Adventure Traveler Garry Sowerby in his own words:

Friday, August 20th
Moncton and Fredericton, New Brunswick

Environmental Initiative #10
'Reuse a Shoe', Sneaker Recycling Program, Moncton, NB

Our welcome to the Westmorland-Albert Solid Waste Corporation began well before we arrived. Four local radio stations were announcing that Mission Green was coming to town. As we start down Berry Mills Road , we spot people picking up garbage along the roadside then we find ourselves tailing a garbage truck. We were obviously on the right road.

Bill Slater, General Manager, met us at the Education Center . Also in attendance for Mission Green’s running shoe roundup was Laurie Collette, from the New Brunswick Department of the Environment and Local Government, and W-A’s public relations team Christa Methot, Ashley Hamilton and Angela Mahoney.

The Corporation’s ‘Reuse a Shoe’ program, which Mission Green was here to salute and actually take part in, started as a pilot in 2001 and hasn’t lost its footing since! It is the only sneaker recycling program of its kind in the world.

The good citizens of Westmorland-Albert place their worn-out sneakers in the blue bag, W-A sorts them and two or three 18-wheeler-loads a year make their way from Moncton to Nike Global. Nike cuts each sneaker into three pieces: fabric, foam and rubber. These materials are ground up and used to make equestrian surfaces, athletic mats and basketball courts. Imagine Michael Jordan catching air off the remnants of a pair of ‘ Hub City ’ sneakers!

The Corporation has won several awards for their various recycling and waste management initiatives, one of which is the Wet/Dry Program which has a participation rate of 87%, a significant rate especially when you consider that the program is entirely voluntary.

Neighborhood patrols ferret out the hold-outs and W-A’s PR team knocks on doors and encourages good recycling habits among those ‘black baggers’.

Among W-A’s noted accomplishments:

• it has the only mobile hazardous waste vehicle in the world
• it was the 1 st waste management company to recycle rechargeable batteries
• it was one of the 1 st waste management company to recycle electronics
• W-A collects cellphones, they are refurbished by Sounds Fantastic (a local electronics store) and reconfigured for 9-1-1 emergency calls then donated to seniors and people in abusive situations
• a Habitat for Humanity program on site reuses discarded doors, windows and other materials

And what are the most common things that get thrown out accidentally? Mission Green wanted to know.

Christa tells us it’s keys, cellphones and… dentures!

Shoes off to the Westmorland-Albert Solid Waste Management Corporation for their leadership in waste management!

Environmental Initiative #11
Self-Sufficient Solar Saltbox, Keswick Ridge, NB

Driving up the long narrow driveway with the sunlight dipping toward the horizon, I felt a little apprehensive. Would Debbie Russell and David Cozac look down on us, the ‘consumers’? Would they be disgusted by the digital cameras, the computers, the corporate logos?

The moment I shook hands with David, my apprehension was appeased. He was funny and direct as he and Debbie warmly welcomed Mission Green to their home .

Their farm uses no power except for the passive solar energy that is soaked up by the dozen photovaltaic panels behind the attractive saltbox house. They have been off the power grid since 1994. The strategically-placed house makes the most of the sunlight, such efficient use in fact that they only burn 2 cords of wood throughout the winter including what they burn for cooking. The southern exposure of the house has ‘argon’ windows that are large, heat easily and retain warmth. Even during cold snaps of –35 degrees, they don’t need the woodstove during the day to heat the south-facing rooms.

One of Debbie’s and David’s favourite things is the quiet, the lack of ‘house buzz’. They don’t even have a clock.

A composting toilet, a masonry stove that is supported by 1000-year-old technology and a timber frame on the house which produces less waste than conventional wood framing are only a few of the features and considerations that played into their plans to follow the conservation ethic.

Not only is the house lovely, cozy and completely comfortable but step outside and their true love is evident in the view across the rolling fields. Organic vegetables of all varieties sprawl down a hillside at the rear of the house. David has coaxed cabbage, lettuce, carrots, potatoes, turnip and squash out of his 2-acre plot. Humble peas and pole beans share the soil with such exotics as decorative corn, popcorn, shallots, herbs and fingerling potatoes.

Debbie’s green thumb gets a workout on the gorgeous garden out front which is filled with the natural buzz of birds and bees at work.

Debbie and David are the embodiment of the phrase ‘Think Globally. Act Locally’. They sell their produce at the Fredericton Farm Market on Saturday mornings and, for the rest of the week, Debbie is marketing their organic wares along with those of other local farmers at their shop, True Food Organics on Charlotte Street .

We felt humbled and inspired by Debbie and David’s genuine sincerity and belief in their choice of lifestyle. And as we prepared to leave, David’s parting remark confirmed that peaceful attitude:

“Well, back to work, I’ve got a few beans to pick… better than a few bones to pick!”