Originally published May 20/15  The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

People are creatures of habits. Convincing them to change takes time.

Reality requires a lot of patience and understanding that every small gain is a positive step in the bigger picture.

Sometimes, I would just like to have a genie in a bottle I could call forth to make things happen right away.

My genie would make:

1.       Everyone recycle all they can at home and at work.

2.       All recycling go in clear bags and garbage in dark ones.

3.       All waste containers placed in pairs, one for recycling and one for garbage.

4.       Everyone put their waste in garbage or recycling bins so there is no litter.

5.       Everyone take their garbage to the landfill not the bush.

6.       A community depot available year round for hazardous waste.

7.       A community compost for all plant waste and everyone could have compost for lawns and gardens.

8.       All beverage containers stay here and not go to Saskatchewan.

Since I haven’t found the right bottle with the genie yet, I have to be patient.

The good news is we are making progress on many of these items.

Recycling continues to grow. We are looking at ways to make it grow faster. Curbside every week is one.

There is a project in the works for side by side garbage/recycling bins on Main St. Many bins in the parks are paired.

There are discussions about a year round hazardous waste collection depot and potential for composting.

We are sponsoring a litter clean-up campaign with some nice prizes. We hope to coordinate a project to clean up some of the garbage in the bush next summer.

The genie is people working together. 

Originally published May 13/15   The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

In recent weeks, I have had several opportunities to look back over the 22 years since recycling began in Flin Flon.

Many individuals and single events were critical to recycling being established in our community.

The first two years paper was collected in a semi-trailer at the Ross Lake Market Garden one weekend a month. It showed that people wanted to recycle.

One afternoon Bob Fortier volunteered to help. He did almost every day for the next 15 years. His daily attention to details and his experience organizing space, operating equipment and shipping were a huge help.  Recycling wouldn’t be what it is without his dedicated service.

In 1995 we began getting paid for paper. We shared loads going to Edmonton with Thompson Recycling. That brief partnership allowed us to benefit from very high prices for recyclables at that time.

That year the government mandated program to significantly subsidize recycling provided more revenue as paper prices fell significantly.

In 1996, Flin Flon City Council with Mayor Graham Craig gave us a grant of $65,000.00 to purchase a baler and other equipment. That single decision established the recycling program in our community.

In 2004, we purchased the building at 9 Timber Lane and began running the Flin Flon Landfill. The rental income and landfill contract got us through the tough years.  It continues to subsidize the Recycling program.

A business plan that included charging for pickup services and a new funding arrangement with Flin Flon and Creighton allowed the program to continue.  The decision in late 2013 to send materials to Winnipeg for sorting means the Recycling program has moved from surviving to planning ahead.

Recycling is here to stay. 

The Annual General Meeting of the Flin Flon & District Environment Council, Inc was held on April 29, 2015 in the Council Chambers of Flin Flon City Hall. 

There was a power point presentation titled 'Twenty years and Going Strong' which briefly reviewed 2014 and took a walk down memory lane with photographs from the past 20 years since the Environment Council was incorporated in 1995.

Several awards recognizing support for the recycling program were given. 
- The Community Support Award was given to Kendall & Pandya represented by Kelsey Horrocks. 
 - Kathy Lysohirka received the Community Champion Award.
 -  The Employee 10 Year Service Award was presented to Wayne Freund.  
 - Jan Modler and Greg East received the 20 Year Board Member Award. They have been on the Board since it began. 

The presentation statements are posted below.

The business meeting was held after the refreshment break. 
There were reports from the Chairperson La Verne Hinzman and the Administrator Deb Odegaard.
The financial statements were reviewed and adopted. Kendall and Pandya were appointed as auditors for 2015.
Two Board members terms expired this year. Both Barb Lyons and Angela Simpson were re-elected to another two year term. 

Comments For Award Recipients

Kendall & Pandya

The Flin Flon & District Environment Council incorporated in 1995. This was an important step in being able to secure funding from grants and municipal governments.

Incorporation needs outside oversight to verify the responsible use of funds for those who give us money. Kendall & Pandya has provided the audit services for a very reasonable cost for 20 years.

They have also been helpful when the organization began using Simply Accounting for bookkeeping, providing information on how to best record transactions, and helping with problem solving for Doreen. When I began in October, 2013, I had basic understanding of bookkeeping. Doreen’s training was great. Part of it was, if you have a problem, call Linda at Kendall and Pandya. And I have. At first it was to sort out messes I had made, until I got wise and decided to call when I was unsure to avoid the mess.

Kelsey has been helpful with making the yearend adjustments, and hopefully we have got it to the place where next year I will be on my own.  I know I can still call if needed.

We would like to acknowledge and express our appreciation today to the valuable support Kendall & Pandya has provided to the Recycling Program.

Kathy Lysohirka

For many years, the Great Recycling Event was a major fundraiser for the Flin Flon & District Environment Council each spring. It involved walking or riding bicycles and collecting pledges or paying to participate.

