Category Archives: Featured

Vancouver: Trash Talkin’

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The Clean Bin Project documents a year of living zero-waste

On a dark and rainy Vancouver evening, I paid a visit to the trio behind the Clean Bin Project. Jenny Rustemeyer, Rhyannon O’Heron and Grant Baldwin are housemates who more than a year ago decided they’d simply had enough of  ”stuff.” They also realized that if they could cut down on all their stuff they could drastically reduce the amount of garbage they were sending to the landfill. And thus their Clean Bin Project was born.

All the garbage from one year.

The Clean Bin Project after one year: That's it, garbage-wise.

The challenge was this: produce zero landfill-bound waste for one year (or as close to zero as possible). With individually labelled bins, Rustemeyer, O’Heron and Baldwin would also compete for the honour of generating the least amount of garbage in their household.

Though this sounds like a simple challenge, if you were to pick apart your garbage and examine its origins, you’d see that the society we live in makes it rather difficult to truly achieve zero waste. So many of the things we buy are not compostable or readily recyclable. As well, certain types of recycling are not necessarily better for the environment.

Project Evolution

Meticulous recycling.

The Clean Bin Project, Vancouver, B.C.: Meticulous recycling.

The group knew from the beginning that recycling would not be the complete answer to the challenge. While they would meticulously separate recyclables (they’d even stash a bin for “metal bits” under their sink), the first “R” in waste management, Reduce, would be embraced as the guiding principle for the project. Soon, buying things – consumption – would come to a standstill; ground rules on consumption would be laid (food and personal hygiene necessities were exempt, for example); Rustemeyer would start a blog to share the group’s progress and Baldwin (a professional videographer) would document the experience on video.

Because of the project, Rustemeyer also became much more involved with food and food production. “Food packaging generates a lot of waste,” she notes, so she became a dedicated customer of farmer’s markets (where one can purchase unpackaged goods) and learned to can her own sauces and preserves. “Gardening also really took off,” says Rustemeyer. Cultivating just 70 square feet in their yard, she and O’Heron were able to harvest potatoes, garlic, onions, lettuce, kale, spinach, four varieties of tomatoes, beets, peas, cucumbers, zucchini, rhubarb, basil, oregano, thyme, mint, blood sorrel, lemon sorrel, parsley, chives, radishes, cilantro, carrots and sunchoke through the year. Oh – and berries were planted for next year.

O'Heron holds up her bin.

O'Heron holds up her bin.

Friends and acquaintances were also educated on the project. Even so, receiving gifts turned out to be a challenge. The three would gladly give and accept gifts of experiences, such as dining or live entertainment, yet still took care to be gracious by accepting occasional material gifts. “Some get it and some don’t,” explains O’Heron, who, like her housemates, occasionally brings home “incidental” packaging to be properly disposed of. “We didn’t want to make people feel bad,” adds Rustemeyer. “This was a personal challenge for us; we didn’t want to preach.”

The Clean Bin challenge ended in July of 2009, but it would appear the behaviours have stuck. Once the systems and routines were put in place, it made sense to continue the low-consumption lifestyle, and their lives have been enriched for the better. Then and now, instead of buying stuff, “we do more. We go out; eat better. We go on bike trips on weekends.” Sounds like a decent trade off!

The Documentary

Baldwin had always wanted to film a documentary, and this was the perfect project. “We want to make it fun and entertaining; to inspire people,” says Baldwin, who acknowledges that the recent onslaught of environmental films may have alienated potential zero-waste converts. “There are so many issues: global warming, animal cruelty, eating local; we don’t want to tackle everything. We want to go after something tangible. This is something that people have control over.”

Baldwin and Rustemeyer compare garbage.

His and hers: Baldwin and Rustemeyer compare garbage.

And they’ve inspired their fair share, with engaged readers of the Clean Bin’s blog posting tips and advice on topics as varied as baking soda deodorant to recyclable toothbrush heads. Rustemeyer has even been informed of others starting their own zero-waste challenges.

So, in the end, who was the winner of the Clean Bin Project? I was told that the housemates averaged just four pounds of garbage each – for an entire year. But to find out who won, we’ll have to wait for the documentary, which comes out this summer. In the meantime, we can all get a little inspired by watching the trailer below.

