Disappointing that Pan Am Games have no waste reduction requirements
Correspondence with the Pan Am Games
March 31, 2015
Toronto 2015 Pam Am Games
Corus Quay, 25 Dockside Drive, 7th Drive,
Toronto, ON M5A 0B5
Attention: Ms. Kendra Graham, Associate External Partnerships (Games Information Sessions)
Dear Kendra,
Re: Raise the bar – Aim for Zero Waste at Pan Am Games!
It is a great opportunity for Simcoe County to be hosting some of the 2015 Pan Am Games. It was a pleasure to meet some of the people organizing these events and I appreciated the information that was provided at the Public Information Session that I attended on March 26, at the Oro-Medonte Council Chambers. In particular, we discussed a provincial procurement policy that is followed by event organizers. Would it be possible for you to provide me a copy of that policy or advise where I might access that information?
It was suggested by Jonathon that I contact you for answers to our following concerns:
1. Who is responsible for waste that is generated from the Pan Am Games?
2. What, if any, waste reduction requirements are included in the policy for vendors/hosts?
3. With the importance of the 3Rs hierarchy, will any facilities provide reuseable dinnerware and cutlery as an alternative to single-use items?
4. If food is served “take-out” style, will packaging be limited to compostable and easy-to-recycle materials – avoiding problematic plastic where-ever possible?
5. What waste diversion programs will be in place?
6. Will diversion stations, with clear signage, be set-up to educate/encourage waste reduction?
7. Will waste diversion stations be monitored? If so, who will monitor them?
8. Will a waste audit of the overall event be completed to provide results of the waste reduction programs?
9. If any waste is to be disposed of, what company will collect and transport the waste?
10. Where will the waste be disposed of?
11. How will the waste be disposed of?
12. What costs have been allocated for setting up diversion programs (including signage)?
13. What costs are anticipated to recycle materials (including transportation)?
14. What costs are anticipated to compost materials (including transportation)?
15. Will costs are anticipated to dispose of waste that cannot be reused, recycled, or composted?
16. Who will pay these costs?
17. Will details about this waste program be available to the public?
I look forward to your reply.
Thank you,
K. Clune
April 10, 2015
Hi Kelly,
Thank you for your email.
Sustainability at the TORONTO 2015 Games involves many initiatives, including our ‘transit-first’ approach to transportation for spectators for the majority of our venues. We’re also spectators to carpool, walk or cycle to our venues.
Our brand-new and renovated venues are also designed to be sustainable — with features that maximize community and high-performance athlete use as a legacy of the Games.
The CIBC Pan Am/Parapan Am Aquatics Centre and Field House — the largest new build of the Games — in Toronto is targeted to meet a LEED silver standard, as well as comply with the Toronto Green Standard (TGS).
Sustainable elements include:
• A green roof covering 5,632 m2 of the building (30 per cent)
• 95 per cent of construction site waste is targeted to be diverted from landfills and incineration
• Overall building materials are comprised of 30 per cent recycled content, and 95 per cent of wood-based materials within the building are certified in accordance with the Forest Steward Council’s (FSC) principles and criteria
• 100 per cent of the facility’s property irrigation demand will be met using non-potable rainwater harvested by underground cisterns buried in various locations
• Energy performance features include use of geothermal energy through a ground source heat pump field located under the north parking lot of the facility
• The field is comprised of 100 geothermal boreholes, with each hold extending 180-metres deep
The CIBC Pan Am/Parapan Am Athletes’ Village, which will house more than 10,000 athletes and officials for the Games, features a number of environmental and social features.
The province of Ontario worked with partners to successfully rehabilitate a brownfield site in the heart of downtown Toronto rather than building on greenfield land.
• Development of the new 14-hectare community, which sits next to the Don River, was made possible following the construction of a flood protection landform, an engineered berm that protects approximately 210 hectares of the city’s downtown from a major flood event.
• The community is designed with sustainability in mind, ranging from energy and water use, to regional sourcing of materials, incorporating green roofs and more.
• Following the Games, the village will turn into a multi-purpose residential community after the Games, including a college residence, affordable rental housing and market condominiums. It is located next to Corktown Common, a new seven-hectare public park and green space, developed by Waterfront Toronto as part of the broader revitalization of the area.
