Katimavik House launches recyclable education program
Posted Feb 19, 2010 By Desmond Devoy
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Desmond Devoy, Ottawa East EMC
The recent Katimavik contingent in Vanier were: Melissa Waldner, Emily Hopkins, Ryan Rioux, Katherine Mijllae, Johanie Bolduc, Caren Mendoza, Jean-Michel Drouin Montag and Mark Blanchette.
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EMC Feature - A recent tour of Vanier before garbage day has led a group of young people to educate the community on what can and cannot be recycled or thrown out. 
Desmond Devoy, Ottawa East EMC
The recent intake of Katimavik students in Vanier proudly display their blog's web site, where they have uploaded a video to teach residents how to properly recycle.
"On Sunday night, we did a tour of Vanier and we saw T.V.s and computer monitors and electronics," said Katherine Mijllae, 19, during an interview at the Katimavik House, 83 Jolliet Avenue in Vanier, on the evening of Tuesday, February 9.
Another recyclable item the group saw on the curb was "a person was throwing out a garbage can!" said Caren Mendoza, 18, with a laugh.
Seeing all of the could-be recycled items helped prompt the group to carry on their education campaign as part of a green component of their Katimavik placement training. The youngsters, who have since moved on to North Vancouver, just in time for the Winter Olympics there, have set up a blog which they hope the next Vanier Katimavik group will continue on, at www.project-tremf.webs.com.
TREMFH, an acronym for "textiles, renovation materials, electronics, mattresses, furniture, and hazardous waste," said Ryan Rioux, 18, before adding that "the H is silent!"
The acronym highlights what the group calls the six deadly sins, a theme given to the program since "it gives it (throwing recyclable things in the trash) a negative vibe," said Rioux. "There are alternatives to chucking things into the garbage," said Rioux. "We educate them on where to take it."
"We decided to start a blog and (set up) a video on the blog," said Mendoza, who edited the video herself over the space of three weeks using tips she had learned in high school. "It turned out really well," she said.
Another part of their outreach strategy came when they held an information session for the community at the Richelieu-Vanier Centre, 300 Avenue des Peres Blancs, on the evening of Monday, February 8. The event attracted "more than expected," said Mendoza with pride. The group also presented to the St. Laurent Academy, 415 St. Laurent Blvd., in Manor Park on the afternoon of Friday, February 12.
"The perfect age group to talk to is junior high, pre-adolescent...because that's when you form a lot of your opinions," said Rioux.
While Katimavik encourages green education as part of its curriculum amongst its participants, this sort of educational mobilization is new for the Vanier branch.
"This is a new thing that Katimavik has done...We're basically guinea pigs!" said Rioux. As a result, reaching out to schools has proven to be a little bit difficult.
"It's a pilot project so there's really not a lot of answers," to the phone calls that are put out, admitted Jean-Michel Drouin Montag, 17. "A lot of schools already have recycling programs."
Another problem they encountered was that some schools were in the midst of their exam periods and so could not accommodate external distractions.
The project participants are not quick to point fingers at people who do throw recyclable material out.
"They didn't have the time to dispose of it themselves," Emily Hopkins, 18, said of some of the people who left their items by the roadside in Vanier.
"There are also a lot of midnight movers too, people who can't pay their rent," added Rioux.
Seeing what they have seen on the streets of Vanier though has made some of them reflect on their own families' recycling habits.
"In my family, we've been throwing things out that should not be...it's hard to change," said Montag. Many people are very busy, and seeing that "it took me 30 minutes to save the world," by properly recycling might not be a habit yet for some people.
The project also turned out to be an education for many of the young people involved, when they discovered, as they were sorting out their own garbage and recyclables, that what can be recycled in one city or province, might not necessarily be able to be recycled in Ottawa.
"Milk bags, we can recycle them in Muskoka. But you can't here!" said Hopkins, shaking her head.
"I can recycle the plastic bag where I come from," said Mijllae, who lives 45 minutes north of Montreal.
Rioux was surprised to discover "that mattresses are really bad for the environment. They need to be disposed of in a very involved way." He was also surprised to find that "you can never recycle 100 per cent," and that, after an object has been recycled three or four times, it has essentially outlived its usefulness.
Also, "you can't reuse batteries. So don't even try," said Rioux.
ddevoy@thenowemc.ca
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