Resources

The Clean Bin Project lists a number of recycling resources for things like soft plastics, scrap metals, and electronics. Here is a short list:

RCBC – Recycling Council of British Columbia

Pacific Mobile Depot

Happy Stan’s Recycling

Metro Vancouver Recycles

Lead image courtesy Jenny Rustemeyer

Top B.C. Daytrippers: 20 Cool Ways to Catch (Or Avoid) Olympic Fever

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2010 WINTER OLYMPICS UPDATE

by Rob Howatson

More cowbell please! With the thermometer dropping and the Olympic Flame burning its way toward B.C., it’s time to get this party started. Regardless of whether one’s winter strategy involves embracing the 2010 Games full on or hunkering down in a Kootenay forest until the fireworks blow over, the following guide will help you medal in the appropriate event.

courtesy Big White Ski Resort, BC, Canada / Big White Ski Resort Ltd.

Throughout the 2010 Games, Big White Ski Resort will present its irreverent take on the winter athletic competition, hosting a different, fun event each day. Photo courtesy Big White Ski Resort

1   Jest for Glory
Big White Games, Kelowna
Kelowna’s local ski hill knows how to get into the Olympic spirit. Throughout the 2010 Games, Big White Ski Resort will present its irreverent take on the winter athletic competition, hosting a different, fun event each day. From inner-tube luge to the Nerf gun biathlon, this is the peoples’ games – open to guests of all abilities, with medal ceremonies held each evening in the Happy Valley flag garden. 250-765-3101

2  Black-Diamond Bronco
Wrangle the Chute, Golden
Put some yee-haw in your Olympic yodel at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort’s annual alpine hoedown. Contestants ski down a steep, narrow run, launch themselves off a ramp and jettison their gear in preparation for a wild ride on a bucking bronco. Warning: the horse is fake, but the wranglers operating its bungee suspension are genuinely ornery. Sane folk may prefer to opt out of the race and enjoy the antics from the Heaven’s Door yurt patio – complete with DJ and BBQ. February 6, 7. 1-866- 754-5425

3  Freewheel U
Cross-Country Ski Camps, Vernon
Silver Star Resort’s 105-km, groomed-trail network is the cross-country ski centre of B.C. – voted the number one Nordic destination in North America by Forbes Travel magazine. Numerous Olympic national teams will gather here to tweak their form prior to the Games and a popular series of cross-country ski camps will help weekend warriors do the same. Courses range from $199 to $739, including trail passes, lunch and video analysis. November 28 to December 6. 1-800-663- 4431

4  Varsity Rules
Thunderbird Hockey, Vancouver
Olympic hockey tickets are hard to find, but there is a way to get a sneak peek inside the Games’ new $47.8-million UBC venue – and see some gutsy varsity sports action at the same time. The T-Bird men and women hockey teams will play this season’s home games in the state-of-the-art, 7,500-seat arena. Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. Tickets $10. UBC.
Schedules: gothunderbirds.ca

5  Wired for Wow
Air Grouse Mountain Ziplines, North Vancouver
Ziplining is one of those zany, adrenalin-pumping activities that has all the makings of an Olympic event – gasp-inducing speed, a gratuitous exploitation of gravity – but isn’t a sport . . . yet. For now it is simply a mind-blowing way to view the North Shore Mountains while hurtling above Grouse Mountain forest at 80 km/h. Après ride: Grouse’s 740-square-metre ice-skating pond, where 1972 Olympic silver medallist Karen Magnussen is lacing ’em up to give figure skating tips – for real. 604-980-9311

courtesy Sun Peaks Resort

For this year's Ice-Wine Festival, organizers have opened up the spigot to include all Okanagan varietals. Photo courtesy Sun Peaks Resort

