REGINA - Pollution has been a big taking point for years, and how the effects will shape our future. However, one professor at the University of Regina believes how society is managing waste is not getting talked about enough.
Kelvin Ng is a professor at the U of R environmental systems engineering department. He said waste management is a big concern around Canada, especially in Saskatchewan, which sees above-average waste numbers.
“On average, we [people in Saskatchewan] actually generate about 2.6 to 2.7 kg per person per day. If we have 100 people at the end of the day, we actually produce about 267 kg of the sort of waste on average.”
To put those numbers in perspective, the average person in Europe generates 1.2 kg of waste per day,
An average of 2.7 kg of trash per day over a year (365 days) adds up to over 2,000 pounds of trash.
Since Canada is very rural and has tons of open space, Ng said finding places to dump trash is not an issue but mentioned the number of landfills is concerning.
He noted Regina's cold winter climate and marshlands make it difficult to use waste in better ways, like decomposing.
According to Ng, 40 percent of waste contains organic materials. He added decomposing is a great way to remove landfill trash, which usually gets burned and causes air pollution. Sitting trash can also cause water contamination, harming ecosystems.
The topic of waste has become such a big issue in Canada that cities across the country, including Regina, mark the third week of October as Waste Reduction Week.
Regina uses the week to encourage residents to manage waste better and find creative ways to reuse products. The city has a goal of becoming net zero by 2050.
As for the U of R, Ng said the government provides the institute money so students can research solutions to waste. Ng called the research “the evidence-based waste policy,” which he believes will help make better decisions on handling the matter.
Ng hopes more awareness of managing waste will start to bring about change not only in Saskatchewan but across the globe.
