possessions, while to a degree necessary and useful, can also overwhelm us.

This focus was also inspired by Love2Thrift’s presentation at Yukon Government’s Recycling Summit in November of 2022. Love2Thrift concluded their presentation with a call to action to pledge to buy no new clothing for a year.

In 2023, Zero Waste Yukon and Love2Thrift are partnering take this pledge a step further: sign our pledge to commit to buying no new clothing until 2024! Send it in to info@zerowasteyukon and at the end of the year, we’ll send you a short survey asking how you did, what your challenges were, and how it changed your perspective on your clothing habits.
By participating, you will be entered in a draw for one of the following prizes!

•  2 adult admission tickets to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve
•  Yukon Refillery gift certificate
•  Gift certificate for Lumel glassblowing workshop for 2

Sign up for our pledge here.

Still sound daunting? Here are some resources that might help:

Repair

•  Renueva

Local Thrift Stores:

•  Love2Thrift Whitehorse Community Thrift Store
•  Changing Gear (used sporting goods store)
•  Raven’s Reuseful
•  And Again Consignment Store
•  Little Sapling Consignment (babies/toddlers/children clothing)

 Yukon Free stores:

•  Carcross
•  Champagne
•  Dawson City
•  Deep Creek
•  Destruction Bay
•  Haines Junction
•  Marsh Lake
•  Mount Lorne
•  Ross River
•  Tagish

Other:

•  Facebook: Whitehorse Buy-and-Sell pages
•  Kijiji

We are also working on a roster of events, workshops and other content that we will roll out throughout 2023. Keep an eye on our socials and website for announcements!

Polaris: Artist Leslie Leong Creates Costumes from Scrap

Posted on by zerowaste

Photo courtesy Little Dipper Films

Yukon isn’t exactly Hollywood, but we’ve had our share of film crews coming up here to shoot their films over the years. While many of these films will hire local crew and even actors, you’d be hard-pressed to find a locally produced film. That is, until now – until Polaris.

“It’s a dystopian fantasy thriller set in a frozen world.” Says Max Fraser , local independent filmmaker and the Yukon Producer for Polaris. The film features an all-woman cast, surviving off the land, but “the story centres on a 10-11-year-old girl who is raised by a polar bear.”

Polaris is one of the films being featured during the Available Light Film Festival, beginning this week on Thursday, February 9, 2023. The film itself can be viewed on Saturday, February 11, at the Yukon Arts Centre.

However, the fact that the film is locally produced isn’t the reason why Zero Waste Yukon invited Polaris to be featured in our Zero Hero series. We’re here because of how the art department went about making the costumes – that’s where local artist Leslie Leong comes in.

“They [Polaris] did have a costume designer,” says Leong, “but she doesn’t work in metal, so she was looking for someone.” When they approached her, Leong jumped at the chance: “My role was to make armour for this band of post-apocalyptic warrior women – pretty fun! … it was such a neat creative thing! How could you say no!”

The cast of warrior women

Photo by Leslie Leong

The Polaris Art Department specifically sought out Leong because she is a Yukon artist with extensive experience working with a wide variety of materials, and specifically recycled materials. Fraser notes Leong’s background with pre-used materials was important to the look of the film because “the script gave us a story where people are surviving in a post-apocalyptic environment … [there are] parts that take place in a vehicle junkyard, so the women would have been scavenging parts from there.”

Polaris cast on setPhoto courtesy Little Dipper Films

Despite her background, Leong was initially a little lost as to how to begin: “I didn’t know how to make them at first.” When looking around for inspiration, she found it in a pair of old rusting tins right in her own yard. “I had two in my backyard specifically because I was going to use them for planters, but I never got around to it. So when they talked about this armour that needed to be old, because they didn’t want anything shiny, I just took them out of my backyard, and then tried to cut them and shape them, and they seemed ok … we ended up needing a lot more.”

