CJMP Podcast

Single use plastic bans are popping up all over the Province of BC. Today we learn how this has been made possible. Also, on todays' 126th episode, we'll explore edible food waste. Tune in for great tips on preventing science projects in your fridge.

The road to Zero Waste is being paved, and in this episode, we look to cities like Victoria and Metro Vancouver for inspiration. We hear from Rory Took, a sustainability professional from Victoria about the many aspects of waste reduction and planning that are leading this city ever closer to its goal.

We also tune into a clip from a recent CBC radio interview by Grant Laurence with the Let's Talk Trash team and the qathet Regional District's manager of Strategic Initiatives and Assest Management, Mike Wall, featuring the up and coming Resource Recovery Centre project - located at the heart of the region and destined to bring the coastal community nearer to Zero Waste.

Move over microplastics, there's a new villain in town. What have you flushed down the drain lately? Pills, cleaning products, paint from brushes, or even bacteria, fungi and metals, maybe?  Do these contaminants of emerging concern need to be better regulated? We talk with a City Councilor and informed concerned citizen about their efforts to do just that. 

We tap into the Hold Onto your Butts campaign as well, to hear about the unexpected consequences of tossing cigarette butts and what some towns are doing to offer a safer alternative.

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.

Making Peace with Invasives

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.

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.

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?

In this episode, we go further into the topic of Microplastics and look at a recent study that was published out of the University of Victoria. The lead researcher on the project, Garth Covernton, brought forth an estimate of just how much microplastic we are consuming on an annual basis. Tune in to find out more!

This show takes us into the world of Maker Spaces.  A relatively new take on the old phenomenon of sharing resources within a community.  In this case, the spaces usually offer training and access to anything from modern tech like 3D printers, to old school sewing machines that won’t quit.  All this for a reasonable monthly membership.  We’ll take a close look into one Maker Space in the North East of the United States to learn what it takes to put one together, how members are sharing resources, and how it can be part of the answer to our overconsumption on the planet.

One member of the Let’s Talk Trash team, Ingalisa, and her partner Ben joined a Maker Space for the winter and will share what creative projects they got up to.  We’ll also hear an update about Powell River’s collaborative groups and find out how to get involved.

In this show we take a microscopic look at plastic! Plastic by its very nature, breaks down, but it doesn't disappear.  What happens to all the microplastics that are now sharing the planet with us? Tune in to hear about how plastic is ending up in our food, and learn how compostable plastics are not the answer to the challenges of single-use plastics.

We hear from two Canadian researchers (Dr. Chelsea Rochman, and Marika Smith) who share their cutting edge look at microplastics in plants, the soil, animals, and even humans.

End of 2018 show, highlighting some of the big news stories in waste reduction this last turn of the wheel.  We'll also talk about food waste, a hot topic during the holiday season. Finishing off with touch on some of the new policies coming into action globally and federally relating to plastic waste reduction.  A good way to end the year indeed!

A show where we deconstruct building materials to take a closer look at what we build with and how it affects the planet. Hear from an experienced Natural Building designer and educator, Elke Cole, who shares about why local resources are best.  We also connect with Dawn Smith, a natural builder who unpacks why natural buildings aren't the answer for every site. Finally, we consider the role of concrete in building, and explore the plus-es and minus-es of alternatives, like hempcrete, papercrete and aircrete.