Education & Resources

Backyard Composting

Learn how you can send your waste to a better place by composting! Get tips on reducing the amount of food waste your home produces, how to build an outdoor composter, and what material you can compost, along with a list of trouble-shooting tips.

Blue Cart Recycling Program

Why is it important to recycle the right stuff? Take our waste and recycling sorting challenge and see if you’re a super sorter. Learn what happens to your recyclables inside the Blue Cart.

Regina Recycles! Roam and Explore Stations

Attendees (children and families) will explore different recycling stations set up by the City of Regina staff. Games and activities can include:

• Find out what happens to your garbage, and where it goes after it leaves your home.
• How do you reduce, reuse and recycle? Participants will create a reminder bracelet to take home.
• Take our waste and recycling sorting challenge and see if you're a super sorter!
• See recyclable materials in their various stages. See and touch the products and learn what happens when they are recycled.
• Go on a scavenger hunt to solve waste and recycling trivia.

Cooking with the Compost Chef

Our Compost Chef will teach your class the steps of “cooking” compost to turn food scraps into delicious food for plants and gardens! Your class will create their own recipe to encourage waste reduction in the kitchen. City staff will dress up as a Compost Chef bring worksheets for students, all they require is markers or crayons!

Grade Group: Grade One

Hazardous Waste Heroes

Our Hazardous Waste Hero will teach your class about what hazardous waste is and what to do with it to keep the environment clean and safe! Our worksheet will show your class how to identify hazardous waste and they will be able to draw what to do with this waste and how it does not belong in the natural environment or wastewater system. City staff will dress up as a Hazardous Waste Hero and provide the worksheet, all students require is markers or crayons!

Grade Group: Grade Two

3Rrrs Pirate Treasure Hunt

Our 3Rrrs Pirate will take your students on an adventure through the stages of the 3Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle to locate the treasure at the end! Afterwards, your class will have fun creating a poem or rap all about the 3Rrrs. City staff will dress up as the 3Rrrs Pirate and provide the worksheet, all students require is markers or crayons!

Grade Group: Grade Four

Trash Tracker

What happens to your recycling after it leaves your home and what do recycled items become? City staff will provide hands on activities for your students to learn the journey of recycling and why it’s important to recycle the right stuff! Students will be able to actively participate in the recycling vs garbage Sorting Game and be shown “A Recycling Adventure” video. City staff brings all the materials for this presentation.

Grade Group: Grade Five

Life of a Landfill

What is a landfill and why should we care about where our garbage goes? City staff will bring a diorama of a landfill and teach students the different layers required to keep a landfill running efficiently! Your class will split into three teams and debate the pros and cons of opening a new landfill, brainstorm ideas on what to do when a local landfill needs to be closed and come up with alternatives to building a landfill. All materials are supplied by City staff.

Grade Group: Grade Seven

Waste: Here, There and Beyond

Everyone creates waste and your class will find out what happens to it here in Regina and across Canada. Students will learn why it’s important to manage waste through case studies and discussions on what they think would be interesting to implement in Regina and what would encourage waste diversion. They will also be shown ‘A Recycling Adventure’ video to see how recyclables are sorted at our Material Recovery Facility.

Grade Group: Science 10

The Boardroom

You’re hired! Students will be able to pitch an idea to offer a unique type of service or invention that gets Regina residents excited about waste! After a presentation on the City’s current waste and recycling programs, your class will be able to break into groups and discuss creative new ideas.

Grade Group: Environment 20

1. Plan it Out

• Plan your meals
  • Before going to the store, plan out your meals for the week.
• Make a grocery list
  • Check the supplies you already have at home.

2. Store it Properly

Most of the food wasted in our kitchens is food that needs refrigeration.

