Our Question
Every municipality has different rules about what can be recycled or composted. Do you feel you have enough information about what can be recycled or composted in Banff?

What Are We Doing?

• Adding more items to the digital ‘What Goes Where’ tool.
• Installing detailed ‘What Goes Where’ signage directly at the bins.
• Identifying other communications channels to share information.

The design of the bins could be improved. 

Our Question
Do you think the labels could be better?

What Are We Doing?

• Adding messaging that connects to the ‘Why’ behind Zero Waste: mitigating climate change and protecting the park for future generations.
• Describing what NOT to put in each bin.
• More examples of items(especially plastic items)on the labels. 

Our Question
 
Do you find it easy or difficult to get or put
your waste in the bear-proof bins?

What Are We Doing?

• Continuing to offer Large Item Pick Up.

Making residents aware of Re-Use options and illegal dumping fines.

Congratulations to the newest Trailblazer—Whitebark Café

CWhitebark Café is the latest recipient of the Zero Waste Trailblazer Awards, a recognition for Banff businesses and institutions going above and beyond with efforts to reduce, re-use and recycle.

We sat down with the team at Whitebark Café to learn more about their efforts to move towards zero waste, along with the unique challenges and opportunities that come with being a café. We quickly learned that management and staff alike are working hard to reduce their waste footprint in all areas, and continually seeking opportunities to improve.

As a café, single-use items are at the forefront of zero waste efforts and remain a challenge. However, by focusing on waste avoidance, Whitebark showcases a great example of what can be done to reduce single-use items. Examples of initiatives include:

• Providing to-stay food ware for customers who dine in and making sure they ask the question before providing anything disposable!
• Offering a discount to those who ‘BYO’ mug for a contactless fill
• Participating in Banff Isn’t Disposable’s container share program

Where no reusable alternative is available, Whitebark is working hard to source to-go items that are fully certified compostable or recyclable. Thanks to the systems in place at Banff Aspen Lodge, Whitebark provides proper streams in both the back of house and customer-facing areas of the café, to ensure all materials are properly sorted for recovery.
In addition to a team of enthusiastic and passionate staff who walk the zero waste talk, clear signage is posted to encourage customers to get on board. You won’t have much luck finding single-use items on Whitebark’s social media posts, which are instead filled up with photos of their branded reusable keep cup and beautiful latte art which is, of course, to-stay.

The café is open to exploring opportunities for a cup-share program for to-go coffee and, while there’s a ways to go in eliminating disposable cups altogether, we congratulate Whitebark for tackling what is in their control and not being shy to share it with the community. Thank you to the enthusiastic team at Whitebark for providing Banff with excellent coffee that we can feel good about!  

Support a local zero waste business
Zero Waste Trailblazers are selected based on 10 categories and 20 certification criteria relating to waste reduction and diversion practices, measured results, and related environmental protection initiatives. Businesses must score higher than 16 points (80%) to achieve Trailblazer status. All the ranking categories are listed at  BanffZeroWasteTrail.ca along all the local businesses who have earned this award.