She needed to make around 10 helmets and 21 suits of armour, to be exact, all of which needed to look rusty, old, and made from repurposed materials. “You either have to distress them,” says Leong, “or get them [pre]distressed … sometimes, old materials are actually better. In this case, that was true. If you tried to use new materials, you’d have to try to rust it somehow. It’s pointless if you already have the source.”

Which is how she and a friend ended up in an old dump site in -35 weather to scavenge for materials.

“That was the hardest part for sure. We had to make two trips; each trip was about 5 kilometers there and back, and you had go down this steep bank and dig around where the garbage dump was and pull these things out, and then haul them by foot on sleds – so that was the hardest, getting the materials.”

Leong was also involved in sourcing non-armour costumes for the cast – and these also needed to look well-worn. They were furthermore working with a very short timeline, and the costume designer didn’t live in the Yukon.

“It was only three weeks from the time [the costume designer] arrived to get this all done. So I started the week beforehand to put the call out to the community for all sorts of stuff for her – and for me. … the community up here are so wonderful! Lots of people donated stuff that they were getting rid of anyways – and helmets because I needed the helmets to put the metal onto. … People like to contribute to those kinds of things – I think that’s really neat about our community.”

And the end result has had an impact. Says Fraser, “I just want to give a lot of credit to the art department. They were very resourceful. They very cleverly, very creatively put this together. … People are impressed with the look and the feel.”

Woman warrior in armour

Photo by Leslie Leong

In reflecting on her experience, Leong says she feels a sense of pride in her role to source and scavenge pre-used materials: “I like doing new things. I like learning. I like seeing what [different] materials can do and what we can use them for. … I want to get people to look at material differently, to look at their recycling differently. I just feel like we don’t need new stuff. … I think it helps, actually, to be more creative, because you are kind of forced to think outside of the box. And I think sometimes we just need a little bit of training in that.”

Fraser echoes her sentiment about using and reusing what we already have: “it’s an example for how we should all live in the future.”

Are you Zero Waste Yukon’s next artist in residence?

Posted on by zerowaste

This past summer, Zero Waste Yukon and Raven Recycling partnered to pilot an artist residency program in Raven Recycling’s depot. The program received great positive feedback, so we are accepting applications for the year 2023!

What we’re looking for:

Yukon artists who will use materials recycled at Raven to create art works that engage customers and staff in conversations about and in activities that demonstrate:
• bold ideas for systemic change,
• effective pathways to zero waste and circular economies,
• alternatives to our take-make-waste mentality,
• a call to action in the interest of caring for our planet, ecosystems and communities.

Find the full list of requirements in our application.

A maximum of 5 Yukon artists will be accepted into the program for the year 2023.

Deadline to submit: Monday, January 16, 2023

How to submit: Download and fill out our application form. Submit completed applications either by email to communications@ravenrecycling.org or in person to 100 Galena Rd., Whitehorse, Yukon.

Access our application here.

This program is made possible with the support of City of Whitehorse’s Environmental Grant.City of Whitehorse logo

Re-Wrap the North

Posted on by zerowaste

Let’s face it, traditional paper gift wrap is not a sustainable product. Nor is it in any way friendly to our growing circular economy. It is not recyclable, is made from the lowest grade of recycled paper, uses too much dye, and likely contains plastic film and/or glitter. Add to that recyclers’ confusion while playing the classic game of “what bin does this go in?” and gift wrap will most likely become filler for the landfill. Here in Whitehorse, however, we have a great local alternative for creating the magic of a wrapped gift, and Emilie is leading the way.

No matter how small a change, Emilie Hamm believes any amount of waste reduction would be a positive one for our community. And as she is someone who enjoys the gift of giving, her small business Re-Wrap the North is a perfect way for her to help the community to reduce its waste. Her dedication to keeping all parts of her business as low impact as possible, and her innovation in reducing even packaging waste, make her a wonderful example of a Yukon Zero Hero.

