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C a p i ta l It's Easy Being Green Making a more environmentally friendly Manitoba by Holli Moncrieff Winnipeggers are seeing green. More of us are recycling and composting than ever before. "I absolutely think things are improving. We've seen our recycling program move into the mainstream," says Green Action Centre executive director Randall McQuaker. The City of Winnipeg's recent move to garbage and recycling cart collection  — along with expanded yard-waste collection — was a giant step in the right direction. The AutoBins that were in use in some neighbourhoods attracted firebugs and illegal dumping, but McQuaker says carts encourage people to take responsibility for their own waste. "The experience has been, in other places that this has been done, that recycling rates have actually increased," he says. "And there's been some waste reduction as well, as people make efforts to divert waste to compost and recycling and away from the landfill." Originally called the Recycling Council of Manitoba, the centre was founded 27 years ago by concerned citizens who wanted to reduce the amount of waste going to landfills. When the city developed a comprehensive recycling plan, the organization reinvented itself as the Green Action Centre, with the goal of promoting environmental sustainability as a whole. And in February, the second Jack Frost Challenge will encourage people to use more active means of transportation in winter. Green Action runs a number of programs throughout the year. Hundreds of schools, businesses and individuals take part in Waste Reduction Week in October. Participants might start a recycling program or worm composting box, or join a bike-towork club. Speakers visit schools to show students from kindergarten to Grade 12 how they can make a difference, and the Active and Safe Routes to School program encourages parents and kids to walk, rather than drive to school. "We work with schools and municipalities to make sure this can happen safely. It's a supervised walk to school," McQuaker says. The centre offers free workshops to adults, as well. "We've noticed a greater than usual attendance at these workshops, especially our backyard composting program," McQuaker says, adding the program has trained master composters in Winnipeg, Steinbach, Morden, Brandon and other communities. "We're out in the community working with businesses, households and schools to encourage greener practices, and we educate decision-makers about programs and practices that are needed for sustainability," McQuaker says. "Gardens grow a heck of a lot better with the addition of homegrown compost." "Sometimes environmental groups are viewed as critical naysayers who play on people's guilt, but we don't do that at all," he says, adding people want to make changes, but sometimes need help. The centre is perhaps best known for its annual Commuter Challenge. Individuals and teams register and then keep track of the distances they travel as they walk, run, cycle, skate, paddle, bus, carpool or telecommute to work. During the 12th annual challenge week in June, 233 workplaces and more than 6,000 individual participants logged 986,738 green kilometres. That translates into 100,000 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions avoided, and more than $41,000 saved in fuel costs. Commuters can sign up for a year-round challenge and track their fuel and greenhouse gas emission savings, along with calories burned each week, on the centre's website. On a roll: Winnipeg's new cart collection system encourages composting and recycling. Communities can be a heck of a lot better, too. And McQuaker says the message is getting across. "I'd be surprised if anyone in this day and age thinks environmental changes are unimportant, but I want people to know they can live sustainably and comfortably at the same time," he says. "Green living can be done without hardship and in ways that will enhance your quality of life." www.greenactioncentre.ca MBiz November 2012 29

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