Success Story - In Communities
City of Grande Prairie (Grande Prairie)
Little steps taken at the City of Grande Prairie’s council chambers and meeting rooms has significantly reduced the number of bottles ending up the landfill.
Prior to simple acts, the City of Grande Prairie’s meeting rooms would throw away about 800 plastic bottles annually. Thanks to simple changes such as replacing bottled water with reusable pitchers and glasses and close by fridges and dishwashers they have reduced their waste to zero.
“At first, employees were resistant, concerned about an increased workload. But now, those same staff members are champions of the program,” said Michelle Gairdner, City of Grande Prairie.
The City purchased enough pitchers, glasses and trays to ensure that there were always enough supplies for upcoming and concurrent meetings. With fridges and dishwashers close to the meeting rooms, keeping up with demand was very easy. The City not only produces less waste, they save money and use local tap water.
“Devising a system was a staff effort. When you give staff the opportunity for input, you get buy in and they look for more that they can do,” said Gairdner.
The mayor and councilors love the new pitchers and glasses. In fact, one councilor loved it so much, that he asked City staff to enter the Businesses Taking Action on Waste Contest. With this win under their belts, the City of Grande Prairie is on to their next big project - reusable dishes.
