Zero Waste April Newsletter

Business recycling made easy

Did you know there are free recycling options for businesses in Banff?

Businesses are now allowed to use any of the residential style blue bins around town to recycle paper, plastic and metal containers, or glass. There are four conveniently located in the downtown district:

• Parking Lot next to the Fire Hall on Beaver Street
• Bear Street Parking Lot
• Parking Lot between Town Hall and Nesters
• Parking Lot on Beaver street behind the United Church and Clock Tower Mall

There is no longer a fee for businesses to drop off these recyclables at the Waste Transfer Site. Drop off recyclables at the Waste Transfer Site, 160 Hawk Avenue, 7 days a week from 7 a.m. – 2:45 p.m.

Not sure what goes where?

The Zero Waste Digital Trail Guide is your Banff-specific waste “google” for all things recycling, compost, and garbage. Check it out!

Support a local zero waste business

Zero Waste Trailblazers are selected based on 10 categories and 20 certification criteria relating to waste reduction and diversion practices, measured results, and related environmental protection initiatives. The categories are listed at banffzerowastetrail.ca/commercial. Businesses must score higher than 16 points (80%) to achieve Trailblazer status.
Most recently, Nourish Bistro and Botega Salon were awarded Trailblazer status. Check out BanffZeroWasteTrail.ca to learn about all of the local businesses who have been named Trailblazers! Reserve a table at Nourish
 
Interview with Nourish Bistro

We caught up with Alex Boston of Nourish Bistro to hear about why zero waste is important to him as a restaurant owner in Banff National Park:

TOB: What motivates you to be a zero waste business?

NOURISH: We recognize that the earth is under immense strain right now from land and water usage to air quality and energy consumption. Waste disposal uses all of those elements so we identified that as an area where we can really make an impact. 
 
TOB: What do you still find challenging when it comes to zero waste?
 
NOURISH: Producer packaging is still our biggest concern. Unfortunately, we have limited say when it comes to items being individually wrapped in plastic etc. We do recycle basically everything but even that requires energy, water, land etc.
 
TOB: What are you most proud of when it comes to your zero waste initiatives?
 
NOURISH: Our minimal food scraps program has really cut our organic waste output. It works in two ways. We try to get the maximum use out of all parts of a product. For example. When we juice citrus for the bar, we also take the remaining pulp and husks and dehydrate them for use in desserts. 
As well our service revolves around a family or sharing style atmosphere. Our servers help guests tailor their meals so they can try the maximum amount of dishes while having minimal “leftovers.” Anything that is leftover can always be taken home in our compostable containers for later consumption with minimal waste. 
 
TOB: What would be your number 1 tip for other businesses (or residents) in Banff?
 
NOURISH: Pick a goal and start small. It’s not as daunting a task as it may seem. And remember that recycling is great, but we also need to remember to reduce and reuse as well. Pretty sure Captain Planet taught me that haha. 
 
See how you measure up! Email zero.waste@banff.ca for a waste assessment!

Banff Isn’t Disposable (BID) is a pilot reusable container program that was created in order to address a specific issue written in Banff’s environmental master plan: how might we eliminate single-use items and plastics from the townsite?

The goal of the program is to reduce the amount of single-use container waste and to validate a reusable scheme for Banff in the long run. This project is being spearheaded by Luna Kawano as a part of a capstone design project at the University of Waterloo.
The goal is to launch fast and iterate quickly. BID is planning to launch the pilot in May!