Last night, The Forks was awarded the Manitoba Tourism Social Impact Award. It is an honour to be recognized for the work done each year to reduce carbon emissions and reduce waste; Target Zero is a big, important , and ongoing goal.
Last year, The Forks team was able to reduce the amount of waste destined for the landfill by more than 40 tonnes, which is the equivalent to more than three city buses.
How was this accomplished? One of the main ways was by banning most single-use plastics and requiring that all of the take-away packaging at The Forks is compostable, aluminum, glass, or reusable.
Plus, The Forks instituted a small fee for takeout packaging making the free dishware at the market all the more appealing. After implementing the takeout container fee, there was a major adjustment in the waste arriving at the composting facility. What was previously 20 per cent food waste to 80 per cent compostable packaging turned into 60 per cent food waste to 40 per cent compostable packaging. That is huge.
This major reduction was accomplished by implementing the new food tray system at The Forks. Instead of garbage cans around the market, there are now food tray carts where visitors can leave their trays. The Eco Team then sorts through what is waste, recyclable, and compostable. This makes it easier for visitors and easier for the Eco Team.
"The more conscientious we are at sorting what our visitors leave behind, the more we can reduce our waste," said Helga Jakobson, Sustainability Coordinator at The Forks.
This outstanding shift in waste reduction was not possible without the efforts and commitment of the Eco Team, the site crew, and tenants — not to mention the four million people who visit each year at The Forks Market.
“Thanks to everyone for helping achieve this incredible reduction in waste,” said Jakobson. “All of these millions of daily choices add up to an astonishing win for Target Zero and the Earth, whether it was our tenants choosing sustainable packaging, our visitors choosing to use dishware, or our Eco Team diligently separating waste from recyclables and compost.”
This year, The Forks has already reduced the amount of waste to the landfill by 10 tonnes. The Forks will keep pushing forward to be a champion of sustainability practices because visitors tell us these initiatives are one reason they keep returning to The Forks.