• The project sets a benchmark for sustainable neighbourhood development in Canada. It is targeting LEED Gold for Neighbourhood Development and LEED Gold for New Construction.
To tackle waste reduction and recycling, spectators, athletes, volunteers and other visitors at our venues will see bin systems that are clearly labelled to separate general waste from recyclable material.
Our food vendors are also being encouraged to use compostable and easy-to-recycle materials for spectators when they order food in venue.
Each venue has its own waste contractor. It is either the incumbent firm, or Waste Management, which won TO2015’s RFP for recycling and waste management services earlier this year.
Waste collected by Waste Management will be transferred to their District Transfer Stations. Within the transfer stations, Waste Management will conduct ‘transfer station mining’ to further remove recyclable materials from the waste stream to reduce the amount of waste destined for landfill.
All waste that Waste Management collects will be deposited in the Waste Management Twin Creeks Landfill, located in the Township of Warwick, County of Lambton. Recyclables will be transported to the company’s Cambridge Material Recovery Facility (MRF) located at 505 Conestoga Boulevard in Cambridge, ON.
The Twin Creeks Landfill leachate collection and treatment system includes landfill collection galleries, pumping stations, equalization tanks, full biological and reverse osmosis leachate treatment facilities and laboratories, treated effluent storage ponds, as well as 20-hectare poplar plantation and a complete monitoring and contingency program.
For information on TO2015’s suppliers and procurement process, please visit: http://www.toronto2015.org/business.
Best regards,
Kendra
Kendra Graham
Associate, External Partnerships (Games Information Sessions)
April 20, 1015
Attention: Ms. Kendra Graham – Associate, External Partnerships
Dear Ms. Graham,
Re: Raise the bar – Aim for Zero Waste at Pan Am Games!
Thank you for your reply to some of the questions presented to you regarding how waste will be addressed at Pan Am Games being held in Simcoe County.
It is unfortunate to read that this high-profile event has given such little attention to waste reduction. Canada, after all, has a failing grade on waste. The Conference Board of Canada reports that Canada ranks last place out of 17 countries with a “D” grade on the municipal waste generation report card, and municipal waste generated per capita has been steadily increasing since 1990. (ConferenceBoard.ca)
The Pan Am Games would provide a good opportunity for Simcoe County to showcase its award-winning waste reduction programs. It could help to raise awareness of waste issues and increase waste reduction in our County, our province, our country. Therefore, it was disappointing to read that the Pan Am Games have no waste reduction requirements for vendors and host venues. Furthermore, no waste audits will be done, no monitoring of diversion programs, and no waste data will be collected. This is information that would aid continuous improvement of waste reduction at future events.
You explain that food vendors are “encouraged” to use compostable and easy-to-recycle materials. In fact, this kind of voluntary approach to waste reduction has proven to be unsuccessful, especially if composting programs are not available at the venue.
You state that the waste contractor will be responsible for transferring the waste and sorting recyclables from the waste stream. Remaining waste will be dumped in the Township of Warwick, in the County of Lambton. Obviously, the waste industry will only make an effort to divert recyclables that make it financially feasible to do so. Other “recyclable” or “compostable” material will remain in the waste stream for disposal. It is counter-productive to depend on the waste industry to reduce waste. It is also irresponsible for one community to dump on another.
While some of the necessary policy changes are beyond your control as event organizers, the Pan Am Games is a prestigious event and could therefore take a leading role in developing its own waste reduction requirements and model changes that are needed to reduce waste at all events. Obviously, it is also imperative that all levels of government take prompt action to develop effective waste reduction policies and follow through with enforcing them.
If Canada is to improve its failing record on waste any time soon, to strive for a better image of our country and, more importantly, protection of resources for future generations, then it is urgent that policy changes be made now which aim for Zero Waste at all events.
This year is a good year to start.
Working for a sustainable planet,
Kelly Clune
Thanks for your continuing efforts to promote Zero Waste in Ontario Kelly.
Obviously, our governments still don’t take it seriously and continue to maintain the status quo instead of using major events like the Pan Am Games to teach and promote Zero Waste to the public.
Canada’s waste reduction record is shameful, but it doesn’t look like they care!