Port Coquitlam residents can get first-hand advice about reducing waste by following and interacting with contestants in the city's Waste-Loss Challenge contest.
Port Coquitlam's Hanan, Hobenshield, Hubbard and Saggu households are competing to see who can be the biggest waste loser by reducing what they send to the landfill and sorting their waste properly until April 5.
A new online commenting feature at www.portcoquitlam.ca/wasteloss allows residents to provide feedback and ask questions on the blogs posted by the four contestants. The city is also initiating conversations about reducing waste on its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/portcoquitlam).
A $200 Canadian Tire gift card is up for grabs for residents who vote in April for the most inspiring contestant.
The four households are competing to win an iPad, an iPod Touch, a Kindle Reader and a digital photo frame. All contestants will receive a year's supply of compostable paper food scrap bags. The household with the most votes from the public will also win a one-night stay in a theme room at the PoCo Inn and Suites.
The two blogs posted so far, illustrate the contestants' learning curve as they figure out creative ways to sort waste and put less into their garbage carts. Along the way, the households are getting feedback from waste audits as the city monitors their three waste carts for both weight and proper sorting.
This is Port Coquitlam's second Waste-Loss Challenge contest, intended to encourage more residents to watch their waste-line and help the city divert more than 70% of its waste away from the landfill (currently about 63 per cent is diverted). The contest is sponsored by Urban Impact, the Tri-City News, Bag to Earth, Rollins Machinery, PoCo Inn and Suites and the Canadian Tire at Fremont Village.
Visit www.portcoquitlam.ca/wasteloss for contest information, to read the blogs and to access waste-loss tips and resources. Contest updates are also being posted regularly on Facebook.
Are you watching your waste-line?
Residents can join in the Waste-Loss Challenge by:
Putting all recyclables (e.g. clean and dry tins, plastic with codes 1-5 and paper) into the blue cart.
Putting all food scraps, food-soiled papers and plant/yard trimmings into the green cart.
Getting a backyard composter for fruit, vegetable scraps and other compostables (see www.portcoquitlam.ca/composing).
Bringing glass to one of six glass depots (locations: www.portcoquitlam.ca/bluecart).
