Bringing your own reusable cup, your own bags, and opting out of the plastic cutlery when we order take-out are, of course, important – but imagine the impact we could make if we shared these responsibilities with the businesses we shop at?
That was one of the main points that Alison Wood from Ocean Ambassadors – a not-for-profit charity dedicated to teaching about and decreasing plastic waste that pollutes our oceans – highlighted during her presentation to the Ladner Business Association (LBA) on Feb. 3.
“When you go and do your recycling every week, you almost need an evolving master’s degree to figure out what’s accepted and what’s not accepted,” said Wood, one of the founders of Ocean Ambassadors, while highlighting how confusing disposing of garbage and recycling can be.
During her presentation, she talked to the LBA about their Zero-Waste Coaching for Small Businesses program, their previous success partnering with a local company called Reusables and an upcoming local initiative called Pick-Up-3 Delta – all of which work toward encouraging a more environmentally-friendly community.
Their zero-waste coaching program offers sustainability expertise and advice to interested small businesses, all free of charge, by analyzing their current waste management practices and usage of single-use plastics and containers.
From there, they come up with an informal report of recommendations how owners and staff can make their businesses more sustainable – which in the past, has included increasing the amount of reusable items in the store, implementing better in-store recycling and composting practices and changing single-use items to a more sustainable material.
“We have funding in 2022 from Vancity, so if there were interest in Ladner, we do have funding to be able to come to Ladner and provide that zero-waste coaching,” said Wood.
In 2021, Ocean Ambassadors worked with 140 businesses, and were able to decrease plastic straw use across 60 per cent of the businesses they worked with, stop or decrease plastic bag use by 75 per cent and decrease disposable coffee cup use by 60 per cent.
Wood also emphasized the success of their partnership with Reusables, a container sharing platform for takeout and beverages that supplies cafes, restaurants and grocery stores with reusable, stainless steel containers and mugs.
In East Seymour, Ocean Ambassadors worked with 18 cafes and restaurants within a popular takeout-ordering area to participate, and for a membership fee of $5 a month, locals could order their food from these places in these reusable containers.
“This is also something that we could maybe do in Ladner and Tsawwassen together,” she said.
And finally, though it’s still in the works, Ocean Ambassadors is also putting together a beach and park clean-up initiative called Pick-Up-3 Delta.
“The idea is to throw a really fun campaign on social media and through all of our community channels and events at our local beaches to inspire everybody to, whenever they go to the beach or to a park, that it becomes part of our lives to just pick up three pieces of garbage and dispose of them sustainably,” said Wood.
Following the presentation, some LBA members raised concerns about a lack of sorted-waste disposal systems at Delta’s parks and beaches, and Wood said that Ocean Ambassadors would be meeting with the City of Delta on Feb. 14 to talk about that.
submitted by Ocean Ambassadors
Local charity Ocean Ambassadors is offering zero-waste coaching for local businesses to become more sustainable.
