Daniel Drolet
Nurturing a colony of worms with garbage from the cafeteria! If 20 years ago Louise Lavictoire and Luc Plouffe had been told that part of their daily tasks at the University of Ottawa would involve maintaining a vermicomposting system, they would have had a good laugh.
But that is just what they are doing today.
Sanitary Services teams have always been responsible for maintenance and cleaning on campus. However, over the years, their work has changed. From mere office cleaners, these employees have become the key players in recycling at the University.
Ms. Lavictoire, acting team leader at Sanitary Services, remembers a time when “you emptied the ashtrays and garbage cans and that was it”. The arrival of recycling in the early 1990s changed everything.
“Actually, recycling increased our workload”, explains Mr. Plouffe, senior group leader at Sanitary Services. “Our department is responsible for all recycling. We have become experts!”
Initially, only paper was recycled. Over the years, the list expanded to include mixed fibres, metal, glass, some plastic containers, wood pallets and batteries. Used vegetable oil is now collected, as is electronic equipment, computers, televisions, microwaves, refrigerators, old metal furniture – and cafeteria waste, which makes happy worms.
Vermicomposting is a good example of just how much maintenance work has changed. It is no longer a question of sending kitchen waste directly to the dump, as was done in the past. Sanitary Services staff now knows to use it to beautify the campus economically and sustainably.
According to Brigitte Morin, Recycling Coordinator, Physical Resources Service, recycling also made great strides this fall with the installation of more than 100 recycling stations around campus. These stations allow for the correct recycling of metal, plastic, glass and other materials. “It is even possible to empty the remainder of your coffee before recycling the cup”, she explains.
The University is now moving forward with phase two of the program, which involves the removal of all isolated garbage cans by Christmas. This means that garbage cans will become a rare commodity around the University.
“If there is a recycling station, there will not be a garbage can”, confirms Ms. Morin. She goes on to say that attitudes have changed: “Whenever people see me installing the new stations, they say thank you”.
This change in attitude is evident among maintenance staff as well as students. Ms. Lavictoire found it was easy to make members of the support staff understand just how crucial their involvement is to the success of recycling.
It is now a job that they take very seriously. Mr. Plouffe comments that it is not unusual to see a maintenance person pick up a can that has been mistakenly thrown in the garbage and put it in the proper recycling bin.
