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Adventure Traveler Garry Sowerby in his own words:
Tuesday, October 5
Cremona and Calgary, Alberta
Environmental Initiative #65
Sunergy Systems,
Cremona, Alberta
When I asked Lisa about our next stop, she
told me we would visit Sunergy Systems in Cremona, a town of
about 400 people, north of Calgary. She also told me to drink
lots of coffee and 'hold it'
until we got there!?!
You can't help but grin a little bit when you
wake up and the first thing you think is: "I'm going to a toilet
factory this morning."
The owners of Sunergy Systems, Michael Kerfoot, and his partner
Janet Riganti, are sustainables specialists and today they were
going to tell us about their composting toilets.
A toilet with no water? No handle for flushing? What's it all
about? Where does it go? What happens to it ?
And, of course, the big question. does it stink?
All this was reeling through my mind on the 100-km drive from
our hotel in Olds to the town of Cremona.
Michael and Janet met us outside their new shop which was built
with an ecologically light touch. Six kids from the local high
school were on hand as well, acting somewhat shy and nervous.
After Michael and I each had a chance to explain our respective
missions, we were invited inside.
Before we could move toward the building, one
of the high school students managed to squeak out: "C-c-c-can
we see under the hoods?"
I released the hoods of the Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid and the Flex-Fuel
GMC Yukon and watched them dive eagerly for the latches. No fumbling
here! They had all obviously done this before.
Inside, I remembered that it just so happens Lisa and I need to
go toilet shopping for one of our bathrooms at home. I know that
we'll head to the local home store and get bombarded by the pitch
from an eager salesperson, hoping to unload a hefty bathroom fixture
from his inventory.
Listening to Michael talk with energy and conviction about his
Phoenix composting toilets, I realize that his pitch is very different
than what we would hear at a retail store. There, we would be hearing
about the look and feel, the chrome of the handle, the luxury of
the seat.
But for Michael and Janet, the business end,
all the 'magic',
is below the floorboards. That's where all the action is.
It's also the place that nobody wants to think
about. Most people would rather flush it and forget it. But when
you consider that the average human flushes the toilet 5 times
a day, and that the water being used is, as Michael affirms, "a complete waste",
maybe we shouldn't be just forgetting it.
Companies like Sunergy Systems that build and
supply composting toilets are stopping the waste. With a composting
toilet, the 'problem'
is dealt with on site. You don't have to haul anything away or
build a $25,000-septic system. You are saving water and not dealing
with contaminants.
The same biochemical processes that occur in composting such things
as leaves, lawn clippings and food waste are employed by composting
toilets to treat human waste.
A composting toilet is a system that provides an environment for
aerobic (in the presence of oxygen) decomposition. It is a miniature,
on-site sewage treatment plant. Using a mixture of oxygen, heat
and moisture, the end product is stabilized compost, rich, dark
and fertile. Pathogens, or disease-causing bacteria, are eliminated
and the original volume of the organic material is reduced by 90
percent.
The Phoenix System composting toilets that Michael and Janet build
are odorless, waterless (saving thousands of gallons of water per
person per year), durable, capacious, frost safe, energy efficient,
chemical-free, clog proof and pollution free. Finished compost
is removed once every year or two.
For an hour and a half, the Mission Green team
was completely captivated by the discussion which is a common
occurrence from what Michael tells us: "I love talking about what I do. it's
the perfect icebreaker at parties!"
It wasn't until the end of our discussion and
tour that we got to see an actual 'throne'.
Then came the moment of truth.
When Janet asked 'Do you want to give it a
try?', I immediately felt a pang of performance anxiety. I told
her I'd save it until I got back to Halifax and could check out
the brand new Phoenix composting toilet installed in Sandy Lake
Park.
It will be quieter there and I'll be able to catch up on some
reading.
http://www.compostingtoilet.com/About/about.htm
You are now leaving the mission green website to an external website.
Environmental Initiative #66
Maxus Technology Shelley Whatmore has been called The Queen of e-Waste. She certainly
doesn't act like a Queen. She is a hands-on, energetic dynamo who
founded Maxus Technologies with her husband Charlie in 1994.
We were sitting in a boardroom at Maxus' headquarters in Calgary,
Alberta with Shelley and Clayton Miller, Director of Public Relations
for the company.
In one hour, wed gone from human waste of one kind to human waste
of another. Techno-trash.
e-Waste is the fastest growing type of landfill in North America.
When technology changes so quickly and entire computer systems
become obsolete, sometimes in a matter of months, the need to dispose
of this equipment becomes urgent. Landfill cannot be an option
however. We'd need some spare planets out there lined up and waiting
to receive.
And it's not just the recoverable metals, glass and plastics of
these items that are of concern. Electronic products contain hazardous
substances, such as lead and mercury that can create environmental
and health risks if not managed properly.
Shelley and Charlie saw the urgency a decade ago and decided to
do something about it.
Maxus Technology's mission is to provide environmentally sound
and community concious solutions for business and organizations
that possess surplus electronics. Since 1994, the company has emerged
as a world leader in asset recovery and an early pioneer in the
pre-owned technology marketplace. Maxus works with clients in Chile,
Mexico, the U.S. and Korea.
Maxus finds new homes for unwanted computers.
If that is not possible, the company takes the computer apart
and sells parts as demand goes. As for the rest of the equipment,
the company ensures that it goes to the proper recycling facilty
and not to landfill.
The company is also working to build industry and government awareness
of the e-Waste problem and spurring those sectors into action.
Mission Green arrived at Maxus just three days
after the establishment of a province-wide recycling fee that
will be added to the cost of computers, televisions, printers
and laptops. The fee will be attached at the first point of sale - from
the wholesaler to the retailer. It's the first such fee system
in the country and an area in which Shelley Whatmore has been
directly involved.
As the Mission Green team drove across town to pick up some unwanted
computer equipment and deliver it back it to Maxus Technology's
warehouse, I thought about the shrinking mountain in the landfill
sites around the world and I saluted Shelley's vision and determination.
http://www.maxustech.com/
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