October 18, 2006
Waste Reduction And Pollution Prevention Grants Announced During Waste Reduction Week
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University of Manitoba Recycles Tree Waste,
Other Project Researches Recovery of Methane Gas
Wood chipping and research into converting landfill methane gas into a heating source will help make Manitoba a cleaner place with Waste Reduction and Pollution Prevention (WRAPP) funding support of over $292,000 for projects around the province, Conservation Minister Stan Struthers announced today.
“This round of grants features a variety of projects and ideas to get more people thinking about reducing waste especially during Waste Reduction Week,” said Struthers. “Programs like the WRAPP Fund are a great start to changing the way we think about processing waste and reducing the flow of material into landfills.”
Waste Reduction Week runs from Oct. 16 to 22. In Manitoba, Resource Conservation Manitoba is co-ordinating waste reduction week efforts. More information is available at:
“The week is designed to remind us to think about the amount of waste we generate and its impact on the environment,” the minister said.
The projects receiving grant funding of over $292,000 include a wood chipper to turn pruned-wood waste into mulch on the University of Manitoba grounds and a project in Winnipeg looking into the recovery of methane gas from landfills for heating.
Other WRAPP projects funded across the province will:
· conduct research in to the proper disposal of refrigerators and other products and recovery of their ozone depleting substances,
· continue to expand compost research and education efforts, and
· support school recycling efforts.
The WRAPP fund supports improved waste-reduction and pollution-prevention practices in Manitoba. Priority areas are organic waste management and composting, construction and demolition waste management, pollution prevention, and model waste-management system development and planning.
The minister noted the WRAPP Fund has been instrumental in Manitoba’s waste-reduction efforts. Since 1999, Manitobans have recycled more than 390,232 tonnes of material – equal to more than 55,700 garbage trucks full of recyclable materials. Last year, Manitobans recycled 66,800 tonnes of paper, aluminium, glass and plastic.
The WRAPP Fund is a targeted funding program under the Sustainable Development Innovation Fund. Other targeted funding programs are the Environmental Youth Corps program, the Manitoba Climate Change Action Fund and the Water Stewardship Fund.
A total of 174 projects worth more than $2.8 million have been supported through the WRAPP Fund since its creation in 2000. Information on the WRAPP Fund is available on request from Manitoba Conservation’s Pollution Prevention Branch or online at http://www.susdev.gov.mb.ca.
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Waste Reduction and Pollution Prevention Grants
· City of Winnipeg – $25,000 to support the 2006 backyard composter sale. Earth Machine composters were sold at a subsidized price of $25 each.
· Green Manitoba – $75,000 to provide $500 grants and educational materials on recycling and waste reduction to independent and First Nation schools.
· Green Manitoba – $50,000 to develop educational materials to support school recycling programs and green activities for distribution at conferences, forums, municipalities and businesses and for public inquiries.
· Manitoba Conservation – $3,500 to construct recycling bins for use in Turtle Mountain Provincial Park.
· Natural Resources Institute – $12,600 to study whether methane gas from the Brady landfill can be captured and transported to the University of Manitoba’s physical plant.
· Natural Resources Institute – $15,000 to research different national and international methods to dispose of large items such as refrigerators that contain ozone depleting substances.
· Parkland Agricultural Resource Co-op – $25,000 for phases one and two of a regional waste-management project in western Manitoba. Site investigations will be conducted at three selected sites in the region.
· Resource Conservation Manitoba – $5,500 to conduct composting workshops at four locations around the province providing practical education for municipal composting centres and ways to improve current operations.
· Resource Conservation Manitoba – $25,000 to provide environmental information services to Manitobans in the second year of a two-year agreement.
· RM of St. Andrews – $10,000 to purchase recycling bins and expand the community and school educational program.
· University of Manitoba physical plant – $15,000 for a wood chipper to convert pruned-wood waste into mulch on the university grounds.
· St. Norbert Arts Centre – $11,000 for a free, weekly organic waste pickup service in St. Norbert. Information on waste-reduction and diversion strategies will also be provided and community workshops will be offered.
· Wriggler Wranch – $20,000 to assess different types of heating for a worm composting operation, located at the Brady Road landfill in Winnipeg.