6  A-Vin-Lanche Patrol
Winter Wine Festival/Sun Peaks Resort, near Kamloops
The ancient Olympiad began with the Greeks offering wine to Zeus. So it is fitting that the Winter Wine Festival will flow January 16 to 24 – right before the Games. For 11 years, this was the Icewine Festival, a Sun Peaks swish-and-spit jamboree dedicated to the only vino harvested in the dead of night and dead of winter. This year’s grape party will continue to honour the elixir from the frozen vine, but festival organizers have also opened up the spigot to include all Okanagan varietals. New events include Wild Meats and Wild Wine at Masa’s Bar + Grill, a Varietal Showdown at the M Room and a Mixology Event for those who like sampling beyond the wine lists. January 16 to 24. 1-800-807-3257

7  Dude Meets dweeb
Old School Giant Slalom/Mount Washington, near Courtenay
There are bound to be neck-wrenching double takes at Vancouver Island’s alpine resort this winter as Olympic snowboarders share Mount Washington’s slopes with some bizarrely attired skiers. The elite boarders will be cramming for their parallel giant slalom test at Cypress. The downhillers, with their kamikaze headbands, one-piece neon hot-dogger suits, mirrored sunglasses and skinny, straight skis, will be there for the inaugural retro ’80s fun race January 30. Totally wicked! 1-888-231-1499

8  Oval Au Naturel
Polarthon, Kamloops
Kamloops is a hotbed for speed skating talent, but the city can’t afford a $178-million long-track oval like Richmond’s new Olympic venue. So its determined blade racers came up with a more affordable alternative: Logan Lake. Each winter a local ATV club sweeps the lake’s frozen surface, transforming it into a giant outdoor rink and the home of the Southern Regional Long-Track Speed-Skating Championships (January 9), a fun winter triathlon called Polarthon (January 10) and the Western Cup of Pond Hockey (January 15 to 17). Located just outside Kamloops, Logan Lake is the only lake-surface speed-skate venue in B.C. 250-523-6225

9  The Cold Lebowski
Winter Festival, Valemount
The Olympic torch passes through this gateway-to-Mount Robson community January 29, just in time to kick off Valemount’s second-annual icicle whoop-up. Frosty frolics on January 30 include a wacky winter triathlon (skate, cross-country ski, run), milk-jug curling, dogsled rides and the little-known sport of body bowling. The latter involves participants being hurled across a frozen lake in the hopes of knocking down a set of oversized pins. 250-566-4435

10  Fork Lighting
Lighting the Way, Grand Forks
Many towns throughout B.C. will celebrate the arrival of the Olympic torch when it passes through their communities. Grand Forks, for instance, will party it up January 24 as the flame flickers down its main streets – hopefully keeping its distance from the snow-and-ice sculpture contest. Plus: fireworks and performances by First Nations and Metis jig dancers, the Doukhobor Seniors Choir and the Sopranos Youth Singers. 1-866-442-2833

11  Follow the Pack
Sled Dog Tour, Invermere
Sled-dog racing was a demonstration sport in the 1932 Lake Placid games, and the International Federation of Sled Dog Sports has been agitating for a second chance ever since, though it may be awhile before Fido tops the podium again. In the meantime, mountain mushing experiences can be had at Toby Creek Adventures (just down the road from Panorama Mountain Village), featuring a full-day backcountry romp to the Delphine Glacier. (Movie-goers may recall this stunning icefield from the 1993 survival film Alive.) Many of the trek’s guides and dogs are veterans of the Iditarod and Canadian championship sled dog races, so you’ll want to hang on for the mad dash up Delphine Creek to the glacier’s spectacular, cliff-top icefall. 1-888-357-4449

courtesy Trudy Lee Photography

B.C.'s second-annual Cultural Olympiad: more than 600 free and ticketed acts and exhibitions. Photo courtesy Trudy Lee Photography

12  Brrrrravo!
Cultural Olympiad 2010, Various B.C. Locations
The Cultural Olympiad has wowed audiences in Vancouver and along the Sea-to-Sky corridor since its launch last year. But the closer we get to the Games, the more spectacular those performances. More than 600 free and ticketed acts and exhibitions will be showcased January 22 to March 21, including the rare double-billing of Canada’s National Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet – but also relative unknowns: e.g., The Only Animal theatre company’s ambitious production of NiX. The tiny Vancouver troupe will construct Canada’s first theatre of snow and ice at Whistler’s Lost Lake and fill it with a frozen fantasy about fireworks at the end of the world.

