Put on your hard hat and plug your nose! Waste management is our most requested tour where students get an in depth personal encounter with some of the leading initiatives in addressing waste management.

The tour will consist of 2-3 locations with a lunch spot. An environmental educator will accompany the class to engage the students and provide any support necessary throughout the day.

What they'll learn:

Students will have the opportunity to witness working plants as they manage our city’s waste. Students will be shocked to find out the amount of garbage we produce and the innovative techniques in dealing with it. Tour site pairings include a transfer station, a scrap metal recycling yard, the Waste-to-Energy incinerator, a wastewater treatment plant, and an industrial organics digestion (composting) facility. All of these facilities will allow students will see (and smell) firsthand the facilities responsible for dealing with the huge amount of waste we produce through our daily consumption habits. Students will learn about where garbage goes and the longevity of the Vancouver and Cache Creek landfills, along with corresponding impacts on drinking water, wildlife, climate change, and human health. Additionally, students will learn about waste diversion and the corresponding savings in water, energy, and greenhouse gases over raw extraction. Garbage and recycling statistics will be discussed, and waste-reducing behaviour will be emphasized.

Selected Tours:

    •     Montenay Waste-to-Energy Facility
    •     ABC Recycling
    •     Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment Plant
    •     North Shore Transfer Station
    •     Vancouver Transfer Station
    •     Free Geek Recycling