Location: Dalhousie Engineering, Room MA120, 5269 Morris Street, Halifax

Date: Thursday, January 21st, 2016

Time: Lunch and Networking: 11:40 am -11:55 am, Presentation: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Cost: Free (lunch – please advise of any special dietary requirements)

RSVP: Please use our Online Registration process to register by Tuesday, January 19th, 2016.

This event qualifies for 1 Professional Development Hour (PDH) for the Engineers Nova Scotia CPD program.

The Event: 

Marcel will provide a brief history of how we came to where HRM is today with respect to solid waste management practices for the residential stream and the commercial sector. He will also discuss best practices today in relation to the view point of how our local politicians would like us to tackle the growing problem of solving the issue of what to do with all the waste we generate: where does it come from, where does it go, what happens to it, why should we bother. He will also address the clear bag requirements here in HRM and why we have gone to clear bags for our garbage. There will be some time at the end for questions.

The Speakers:

Marcel Maessen is the Waste Resource Education Officer, sometimes described as an outreach environmental educator, for the Solid Waste Resources division of Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM). He has been in this role for ten years. Over that time he has provided over 2000 presentations and has presented to over 100,000 people. While his main audience is school groups, he also speaks with special interest groups, tenants, commercial staff members, business owners, and conducts lectures at the university level. He also provides tours of our facilities such as the Otter Lake landfill, and the Materials Recovery Facility, also known as the Recycling Plant. He has presented to all ages, from pre-schoolers up to retired seniors. HRM has recognized his efforts to change behaviour by presenting me with a “Director’s Award” , and more recently, the Solid Waste Resources team received the 2015 HRM Corporate Award of Excellence.