About LTT

Let’s Talk Trash is the contracted by the qathet Regional District to deliver its Waste Reduction Education Program.

We are also available for other contract work related to waste reduction, including:

  • conducting waste composition studies
  • producing educational materials
  • consulting with businesses on waste reduction strategies
  • guest speaking or presenting
  • facilitating workshops (backyard composting, upcycling, ocean debris awareness)

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Our mission for the qathet Regional District is:

To develop and implement 

an innovative education and awareness program on waste reduction strategies that will guide the community toward true Zero Waste.

Since 2011, the Let’s Talk Trash team has been striving to develop and deliver an innovative and successful program for the qathet Regional District by:

Promoting Composting

  • Assisting with public education for the curbside compost pilot project (serving 400 homes).
  • Coordinating communications for a centralized composting facility.
  • Advising on best practices for community composting.
  • Education regarding the free compost drop off program at Town Centre Recycling Depot and Sunshine Disposal & Recycling.
  • Creating a Compost Education Center, where the public can learn about various methods of backyard composting available to them.
  • Facilitating free compost workshops hosted by local composting experts.
  • Coordinating an annual Halloween pumpkin collection for local farmers to make use of the wasted pumpkins for animal feed.
  • Promoting food preservation, edible food donation and fruit tree gleaning.
  • Collaborating with WildSafeBC to produce a ‘Composting in Bear Country’ brochure.
  • Adopting the values of the Food Hierarchy (food for people first, then farm animals, then the soil).
  • Promoting food waste prevention and the national campaign of LoveFoodHateWaste.

Media, Information Booths

  • Hosting over 100 one hour informative and award winning radio shows on CJMP 90.1 fm on all matters related to waste reduction. Accessible on SoundCloud under Let’s Talk Trash.
  • Hosting information tables at local events and festivals.
  • Being featured on Shaw television.
  • Weekly columns in the free MidWeek edition of the Peak newspaper and monthly articles for the Tla’amin Nehmotl, regular submissions to the Lund Barnacle, The Lasqueti Island Local, Climate Action Network publication (CAPRicorn), and qathet Living magazine.’

Educational Materials

School Participation

  • School recycling system analysis with a report compiling a ‘best practices’ approach gleaned from each school.
  • Working with the Sustainable Schools Committee, Ecology Change Operation and individual classes and schools.
  • Encouraging School Supply Round-Ups to salvage usable school supplies at the end of the year for use the following year for students who do not have adequate supplies.
  • Offering presentations to Family Place ‘Sprouts’ program.
  • Conducting tours of waste management facilities for elementary and high  school students.
  • Being guest lecturer for several Vancouver Island University Programs.
  • Doing workshops and presentations: making beeswax wraps, lectures on cigarette butts, green jobs, and ocean plastic debris.
  • Working with the Sustainability Committees & Green Teams in School District 47.
  • Conducting waste audits to assess the composition of the waste stream.

Zero Waste Events

  •  Zero Waste Stations available to the public for use in separating ‘waste’ into divertable streams of compost, refundables, and containers recycling.
  • Creating a portable dishwasher trailer for community use.
  • Loaning out community dish supply (300+ dishes) and portable dishwasher for any local events.
  • Training Zero Waste Coordinators borrowing Zero Waste Stations to be used at local events such as Sea Fair, PRISMA, Celebration for Cultural Diversity, Blackberry Festival, Aurora, Fall Fair, Interfaith Fair, Seedy Saturday, Trash Bash, Powell River Film Festival, school events, weddings, etc.
  • Consulted with the City regarding production of a waste management plan for events hosted in City.

Promoting Reuse, Repair, Reduction

  • Promoting local Fibre Arts Maker space and co-facilitating workshops.
  • Participating in the eCouture upcycled and locally sourced fashion show.
  • Creating a Guide for Shareables.
  • Consulting with local businesses regarding adopting Reusable to-go wear.
  • Assisting with bringing Inclusion clothing donation bins to recycling depots.

Promoting Recycling

  • Training Recycling Depot staff on Recycle BC recycling streams.
  • Offering free workshops for the public on local recycling programs.
  • Informing the public on additions and changes to Recycle BC and ReturnIt.
  • Expanding local recycling programs to include pens & highlighters, cork, garbage bags, diversion of egg cartons to local farmers, and wax and toilet paper roles for OneLight firestarter production.

Commercial Sector

  • Offering waste audits and education sessions for local businesses assessing their waste and offering recommendations on how to divert much of their ‘trash’.  Staff training for local recycling and composting programs is also available upon request.
  • Opening possibilities for commercial sector to recycle and compost at the Town Centre Depot free of charge.
  • Consulting on best choices for single use to go ware and promoting reusables.

Ocean Cleanups

Holiday Waste Reduction

  • Promoting a winter holiday waste reduction campaign, ‘Create Memories, Not Garbage’ for November & December

Meet the Team!