Issue

The predominant concern for stakeholders is the issue of recyclables and organics that are contaminated by customers, who do not correctly source separate. The issue of contamination was of particular concern to waste coordinators. Some waste coordinators believe that preserving source separation quality should be the overriding priority in determining a sorting method for waste in front-of-the-counter. In other words, sorting for quality should be the primary goal. Other waste coordinators believe that having public access to source separation in high profile spaces, such as quick-service restaurants, is a key step in meeting Nova Scotia's waste reduction objectives.

A few other stakeholders questioned the value of separating waste in front-of-the-counter. It was argued that this waste accounts for only a small portion of the total waste generated by restaurants and therefore may not be worthwhile to invest time and energy in its separation.

The South Shore of Nova Scotia (Region 6) and Bridgewater in particular, is the only area of the province that has an organized and sustained effort to promote recycling and composting for customer generated waste in quick-service restaurants. For this reason, the activities of the South Shore were examined in order to gain insights into the successful practices employed in this area, as well as to identify the challenges that still exist. In addition, other regions may be able to benefit from the strategies used by the stakeholders in this region to overcome challenges and institute in front-of-the-counter recycling and composting practices.

Support from a local waste educator, Richard Wilson, was the motivating force in the implementation of Bridgewater’s program. Source separation in public places began in approximately August 2000, with the first participant (Bridgewater Mall) going “green” in January 2001. Organic waste from in front-of-the-counter at McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Dairy Queen, and the Bridgewater Mall Food Court was audited in January 2002 to determine the quality of the waste and the contamination levels in the organic waste stream (For more detail, see Bridgewater Waste Audit in Bridgewater Study Final Report). At the time of the audit, the greening program had been in effect in the Bridgewater Mall for about a year, at McDonalds and Wendy’s for about 3 months and at Dairy Queen for about 1 month. A level of less than 10% contamination by volume was used to indicate acceptable rates of contamination.

Richard Wilson identified that the two main factors that were key to the success of the Bridgewater Mall and Dairy Queen’s waste sorting were well-designed bins and signs, and trained staff and management, who fully supported the program.

Tim Hortons in Bridgewater has also reached acceptable levels of contaminant-free organics through a purely staff-based sorting strategy. They have sealed up their garbage cans and asked customers to leave waste on the tables to be sorted by the well-trained and organized staff members behind the counter.

1.1 Source Separation Strategies

Three strategies for source separation are profiled in Table 1: Strategies for Source Separation. If the issue of source separation is considered solely in terms of the quality of waste separation, then Strategy 1 - Staff-Based Sorting is the preferable option, since this would yield the least amount of contaminated waste. However, if public education and participation is the key objective then Strategy 2- Customer-Based Sorting is more effective. To balance the concern of some waste coordinators for high quality waste separation with the concern of other waste coordinators for public education and participation, Strategy 3 - Dual Sorting, becomes the most effective method of source separation.

With Dual Sorting, customers are given the option of sorting their own waste or having their waste sorted by staff. Well-designed and centrally located containers and signage are provided in front-of-the-counter for customers who want to sort their own waste. Customers could be encouraged to leave their trays on the table or a central tray collection area could be provided for customers to leave their trays to be sorted by staff. All other garbage receptacles throughout the restaurant should be sealed or removed. At one Tim Horton’s in Bridgewater, there are signs on the garbage receptacles that state, “To our Customers: We at Tim Horton’s do 100% Recycling (sic). To help us in this area, please leave your garbage on the table.” Such signage could be paired with other educational efforts such as posters and table tents, to inform the public about the existence of, and rationale behind, the Dual Sorting system.

Since the amount of waste disposed of in front-of-the-counter is relatively small compared to the amount of waste behind the counter, staff should already be trained in correct source separation. Consequently, the transition to Staff-Based Sorting of customer-generated waste would require only a small amount of additional training. One manager in Bridgewater stated that, “We do use the resource of an extra staff person during busy times but it is not really much of a cost because we are organized and when you are used to it, it takes very little time. After all, you have to clean off tables and sanitize them between customers anyway so it is just one small extra step.”

Table 1: Strategies for Source Separation

	Strategy Pros Cons
1) Staff-Based Sorting	- Staff sorts waste - Garbage receptacles are removed or sealed - Customers leave tray on tables or take to a central tray collection area High quality source separation- Restaurant owner/managers gain an increased awareness of waste stream content, potentially translating into decreased waste generation Additional staff time required, which may incur added costs-Customers are not responsible for their garbage-Customers do not learn how to separate waste in quick-service restaurants
2) Customer-Based Sorting	- Customers sort waste - Containers and signage are provided in front-of-the-counter to facilitate the separation of waste Customer responsibility for source separation, therefore promoting source separation in all sectors, not just residential Contamination of waste is more likely with poorly designed source-separation containers and limited public education -No consequences for customers who do not separate
3) Dual Sorting	- Customers are given option of sorting their own waste or leaving it for staff to sort- Containers and signage, as well as a central tray collection area, are provided in front-of-the-counter to facilitate waste separation Higher quality source separation than in Strategy 2-Individual opportunity for source separation, therefore promoting source separation in all sectors, not just residential Lower quality source separation than Strategy 1- Increased space requirements- Some additional staff time may be required

1.2 Waste Audits

Restaurant owners and managers should be encouraged to conduct a waste audit in order to collect baseline data, to identify waste reduction strategies and to assess their source separation needs. Audits could include a comprehensive audit, a visual assessment, or an audit based on weight. Waste audits templates already developed by waste educators could be used. These templates could be provided to restaurant owners and managers as part of the waste educators’ information packages and on websites. Conducting a waste audit could be one of the first steps that a waste educator takes when working with restaurants. Nova Scotia Youth Conservation Corps or students could assist waste educators and restaurants in performing these audits.

Nova Scotia is divided into seven waste management regions (see map). Components of the waste stream that are considered recyclable, compostable and garbage vary between the regions. With the exception of Region 1 (Cape Breton Island), where the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and Inverness County lack an organics collection program and municipal composting facility, the variations among regions are not extreme.

Variations exist between Region 4 (Halifax Regional Municipality) and Region 6 (South Shore). In Region 4, the differences relate to paper. In Region 6, the variations are related to hot and cold drink cups. Signage in Regions 4 and 6 could call attention to these limited variations, for the benefit of those visiting from elsewhere in Nova Scotia. In order to further increase uniformity between Waste Reduction regions, it would be valuable for managers from compost and recycling facilities to meet with waste coordinators at a day-long workshop to discuss the variations among the regions and set goals for their eventual elimination.