Calgary Stampede working to cut down on waste

Jul 11, 2019 | 7:31 AM

The Calgary Stampede is trying to wrangle down the amount of waste it sends to the landfill.

The 10-day western festival sees more than a million people come to its grounds each year for rodeo events, rides and greasy food.

Xaviere Schneider is the environmental co-ordinator for the Stampede.

She says her job involves a fair bit of dumpster diving to make sure all the trash is going to the right place.

Schneider says a family pancake breakfast last weekend served more than 20-thousand people, but only yielded one garbage bag.

It’s because plates, forks, knives and cups were all made from a compostable material derived from corn.

Schneider says some food vendors on the midway still use Styrofoam, but it’s becoming less common.

She says the biggest category of waste is piles of horse poop.

That goes to a tree farm south of the city to be used as a fertilizer.

by The Canadian Press