Volume 6 | March 2022
Waterloo Region's newsletter about
waste, water and the environment
New renewable energy at wastewater treatment plants
The Region has upgraded three wastewater treatment plants to capture and reuse that would otherwise have been released as air pollution, reducing our community’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Part of cleaning our wastewater is letting microorganisms “eat” organic matter. This happens in anaerobic digesters at the Region’s wastewater treatment plants. The resulting biogas is released into the environment, contributing to greenhouse gases associated with climate change.
But now this is changing. With financial support from the Save on Energy program, the Galt, Kitchener and Waterloo wastewater treatment plants have technology that captures biogas and converts it to renewable energy.

This trio of locations produce between 13,000 and 22,200 cubic metres (m3) of biogas daily - roughly the carbon footprint of 2,700 people. That energy will now be used to fuel machines in the treatment process and heat some treatment plant buildings during the colder months.

These upgrades will help reduce our energy costs and greenhouse gases associated with climate change. A win-win for the Region’s facilities and the community!
Waste diversion comes in many shapes. Even tree shape!
Diversion means to find another use for waste material and divert it away from the landfill. Many are familiar with the Blue Box diversion program, but how about the Christmas tree diversion program?

Tree collection usually runs for two weeks in January. In 2022, over 155 metric tonnes of trees were collected. These trees will be used to make compost, a biologically recycled organic material.

When compost is added to soil, it provides a natural source of nutrients that help plant growth. When the compost from the trees is ready, residents will be able to come pick some up for use on their lawns and gardens.
Saving water as part of your green lifestyle
Water conservation matters. Every toilet flush and every drip from a leaky faucet adds up.

Conserving water helps preserve our community’s groundwater for the future. Did you know water savings also impact your carbon footprint? Every liter of water needs to be cleaned (both water coming in and the wastewater going out) and pumped through our Region’s distribution system. That takes energy, and so greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) are created based on how much water you use.

The Region’s water system is energy-efficient but carbon emissions add up. Our entire community’s water system produces an estimated 6,000 tonnes of GHGs each year. And don’t forget, 20 to 25 percent of our home water use is hot water, usually heated by carbon-intensive natural gas. It’s simple: when we use less water, we also bring down our home’s energy use and carbon footprint.

The Region’s water efficiency efforts are working. Our community’s water use per-person dropped 15 per cent between 2010 and 2020, which has saved approximately 10 million litres of water.

The Region of Waterloo has a Water Efficiency Master Plan for the years 2015 to 2025. With the help of homeowners and businesses, we can reach our environmental goals. Learn what you can do to save water. We all need water; we can also all trim waste to save water and money.
Is salt really that bad for water?
As one of the many tools we use to deal with snow and ice, we can find salt spread over most surfaces where you walk, bike, drive, and park your vehicle. When you see all of this salt, do you ever think of it as a pollutant? Read the latest I Am Groundwater blog post – Is salt really that bad for water? – to learn more.
Here's what to do with leftover salt
You've done your best to clear the snow and ice while limiting the use of salt. But with winter coming to an end, what should you do with any salt that's leftover?

What you shouldn't do is throw it out or pour it down a storm drain where it can impact the local environment. Even after the rain has washed salt away and you can't see it any more, it never really goes away. The salt can wash into a creek or stream or soak into the ground to mix with groundwater - your drinking water - changing fresh water to salty water.

Sorting works! Over 90% of our material gets recycled
In the Region of Waterloo, over 90 per cent of the collected Blue Box materials get recycled. The remaining 10 per cent are typically non-recyclable items put in the Blue Box in error.

We are often asked where our Blue Box materials go to be recycled. There are local recycling processors that use our materials: Plastics are sent to processors in Grey, Dufferin and North Perth counties to recycle into new plastic; steel food cans go to the Hamilton area to be remade into new steel; and, paper and cardboard are sent to the paper recycling centre in the Niagara area and then the sorted paper is shipped to end-use mills.

Our recycling materials are considered to be excellent quality for recycling because the material is so well sorted. The high quality of our materials is due to the sorting efforts by our residents. Sorting works!
Please check the Waste Whiz search tool to make sure an item is recyclable. The Waste Whiz is on our website or you can download the app to your phone.

Watch the video below to learn how your blue box materials are sorted at the Region’s sorting centre. Or watch this video to learn how to do "The Two-Box Sort."

Would you like some sorting stickers for your Blue Boxes? Call us at 519-575-4400 and ask to have them mailed out to you.
Plug and go: Electric switch at Grand River Transit
Meet the newest - and greenest - addition to the Grand River Transit fleet! It’s a 2022 Hyundai Kona electric vehicle. This is the first electric support vehicle, and is part of the Region's commitment to eventually convert the entire GRT fleet to zero-emissions vehicles.

This new support vehicle:
  • Can travel 415 km on a single charge
  • Can reach 80 per cent charge in less than an hour
  • Will be used by fare technicians, and to support GRT events
Regional Council has approved the purchase of six electric buses later in 2022 and five more in 2023.

Why switch to electric buses? These are zero-emissions vehicles, and switching from diesel buses to electric will reduce the Region's greenhouse gas emissions.

The 11 new buses will be part of a pilot, where we’ll figure out the best way to convert the entire GRT fleet to zero-emissions vehicles.

Switch to eco-friendly softening and get a free rain barrel
Making a simple plumbing change to soften only your home’s hot water just got a little sweeter. The Region is currently offering a $50 rebate for homeowners who switch their water softener plumbing to treat only hot water and leave the cold water hard. Now, as a special limited-time offer, we will also throw in a free 200-litre rain barrel to the first 10 households that complete the switch in 2022.
This kind of rain barrels often retails for $100 or more.

Since it’s hot water that leads to most of the scale build-up in your pipes and appliances, softening only that hot water protects your water heater. And it’s good for our environment – efficient softening reduces the salt entering our local water, where chloride pollution is rising. An average family will prevent 108 kg of salt pollution, and save about $85 in salt and water costs per year by softening hot water only.
Is this the right eco-friendly choice for your home?

Learn more about the Region’s Water Softener Plumbing Rebate Program, and sign up today.
Local school board awarded for efficiency upgrades
The Waterloo Region District School Board’s major investments in water efficiency have earned them the latest Water Efficiency Excellence Award. This recognition is given annually by the Region of Waterloo to a business or organization that has achieved high water savings through equipment upgrades or other investments in efficiency.

The public school board upgraded 16 schools with new urinals, toilets and leak repairs. The board also bought and installed 25 FLOWIE devices, which are high-tech water meters that provide up-to-the-minute water data 24/7 to help flag unusual use and leaks.

All these investments are now saving 6.6 million litres of water each year. That’s 18,000 litres per day.

“For WRDSB, water conservation's importance is three-fold: to protect our buildings, protect our finances, and protect our environment,” said Caleb Gingrich Regehr, the school board’s supervisor of energy conservation. “Ultimately, it's about what's good for our students, both today and in the future.”

The WRDSB’s projects received funding from the Region of Waterloo’s WET Program for Commercial, Industrial and Institutional organizations. This funding is available for organizations, big or small, to help with water audits and technology upgrades.
Do you know someone who would enjoy Environews? Forward this email to them. New readers can sign up here.
You can also share this newsletter on your favourite social media platform: