Powell River is two ferries deep up the Sunshine Coast of BC. Perhaps that's why, amidst its diversity of locals, the thread of valuing resources weaves. From artists who mine incinerator ash piles for metal to make jewelry to food cooperatives who members share a cider press to Regional District staff that use natural assets like trees to mitigate storm water naturally - PowTown has a host of Waste Warriors. In this, Let's Talk Trash's, 119th episode, you'll meet 5 of them.
This 118th episode casts some rays of hope on the future of the planet. We share highlights from the annual National Zero Waste Conference held in November. 2020's virtual conference focused on how the circular economy is already transforming the ways we produce, use and circulate goods and services. May you be inspired by the change-makers designing out waste, keeping valuable materials in circulation and regenerating natural systems while creating new economic opportunities and opening the doors to a more inclusive prosperity.
Is the recycling system broken? We’ll dive into the recycling bin and see where the bulk of our recyclables end up and also what they get turned into.
We’ll also celebrate BC’s first marine debris depot arriving in Powell River by tuning into an interview that Let’s Talk Trash team member, Abby McLellan, had with with CBC host, Gregor Craigie.
Finally, we'll take the Grinch out of a giftless Christmas.
Weeds and invasive species. Are they friend or foe? We look at these sometimes maligned plants from a few angles in this episode. Aryuvedic practitioner, Todd Coldecott, chimes on their role in rebalancing both the planet and our wellness. Founder of No Spray Powell River, Lisa-Marie Bhattacharya, shares how pest management practices affect biodiversity, and finally Karen Skadesheim, talks about using so-called invasives as materials for basketry and other creative endeavors.
If you have not seen the original Powell River production from the late 1990's titled, Love in the Dumps, check it out! (YouTube.com; "Love in the Dumps - a documentary?") Written and starred in by our very own CaroleAnn Leishman, it's 27 years old but the content can't be more relevant. Let's Talk Trash team member Tai Uhlmann interviews CaroleAnn and the discussion that ensues is though provoking to say the least.
In this episode, Tai also provides an update to all that has happened and is happening at the Resource Recovery Centre.
The story of bottled water is nuanced. Backed by the reality that we need clean drinking water to survive, and then infused with marketing campaigns that played on fears of water born pathogens and the wonders of trace mineral content.
What is the full story of bottled water? And with 1 in 7 people having no access to clean drinking water, can we thrive without it?
This episode follows the silver linings during COVID. Green gardening tips using materials from your recycling bin, tips on waste reduction through home composting ideas, and recipes for homemade shampoo and face masks (not the kind with elastic bands!).
Would you live in a house made from mushrooms? Would you wear a suit embroidered with fungal spores to help decompose your corpse? Fungus has always been among us and now we are more actively seeking a symbiotic relationship. This episode explores the role of mushrooms in reducing the waste we produce, as well as cleaning up the waste we inevitably do create.
Cognitive Scientist & Mycologist, Theo Rosenfeld also shares how mushrooms can be key to physical and mental wellness during times of personal and even global crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Would you live in a house made from mushrooms? Would you wear a suit embroidered with fungal spores to help decompose your corpse? Fungus has always been among us and now we are more actively seeking a symbiotic relationship. This episode explores the role of mushrooms in reducing the waste we produce, as well as cleaning up the waste we inevitably do create.
Cognitive Scientist & Mycologist, Theo Rosenfeld also shares how mushrooms can be key to physical and mental wellness during times of personal and even global crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic.
On our show this month, we’re going to take a look into some of the most productive characters that are a part of nature’s cleanup crew. To us, it’s garbage. To them, it’s dinner. There are some busy scavengers who live among us — crafty critters who share our cities and recycle the mountains of food waste our messy society leaves behind. Through the help of thoughtful and passionate scientists who have come to understand and love these creatures, we will uncover in our show today just what makes these scavengers tick. Debunking some myths along the way, we learn what adaptations they have evolved for this “messy” job, what benefits they can provide us, and how us humans can work with them so they can do their job even better.
Happy 2020! To start the year off we reflect on the past month of December in terms of consumerism. Are those gifts still giving? We also take a more detailed look into what exactly is in to-go packaging....are you sure you want to be eating out of that packaging? Tune in and be inspired to add a few more things onto your new years' resolution list!
This episode reviews our plastic themed shows from 2019, where we delved into the subject from many angles. From interviewing experts in the field of microplastic research to oyster farmers out in Okeover Inlet cleaning up industrial marine debris, we got a bird's eye view of how our over consumption and mismanagement of this resource has plasticized our ecosystem and is even moving into animals and humans.
S A N D is the most consumed resource on the planet after water and air, and we are gobbling it up fast, mostly in the form of aggregate for our concrete jungles.
We'll also dive into the G L A S S vs plastic bottle debate. Which is better? And why are only some kinds of glass accepted at recycling depots?
With sand in rapid depletion, we'll brainstorm ways we might dovetail our use of glass with our need for sand in construction.
All about the strain we put on our drain...and the planet, when we flush, pour, rinse or otherwise release items down our drains. We look into garburators - the pros and cons, waste veggie oil conversion into fuel, and talk biosolids (aka sewage sludge) with a UBC post-grad (Robin Harder). How do we manage this resource when it's contaminated with heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and microplastics?