The Ralph Thornton Community Centre is committed to taking action on environmental sustainability in daily operations.
The amount of waste generated at the Centre is a significant problem. Much of what goes out as garbage is, in fact, recyclable and organic waste. While properly sorted recyclables can be processed for new products, and properly sorted organics can be turned into compost, unsorted waste can only go to landfill.
The Centre’s Board of Management has recently approved changes to the Space Booking Policy and Procedures to require all users to reduce the amount of garbage.
Effective 1 July 2018, all private parties, licenced events, first-time large events, and other users deemed likely to produce a significant amount of waste will be charged a Solid Waste Levy of $10 per bag of garbage.
At the time of booking space, these users will pay a $100 deposit to cover the levy. Following the event, the number of garbage bags will be documented and any fee will be deducted from the levy.
Users – such as yoga or meditation classes – that generate little or no garbage will not be required to pay the deposit.
No fee will be charged for recycling or organic waste.
The purpose of the fee is to make users responsible for the waste they create.
The Centre will be working to ensure that signage and bins are improved to make sorting waste easier.
This move is part of the Ralph Thornton Community Centre’s ongoing efforts to be more environmentally responsible. Two years ago, the Centre undertook an extensive project to upgrade all lighting to more energy efficient LEDs. As a result, the Centre has substantially reduced its energy consumption and its carbon footprint.
The Centre welcomes any additional ideas to further the goal of environmental stewardship. Everyone who visits the Centre has a role to play in building a green and healthy community centre and city.