On November 1, 2023, Divert NS hosted the 23rd annual Mobius Awards of Environmental Excellence Gala at the Halifax Convention Centre to recognize and celebrate Nova Scotia’s environmental champions. The annual event recognizes organizations and individuals who go above and beyond to divert waste from landfills in Nova Scotia. Featuring keynote speaker, Anthony Morgan (CBC’s The Nature of the Things), an award-winning science communicator, this event brought together over 160 of Nova Scotia’s environmental elite from businesses, government, organizations, and communities across the province.

As a leader in waste management and environmental sustainability in Nova Scotia, Divert NS has committed to funding litter intervention projects to implement and test litter reduction strategies across the province. A recent example of this is our intervention focused on cigarette butt litter. Research from Davis Pier Consulting, commissioned by Divert NS in 2022, revealed that a key intervention strategy was the use of interactive cigarette butt receptacles. By giving smokers an incentive to use the receptacle—like casting a vote with their butt—they’d be more likely to use the receptacles instead of the ground when disposing of cigarette butts. Divert NS purchased four interactive “ballot box” cigarette butt receptacles to place at designated smoking areas within the Halifax Regional Municipality. The “ballot boxes” displayed hot topic questions such as “Do pineapples belong on pizza?” Preliminary intervention data shows that in the areas with the interactive receptacles, less cigarette butts were found littered on the ground. This positive result is an encouraging indicator of the effectiveness of the intervention.

Our waste diversion efforts are much more likely to be successful in the future if we engage today’s youth in a meaningful way. To that end, this year we formalized a partnership with 4-H Nova Scotia and offered intermediate members (ages 13-15) the chance to choose a Divert NS topic for their annual public speaking competition. Topics combined agricultural and environmental themes to align within the 4-H Environment and Healthy Living Leadership pillar. In total, 11 young 4-H members chose Divert NS topics and competed to win cash prizes of $500, $300, and $100 for first, second, and third place speakers. Raelin Bateaux from Valley Region placed first with her speech titled, “A Greener Future” on the topic of how supporting local can help reduce our impact on climate change. Lydia Cox (Cape Breton) and Luke MacLean (Eastern Region) placed second and third respectively.

Building on the achievements of the past two years, this year’s partnership between Divert NS and DIRECTIONS Council for Vocational Services Society continued to drive positive change in Nova Scotia’s waste diversion landscape. In this renewed partnership, Divert NS provided DIRECTIONS with a grant of $50,000, which enabled nine member organizations to expand their waste diversion efforts or embark on exciting new initiatives. Total funds allocated to each member ranged from over $2,000 to $7,000, giving members the resources they needed to launch waste reduction projects related to used clothing, electronics, food waste, household goods, and wood waste.

Waste Reduction Week is a public awareness campaign that promotes individual and collective actions to reduce waste. This year, Waste Reduction Week highlighted the environmental benefits of a circular economy. In a circular economy, materials are designed to be reused or repurposed rather than disposed of. Swapping, sharing, thrifting, and repairing items, rather than buying new, are easy ways to reduce waste, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save money, support your local community, and contribute to the circular economy. The “Swap, Share, Thrift, Repair” theme reminds Nova Scotians that extending the life of an item is easier than it seems!

At Divert NS we value a diverse workplace and make every effort to create a work culture that aligns with the values of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA). To promote the benefits of adopting an EDIA lens in the workplace, our EDIA committee established a series of initiatives over the past year. EDIA staff training included workshops by the Canadian Mental Health Association; a Gender Identity Training session; Mental Health First Aid training; and an Inclusion in the Workplace presentation. Other efforts included replacing our office front door to make it wheelchair accessible; adding EDIA questions to our interview process; sponsoring ISANS Immigrant Entrepreneurship Awards; and inviting Catherine Martin, the Director of Indigenous Community Engagement at Dalhousie University, and member of the Millbrook Mi’kmaw First Nation Community, to offer a traditional Mi’kmaq welcome at the 2023 Mobius Awards Gala.