Getting Ready for Another Waste Audit

Jackman's #1 eco goal is simple... MAKE LESS GARBAGE!   Yep, we’re learning to be more mindful about the garbage we create. It takes a little effort. But it's worth it. 

And soon, we will put our garbage goal to the test.  We are getting ready for another waste audit.  We will save a whole day's worth of Jackman's garbage. Then the eco team will conduct a thorough investigation to see exactly what’s in it. It's a messy job, but someone's got to do it.  We will sort it, count it, measure it, and discuss it. Then we use this data to make plans for further waste reduction. Look at our data from the last few years...

 

2013 - 36 kg     

2014 - 32 kg 

2015 - 22 kg

2016 - 24 kg

2017 - 20 kg

2018 - 11 kg

As you can see, we are making less garbage overall.  What will 2019 bring?  Are we making less garbage at Jackman?  We hope so.  And soon we'll know the answer.

Granola Bar Recipe

Here's what you've all been waiting for... Jackman's Granola bar recipe.  More homemade granola bars, less granola bar wrappers, less waste.  That's our goal.

Mmmmmmm… Homemade Granola Bars

You know those granola bars from the grocery store? Well, guess what? You can make even better tasting granola bars at home. And they’re fun to make too. Have you read the list of ingredients on a box of granola bars? There are so many strange ingredients listed there. With homemade granola bars, you know exactly what’s in them. So, get ready… it’s time to make your own special granola bars! You may never buy wrapped granola bars again.

Ingredients:

2½ cups oats

½ cup honey

¼ cup butter

¼ cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp salt

½ cup chocolate chips

½ cup raisins

Note: Try other dried fruits or seeds. Make granola bars with your favourite ingredients.

Instructions:
1.  Spread the oats on a tray and toast them in the oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes. Stir. Then toast for another 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
2. While the oats are toasting, combine honey, butter, sugar, vanilla and salt in small pot and melt on the stovetop.
3.  Pour the sugar mixture into the bowl of oats. Mix well.  
4.  Let it cool for 30 minutes before adding chocolate and raisins. Mix again.
5.  Pour onto pan lined with parchment paper. Cover with another piece of parchment paper. Press down firmly.
6. Let them sit for about one hour before you cut them into bars with a sharp knife.

This recipe is brought to you by… the JETs, Jackman’s Eco Team!  We hope you enjoy this tasty, homemade, waste-free snack!

Walk-To-School Wednesday

Did you remember... tomorrow is Walk-to-School Wednesday at Jackman once again! At Jackman, we know walking is fun for the whole family. It's good exercise. And we also know that walking is a eco-friendly way to travel.  It's good for you and the environment.  

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Here's an excerpt from the eco team's presentation about waste...

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Here’s a bright idea! We need to do whatever we can to… MAKE LESS GARBAGE. You may be wondering, how? It's easy. Just remember these three words, REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE.   

Reduce means LESS.  LESS garbage.  LESS packaged goods. LESS ‘STUFF’.  Somehow, we’ve become people who want more and more and more STUFF. And that’s creating a problem, a GARBAGE problem.  We need to be more mindful about what we buy, what we eat, what we use and what goes in the garbage can.

If you are unable to reduce… then reusing is your next best option. Reuse means to use things again and again and again. At school, you can reuse lunch containers, water bottles, coffee cups and much more. It’s super easy to reuse. Just refill a water bottle instead of using a disposable plastic bottle. Pour juice into a reusable container, instead of using a disposable juice box. And yes teachers, your coffee… Lug a mug to the coffee shop to avoid waste.  And everyone… please pack homemade foods in reusable containers for your lunches and snacks.

If, for one reason or another, you are unable to reduce or reuse, then RECYCLING is your next eco-friendly option. Recycling means making something new again. We need to recycle as much as we can. The city of Toronto has an EXCELLENT recycling program. So many things can be recycled. BUT NOT EVERYTHING!  We need to educate ourselves about what can and can’t be recycled. We can’t afford to get it wrong.

Here are some common recycling mistakes at Jackman.  Teachers… your Coffee cups go in the garbage. And kids… your snack wrappers need to go in the garbage - every time. Juice boxes CAN be recycled, but only if they’re empty and the straw is taken out. And Toronto’s biggest problem… plastic containers with food still in them…. Please rinse these containers out!  

Now, what happens if something can’t be reduced, reused or recycled. What do you do?  You just throw it away… right?  Just toss it in a garbage can?  Then, like magic, your garbage turns into a… cute little bunny?!?!?!  Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.   You‘re garbage doesn‘t just go away... it goes somewhere... it goes to a landfill.

That’s right. Toronto’s garbage is carried in trucks 200 km away to GreenLane landfill.  It’s strange to think our landfill is called, ‘Green’Lane.  There’s nothing ‘GREEN’ about it.  And the problem is, if we continue creating garbage the way we do now, our landfill will be full in less than 10 years.  Then what? 

Now we know why it’s REALLY IMPORTANT to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as we can.  It’s our responsibility to make less garbage.