At the beginning it was held in conjunction with Bakers Narrow’s Day. After it’s demise, the event was moved to Phantom Lake for 3 years.

I remember Kathy arriving back at the centre of activity at Phantom Lake later than most who walked. She had collected garbage along the route.

Kathy has been a relentless campaigner for a cleaner environment, everything from picking up litter and inspiring others to prevent it, to giving happy faces on the receipts of customers at Walmart who brought reusable shopping bags. She regularly would check if particular items were recyclable, and was genuinely disappointed if the item in question couldn’t be recycled.

Kathy always has encouraging words.  She has been a cheerleader and a promoter of recycling and environmental responsibility. These actions are not very obvious to others but very much appreciated.

We would like to give Kathy this certificate of Appreciation to recognize her contributions and the support she has given.  Thank you for your support.

Wayne Freund

Wayne joined the Recycling Centre staff in December, 2002 as part of the Wage subsidy program.  He is the only staff member who has worked in both buildings.

If you do the math, it seems that 10 years is inaccurate.  Wayne has taken advantage of some other employment opportunities a couple of times since he was originally hired. When those opportunities ended he returned to recycling.

Wayne’s pleasant attitude and hard work has benefited the recycling program in many ways.  In 2013, he was given the position of floor manager, the position he continues in today.

Wayne’s  faithful service is a key factor in the successful day to day operations of the Recycling Centre.  Today we are recognizing his service and say thanks. 

Janet Modler and Greg East

Greg and Jan were part of the original the Flin Flon round Table on the Environment that became the Flin Flon Environment committee.  Jan is one of the signers of the original bylaws.

Over the years, the Environment Council has benefited greatly from their involvement. Greg has found vehicles for the program, helped resolve maintenance issues with vehicles, negotiated the purchase of two buildings, provided maintenance to the building,  raised funds to retire the mortgage. As a lover of great music who has connections to talented individuals, the Environment Council fund raisers seem like a good reason (excuse) to have a concert.

Jan has been a great hostess for the many concerts taking care of reservations, decorating and many other details that make these events a resounding success. She has also been very helpful with personnel policies and issues, was a member of the bylaws rewriting committee as well as being the recording secretary for many years.  Jan has also organized community cleanups on several occasions.

Their dedication and wisdom through thick and thin are a significant factor in the success of the Recycling program and other activities of the Environment Council. For this we wish to say thanks.

 

Originally published May 6/15   The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

Every spring the snow gives up its secrets, and it isn’t pretty.

The litter it covered up all winter long is there for all to see.

It needs to be cleaned up.

The Recycling Centre is organizing the ‘20 Minutes of Magic’ clean-up campaign which was coordinated in past years by Acklands Grainger.

It is part of the Northern Community Clean-up program co-sponsored by the Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association (CBCRA) and Multi- Materials Stewardship of Manitoba (MMSM). CBCRA provides free recycling bins through the Recycle Everywhere program and MMSM subsidizes the recycling program.

There are prizes. All northern communities participating will be entered in a random draw for one $5,000.00 prize to be used for a recycling project. Participants can enter for a local draw for two $200.00 grocery gift cards.

Friday May 22 is the designated day.  Groups register to take 20 minutes and clean up an area of the community.  If teams want a different day that week, they can make arrangements with the Recycling Centre.

Gloves, bags, and t-shirts are available to teams who register.

As this is sponsored by recycling organizations, the recyclables such as cans and bottles  should be collected in clear bags and the garbage in black bags.

The schools are in again this year.

Groups can register by picking up a registration forms posted at the grocery stores, or requesting an electronic copy by emailing [email protected] or calling 204 687 6169.

All the bags need to be weighed and recorded so the Recycling Centre will be picking them up.

Areas that have already been cleaned up can be registered as well.

Let’s all take 20 minutes and do our part. 

Originally published Apr 29/15   The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.

Many dream of travelling in a spaceship.  A few have experienced it. Projects are underway that would make public space travel a reality if you have lots of money.

A spaceship is a closed vehicle that travels through space. It must have systems to provide air, food and water, waste management and temperature control so the crew can survive.

Each person on the space ship must follow all the rules to ensure the systems continue to work for everyone. If one person eats too much food or puts waste in the wrong place the results could be disastrous for everyone.

In reality, we all are traveling on a space ship. The earth is a closed vehicle traveling around the sun. Aside from the energy from the sun, the Earth is the only source of what we need to survive.

 It has complex systems that provide us with the food, water, air and climate we need to live.

Everything we do has an impact on the earth. We take the materials for everything we have from the earth. We need to be careful so our actions do not destroy these life support systems.

Laws to protect the environment have been made which has reduced or prevented damage.  However, as scientists learn more it is clear these life support systems are being strained by human activity.

Everyone needs to form habits that reduce our harm to the environment.

Recycling uses less energy and resources than making things from scratch.

We need to make do with what we have and reuse what we can.

Reducing or using less is the most important thing to do to protect the life support systems on our spaceship.