Community

collecting glass bottles/jars (often in separate bins or depots) to be crushed into "cullet," melted, and reformed into new products like bottles, insulation, or road paint, saving energy and resources

From Waste to Weight-Bearing: How Glass Can Build a Local Circular Economy

In most recycling systems, glass gets a rough deal. It’s heavy, expensive to transport, and often down-cycled into low-value uses — or worse, it ends up in the landfill. But in communities like Diamond Valley, Alberta, that weight becomes an advantage when we rethink glass as a local resource, not waste. Right now, municipalities and […]

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Recycled materials play a crucial role in reducing waste, conserving resources, and lowering carbon footprints.

From Recycling Myths to Local Solutions

The post discusses the complexities of recycling in small communities, emphasizing that merely placing items in green bins doesn’t ensure sustainability. It presents the idea of transforming waste into local resources through initiatives like the Sustainable Living Centre, which fosters innovation and job creation while encouraging a circular economy.

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“Volunteers and makers processing reclaimed wood and producing biochar for community gardens — turning construction waste into soil and opportunity in Diamond Valley.”

From Waste Wood to Living Soil: Biochar and Beyond

Waste to Local Businesses Series Reclaiming Value From the Construction Stream Every renovation skip bin and job-site dumpster hides a forgotten resource. Dimensional lumber, plywood off-cuts, shipping pallets, and broken fences—most of it ends up burned or buried. Yet each cubic metre of wood waste embodies both stored carbon and embodied energy. With simple sorting,

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