• Store fruits and vegetables separately
• Store and Label your leftovers (with a date). Generally good for 4 days (sometimes longer, depending on the type of food)
• Keep ready-to-eat foods on upper and middle shelves
• Don’t Mix (do not put raw meats with fruits and vegetables – contamination leads to spoilage)
• Keep Milk, Eggs, Dairy in the coolest place of your fridge - At the back of your fridge, nearest to the freezer. Don’t leave it on the door, it is the warmest place of your fridge
• Keep produce whole until ready to use. Cutting up fruits and veggies causes them to spoil quicker.
• When possible, avoid washing produce until ready to eat or cook. Washed fruit has excess moisture which can speed up spoiling. If you do wash it right away, dry it well before putting in the fridge.
• Place items with preservatives or longer shelf lives on the door (condiments, juices, water). The door is the warmest place of the fridge (loses cold air when opened)

3. Learn to Love Leftovers

• Store and label with the date.
  • Generally leftovers are good for four days.
• Be creative.
  • Find a recipe to incorporate your leftover food.

4. Turn Food Waste into Compost

• There are many benefits to composting. Find out what type of composting style works for you!

Reduce

Save your pennies and avoid overconsumption.

• Only buy things you need or will use often
• Consider used items from a local buy, sell or swap site before buying brand new
• Restyling or repurposing clothing that is still wearable 
• Keep in mind what you need versus what you want
• Buying items with less packaging – including fruits and vegetables
• Refuse plastic bags when buying small purchases
• Buy grocery items in bulk – some stores will let you bring your own containers
• Use a reusable food cover instead of plastic wrap
• Avoid single-serving packaged items
• Go paperless – at home and the office
• Send party invitations via email, text and social media

Reuse

Ditch disposable for reusable.

• Avoid buying disposable items like dust cloths and cleaning wipes
• Rent or borrow items you will only use occasionally or by buy and share items with friends or family
• Repair broken items or ‘upcycle’ them!
• Make party decorations with reusable or recyclable material
• Pack a waste-free lunch with reusable containers, cutlery and a lunch kit
• Donate used clothing, toys, furniture and appliances to local charities and non-profit organizations
• Before you recycle them, try donating used books and magazines to seniors’ homes or doctors and dentist offices
• Drink your coffee or water from reusable containers
• Wrap gifts in reusable materials such as cloth bags, dish towels or receiving blankets

Recycle

Turn your unwanted waste items into new cool things.

• In your home, put a second bin for recycling beside your garbage bin for convenient sorting and storage
• If they cannot be reused, put all acceptable items in your blue cart
• Learn which items are acceptable at Regina.ca/waste
• Use Waste Wizard to learn how to dispose of your household items

View our Guide to Backyard Composting to help get you started, tips on what material to compost and trouble shooting tips. Reduce your household waste and make great soil for your lawn or garden!

The Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council offers further information to help determine which household composting style works best for you as well as educational videos to get you started.

Advantages

• Reduces need to fertilize – Nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, are returned to the soil. This reduces the cost and work of fertilizing. As well, it prevents fertilizer runoff from polluting lakes and streams.
• Returns organic matter to the soil – The organic matter increases the ability of the soil to hold water. As well, the organic matter feeds earthworms which aerate the soil.
• Reduces water consumption – The clippings act as mulch, protecting grass roots from the sun and reducing having to water your lawn as often. You save money and effort by not raking.
• Reduces work – You don’t have to rake. And you don’t have to water or fertilize as often. There’s more time to enjoy our beautiful Saskatchewan summers.
• Reduces pollution – Using a push mower reduces the amount of hydrocarbons produced by a gas-powered mower.
• Increase your fitness – Get some exercise by using a push mower, use muscles ordinarily not used and enjoy the sounds of nature.

How to Grasscycle

• Mow your lawn regularly
• Mow the lawn when it is dry
• Remove no more than 1/3 of the length of the blades of grass
• Keep the mower blade(s) sharp
• Just let the mower spread the clippings evenly on the lawn. They will settle in quickly and will disappear in a day or two.