13  Learn From the Master
Nipika Classic Loppet, Radium Hot Springs
Can’t define “loppet”? All the more reason to attend Nipika Mountain Resort’s Learn to Cross Country Ski Week (January 18 to 25) – for classic and skate-skiing taught by resort co-owner Lyle Wilson. The former Olympic coach has been a dominant force on the Canadian Master ski circuit for 30 years. So, you can hone your skills on Nipika’s 50 km of trails, then be well-primed to race in its Classic Loppet at week’s end. 1-877-647-4525

courtesy Kimberley Family Festival

Kimberley's Family Festival: Bands, glow-stick parades, a mountain scavenger hunt and s’mores by the skate pond. Photo courtesy Kimberley Family Festival

14  Kin Who Huck
Family Festival, Kimberley Alpine Resort
The Olympic family that shreds together breaks bread together. And so, in honour of the fact that skiing is such a great family activity, Kimberley’s ski hill has declared Valentine’s weekend a giant brood bash. There will be bands, glow-stick parades, a mountain scavenger hunt and s’mores by the skate pond. February 13 to 14. 1-800-258-7669

15  O Yes You Did
The O Zone, Richmond
An official celebration site of the 2010 Winter Games, the O Zone will showcase art, culture, entertainment and sport via a main stage for international headliners, giant outdoor ice rink, interactive exhibits and a towering 43-metre screen carrying live feeds from all Olympic venues. To find: just look for the colourful, 30-metre-long wall of ice at the O Zone entrance (by B.C.’s Gordon Halloran, who also designed the Turin Games’ 2006 sub-zero installation). 604-276-4000

16  Spread the Warmth
Hudson Bay Mountain Resort, Smithers
The Olympic Flame isn’t the only torch drawing crowds this winter. On January 29, evening skiers brandishing flares on bamboo poles will create what will look like a giant glowing red snake – descending the slopes of Hudson Bay Mountain Resort via its new eight-km trail to town (one of B.C.’s top-three longest runs). Torch bearers will finish their burn turns on the edge of Smithers, where a bus waits to take them to the resort’s watering hole, Whisky Jack’s, for the Torchlight Dance. All proceeds to the Canadian Cancer Society. 250-847-2058

17  Totem Polar Party
Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver
The towering glass walls of UBC’s Museum of Anthropology Great Hall still offer a stunning view of Vancouver’s outer harbour, and the hall itself still displays an amazing collection of totem poles. But huge changes are afoot thanks to a $55-million expansion and facelift. Highlights: new exhibition gallery and revitalized lobby, gift shop and café unveiling; plus the launch of “Boundary and Translation: New Art Across Cultures,” a cultural Olympiad exhibition of contemporary works by 12 international artists. January 23, 24. 604-827-5932

18  Don’t Piste Me Off
Big Mountain Freeskiing, Revelstoke
Skiers who find Olympic slope events too constraining can always sink their fat planks into competitive Big Mountain Freeskiing – a sport that’s been around for 15-plus years but is not yet on the Olympic radar. Revelstoke intends to change that when it hosts the Canadian Freeskiing Championships January 6 to 10. Competitors are given a start gate and a finish line; what they do with the mountain in between is up to them. But usually that means huge carves on open faces, bombing through tight chutes, launching off 15-metre cliffs and a smattering of tricks in between. 1-866-373-4754

19  Play Safe
National Avalanche Awareness Days, Various B.C. Locations
You can’t host the Winter Games without a few words of winter caution. In fact, more than 30 Canadian communities will hold white-thunder safety programs in January, with Fernie the anchor city for this season’s campaign. The East Kootenay powder pocket is a fitting location to headline the Canadian Avalanche Centre initiative because it draws both skiers and snowmobilers, and it’s the latter that took a beating in the backcountry last winter (avalanches smothered twice as many snowmobilers in the 2008-09 season than in any preceding winter). Still, all slope-lovers will appreciate the beacon searches, snowpit profiles and search-dog demonstrations January 8 to 10 at Fernie Alpine Resort (simultaneous activities at local sled area, January 9). 250-837-2141

20  Potluck Potlatch
Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, Whistler
Fans of Whistler’s Farmers’ Market, which packs the Upper Village with organic goodness summer through fall, can now get their slow- food fix at a winter version – Sundays at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre (SLCC), an impressive structure designed to evoke a traditional Squamish longhouse and Lil’wat Istken pit house. Sunday shoppers can stock up on storage crops, root vegetables, late-season fruits and locally prepared artisan breads before paying by donation to access the SLCC’s exhibits and weave-your-own-bling Salish Craft Workshop. 1-866-441-7522

Got a fave B.C. “Winter Wow” event we should know about? Send us a line!

Lead photo courtesy Grouse Mountain

Fighting Olympic Aversion

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2010 WINTER OLYMPICS UPDATE

Whistler hopes record-breaking snows are enough

by Kerry Banks

Record-breaking snows in Whistler this month have been attracting droves of skiers. In fact, the resort has already surpassed its record for November snowfall, with several days still remaining for the month. Even so, tourism officials are worried about the effect of “Olympic Aversion,” a threat that has nothing to do with the weather.

“Olympic Aversion” is a documented phenomenon that kept people away from previous Olympic venues such as Turin, Salt Lake City and Beijing because of fears that the sites would be too crowded, too expensive, and with too much construction around and no accommodation available. Ominously, early reports indicate that accommodation bookings for this winter at Whistler are already behind.

Officials with Tourism Vancouver and Tourism Whistler are working hard to assure people that these sorts of concerns are not warranted. They want to make it clear to skiers, for example, that there are plenty of deals on lift tickets to be had, that 90 per cent of the skiable terrain will be open during the Olympics and also that the major construction was completed years ago. And though anyone who want to go to Whistler during the Olympics for the day to ski or snowboard will have to take a bus (no driving will be allowed), that scenario won’t come into play for a few months yet. In the meantime, Tourism Whistler claims there has never been a better time to visit the resort because visitors can gain a sneak preview of the Olympic site; transportation has been made easier; and people can try out the Olympic runs ahead of schedule.

What’s your take? How do you feel about not being able to drive to Whistler during the Olympics? Are you avoiding Whistler this winter because of preparations for the Games?

***

How will I access Whistler during the 2010 Winter Games?

There will be no public parking in Whistler during the Games, so the best way to get to Whistler will be by bus services offered by private carriers. Travel by vehicle will be possible for visitors with accommodations if they have a permit (see below). Additional travel time will be required at Games time, no matter what mode of transportation you choose.

The best way to get where you need to go and avoid delays is by planning ahead, avoiding peak travel times and knowing your transportation options now before you step out the door in February 2010.

Ticket holders travelling from Vancouver to events at Whistler venues must do so using the Olympic Bus Network. You can book your Olympic Bus Network tickets in advance starting November 24, 2009.

Once in Whistler, public transportation will be the most convenient and preferred mode of transportation. There will be expanded bus routes in Whistler around the clock, seven days a week for the month of February 2010. Ticket holders travelling from within Whistler to events at Whistler venues can do so by using this service.

More details can be found at www.travelsmart2010.ca.

I heard that there will be a checkpoint along the highway to Whistler. Will that affect me?

Given the need to manage traffic flow to Whistler during the Games, a checkpoint will be in effect on the Sea to Sky Highway near the Alice Lake turn-off, north of Squamish. The checkpoint will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. from February 11 to 28, 2010.

To pass through this checkpoint within the 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. window, visitors to Whistler must have an official permit. Visitors who choose to drive to Whistler by private vehicle should get this permit mailed to them from their hotel before leaving home. If you don’t get this from your hotel in advance, you must get one from one of the Sea to Skypermit offices (located in either Whistler, Squamish, Pemberton or Vancouver) before you begin your trip up the highway. You will not be allowed to pass through the checkpoint without a visible permit; simply having a hotel reservation confirming parking is not sufficient. If you arrive at the checkpoint without a permit (but you have a hotel reservation confirming parking), you will be required to go the Sea to Sky permit office in Squamish to get one before continuing your trip up the highway to Whistler. If you travel outside the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. window, you do not require a permit.

Day skiers and other visitors to Whistler are encouraged to take commercial motor coaches or travel during off peak hours. You do not require a permit if travelling by bus.

Lead photo courtesy iStock.