Mic Mac Mall Minimizes Its Footprint

Nearly three years strong, Mic Mac Mall’s Sort It Out program has served as a uniting force strengthening community relations and environmental awareness. Embracing social responsibility to minimize its environmental footprint, the mall has significantly increased the amount of organics and recycles diverted from landfill sites.

“Our Sort It Out program is an initiative that ensures food court waste is properly separated and disposed of. Customers are encouraged to bring their trays to the sorting station, where service staff collect and separate the waste according to City of Halifax Waste Management guidelines,” an online description reads. Recognized by Divert Nova Scotia in 2015, the shopping mall received the Mobius Award for environmental excellence.

While initial costs included the removal of food court seating to accommodate the Sort It Out center, an increase in staffing, signage, bins and educational materials, the change in design and system proved worthwhile. According to general manager Tamitha Oakley, the savings that the mall realized in waste removal quickly exceeded those costs. The initiative not only had a positive environmental impact on the community, but it also helped to reduce the mall’s operating costs.

Since the launch of the program, Mic Mac Mall has increased its diversion rating by 36 percent (from 60 percent to 96 percent). However, Oakley and the rest of her team believe that there is room for improvement. Besides continuing to offer its Sort It Out station, the center is also sourcing new waste receptacles to divert cross- contamination in other common areas throughout the mall.


Apr.
2017
Posted in Sustainability
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