Emilie has tried many creative alternatives to wrapping, including an old magazine, and even coloring on plain craft paper, but she had her eureka moment when she stumbled onto the idea of using fabric. Her idea to share this alternative by building Re-Wrap the North grew from there.

 

 

With a bit of care, you can use fabric wrapping many times over, just wash and repeat. Re-Wrap the North ships out its products in bio-degradable packaging. The ribbons are also reusable, and the labels are made from recyclable cardstock that can double as a gift tag when turned over. When sourcing her fabrics, Emilie aims for Canadian made and orders in tandem with local businesses to save on shipping costs/emissions. The finished product can be found in packages of squares, with different designs. Check out her Instagram account @rewrapthenorth for a video on how to gift wrap the Furoshiki way.

Her products are available for purchase at Spruce Box Co., in Horwood’s Mall and on Etsy (Link Below).

https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/rewrapthenorth?ref=profile_header

 

Rec(ycle) Your Wreck Gallery

Posted on by zerowaste

Zero Waste Yukon and Raven Recycling’s: Rec (ycle) Your Wreck Photo Contest this summer was a huge success. People from across the Territory shared their photos of abandoned vehicles in the Yukon Landscape. This contest aimed to highlight the growing issue of abandoned vehicles in the Yukon.

What we need is a plan to ensure these vehicles make it to scrap yards or recyclers. That way they can contribute to the repair of vehicles on the road, or to recycling where their valuable metals are sustainably reused. A simple solution would be a fee on new car sales to cover the cost of recycling when the car no longer has any other value. A $400 charge on a $40,000 new car is a 1 per cent charge at purchase and it would make sure that cars would stop getting pushed into valleys, rivers and forests. This is exactly the model for electronic waste, which has been successful at diverting toxic electrical components (such as mercury and lead) away from our landfills.

People across the Yukon are frustrated with the piles of old cars littering the landscape. It’s time to change this predictable and solvable environmental issue. Raven Recycling and Zero Waste Yukon are pushing for policies that ensure end-of-life vehicles are managed in a way that ensures they don’t enter our landscape and that their hazardous components are disposed of properly.

Recycling your vehicle ensures hazardous materials don’t contaminate our landscapes, leaking into our precious water and soil. To recycle your end of life vehicle at Raven Recycling call 667-7269⁣

1st place: What’s Our Plan? Andrew Connors

Thank you to our prize sponsors: Air North, Yukon Brewing, Winterlong Brewing, The Yukon Transportation Museum, and the Yukon Wildlife Preserve.

Waste Reduction Week 2021

Posted on by zerowaste

Have you waited for a day to kick back and celebrate all the recycling you have done? Or to bask in the glory that is your compost heap? Well then, I have great news for you: Waste Reduction Week is happening October 18 to 24! So spray champagne wildly about! You earned it. Just remember to recycle the bottle. The event aims to empower Canadians, to increase awareness, but also to encourage the adoption of more environmentally conscious choices in our lives. By making small changes, we can send a powerful signal to government and businesses that the days of disposability are over.

Zero Waste Yukon and Raven Recycling celebrate this event each year, not only to raise awareness, but also to celebrate how our communities have succeeded. It is remarkable that across our territory, places considered remote by some, we have developed recycling and compost systems of which communities across Canada are jealous. It’s even more remarkable that we have achieved this without multinational waste companies, or through large-scale external investment, but rather by the efforts of members of our community. We’ve gone from non-profit, penny-a-bottle recycling, to a reduction in greenhouse gasses equivalent to 89,000 tonnes in the last 10 years through recycling; from composting worms hidden away in basement containers to a city wide green bin system.

