In December, we hosted a summit focused on Municipal Planning for Extended Producer Responsibility for Printed Paper and Packaging (EPR for PPP). The goal of the summit was to identify information that municipalities will need in advance of negotiations with the industry organization that will oversee a PPP program. This was Divert NS’ second hybrid summit, with approximately 40 key stakeholders attending in-person and 25 attendees joining online.

Each year we award $20,000 in regional scholarships for Grade 12 students who have exemplified dedication in protecting our environment and environmental stewardship. This year, students were required to submit an essay on the circular economy, and they had to provide a summary of the environmental activities in which they have been involved. The provincial winner was Marissa Cox from Riverview Rural High in Cape Breton. Next fiscal, Divert NS will be offering a new $2,500 scholarship specifically for French applications.

This year, we teamed up with 4-H Nova Scotia for an exciting new partnership. One goal of this new initiative was to connect the local 4-H clubs and regional 4-H staff with the regional waste educator network Divert NS supports across the province. In addition, our partnership included the delivery of the Divert NS Intermediate Public Speaking Competition. The competition, open to all intermediate club members, allowed participants to choose one of five Divert NS topics related to waste diversion, climate change, and more. The winner, Raelin Barteaux of the Misty Trails 4-H Club in Annapolis, won $500 for her efforts.

This year, Divert NS created a new scholarship with the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) Foundation. As the winner of the $2,500 scholarship, Domi Alvirde also had the opportunity to join Divert NS as an Environmental Research Intern for five weeks. During her internship, Domi embarked on a research project titled: “How Is Waste Management Climate Action: Strategies and Implications of Waste Management Practices in Mitigating Climate Change.”

In the Clean Leadership Summer Internship program youth leaders across the province dedicate their summer to supporting their local communities and making Nova Scotia a cleaner place. This year, Divert NS provided funding to support 12 interns in various waste management positions across the province. The program was again a great success and we were amazed by the impact these students had.

These annual awards celebrate Enviro-Depots™ across Nova Scotia that go above and beyond in customer service and employee relations, engage and support their community, and participate in Divert NS depot initiatives. This year, we congratulate Paper Chase Bottle Exchange Ltd. (Yarmouth) on winning Large Enviro-Depot™ of the Year, and TNT Recycling (Stewiacke) on winning Small Enviro-Depot™ of the Year. The awards were presented at Depot Day in October, the first time the event was held since the pandemic.

This year marked the exciting return of our Waste Not News (WNN) videos.

Divert NS worked closely with key educational stakeholders to create three new videos (produced in both English and French) tied to curriculum outcomes in Grades 7 & 8 social studies and science. The videos focus on timely topics of ocean plastics, climate change, and textile waste, and each video is accompanied by an education guide so that teachers can further explore the topics with their students.

This year Divert NS held its annual Mobius Awards in person, the first time since the onset of the pandemic. The Awards bring together Nova Scotia’s environmental elite from businesses, government, organizations, and communities across the province. The annual Mobius Awards of Environmental Excellence recognizes organizations and individuals who go above and beyond to divert waste from landfills in Nova Scotia. This year we welcomed Sarain Fox, a Canadian Anishinaabe activist, broadcaster, and filmmaker as our key note speaker. The format of our award this year was changed to a framed print that was created by renowned Mi’kmaw artist Gerald Gloade.

Waste Reduction Week is a public awareness campaign that promotes individual and collective actions to reduce waste. This year, Waste Reduction Week highlighted themes of swapping, sharing, thrifting, and repairing. Divert NS worked closely with the regions to organize local thrifting and swapping events, with great participation across the province.

For two years, Divert NS has been working closely in partnership with DirectioNS Council to help their member workshops implement or expand waste diversion business activities. Through funding provided by Divert NS, many workshops have made great strides in increasing the diversion of waste from landfill. STEPS on Arthur is a non-profit organization based in Truro that offers supported training and employment programs. They operate the popular New to You thrift store where gently used items are sold to be used again. Through repairing, repurposing, and recycling items, STEPs on Arthur is helping to reduce waste by keeping usable material out of the landfill.