This year, Raven and Zero Waste Yukon are not celebrating alone and have collaborated with the City of Whitehorse, Love2Thrift Whitehorse Community Thrift Store and other community organizations to host a series of events that highlight the successes of our community. This includes our city compost program, which continues to grow with the development of new facilities at the landfill. We’re also celebrating the work of the Love2Thrift Store, not only because of their work to reduce waste, but also to provide equitable access to clothing. In partnership with Computers for Schools Yukon, we will be offering a free e-waste pick-up service as a reminder that in Yukon we have free e-waste recycling at Raven. We will also use social media to feature individuals and businesses throughout the week that have found new solutions and new ideas to reduce their own waste.

The narrative about environmental issues is often focused only on the negatives. Many of us can lose our motivation or capability to change what feels like overwhelming challenges. It is this sense of doom that takes away our sense of control and limits our potential to dream of a better future. Although it’s true that we have lots of work yet to do, we can look back at individuals in our community who were the first to say “we can do this better” and changed their communities forever. Furthermore, when we know what we have achieved and can dream of something better, then we can stand up to those who say it’s too hard. It is that strength of community that can demand better policy from our politicians or tell businesses that it’s time for them to step up for the community.

To follow Waste Reduction Week in Yukon, follow any of Zero Waste Yukon’s social media pages, or for more information on the event, visit: wrwcanada.com.

This article was published in WhatsUpYukon: https://whatsupyukon.com/yukon-lifestyle/health-wellness/trash-talk-with-zero-waste-yukon/

Abandoned Vehicles a Yukon Tradition!

Posted on by zerowaste

Ahh, the Yukon! A space of boundless nature and mighty, human-built monuments – like my abandoned 1985 Ford Tempo. Rusting and rotting in the woods, our old family car always brings a smile to my neighbour’s face. It’s hardly even hazardous anymore, having dropped its antifreeze in 1999. Better yet, the oil weeped away ages ago. This fine piece of engineering is practically wildlife habitat, given how much the mice like it. And whenever tourists come down this road they will say, “hey, check out that 1985 Ford Tempo! Now I have seen it all!”

And really, leaving my Tempo where it rots is the most affordable option. Otherwise, it would really cost me. Between the towing and the fees at either a scrapyard or Raven Recycling, I’ll end up paying out $300. If we were down south, I would be paid for my vehicle and would definitely get this done, but here in the Yukon, why bother?

Sarcasm aside, abandoned cars are an unfortunate part of Yukon’s landscape, one that’s impossible to overlook. Since the construction of the Alaska Highway, cars have come up to the Yukon to die, unceremoniously pushed into valleys, creeks and forests. Now some of those old trucks are a source of antique reverence to the past, but today more and more are family cars like my Ford Tempo. These vehicles risk our environment as their hazardous parts degrade and enter our soil and water. With Yukon’s growing population, an estimated 10,000 vehicles will come to the end of their life in the next 10 years. We can predict that a large portion of them will be left to rot away in our “pristine” environment.

What we need is a plan to ensure these vehicles make it to scrap yards. That way they can contribute to the repair of vehicles on the road, or to recycling where their valuable metals are sustainably reused. A simple solution would be a fee on new car sales to cover the cost of recycling when the car no longer has any other value. A $400 charge on a $40,000 new car is a 0.01per cent charge at purchase and it would make sure that cars would stop getting pushed into valleys, rivers and forests. This is exactly the model for electronic waste, which has been successful at diverting toxic electrical components (such as mercury and lead) away from our landfills.

People across the Yukon are frustrated with the piles of old cars littering the landscape. It’s time to change this predictable and solvable environmental issue. Raven Recycling and Zero Waste Yukon are pushing for policies that ensure end-of-life vehicles are managed in a way that ensures they don’t enter our landscape and that their hazardous components are disposed of properly. Raven Recycling just wrapped up a photo contest featuring abandoned vehicles on public land to raise awareness about this issue, called Rec(ycle) Your Wreck. To celebrate the conclusion of the contest, Raven will be hosting a car recycling event where a number of abandoned vehicles from our community will be recycled for free. This article can also be found in WhatsUpYukon (https://whatsupyukon.com/yukon/yukon-business/recycling-your-wreck/).