On April 4th and 5th, First Nations Waste Minimization (FNWM) team held their first ever Waste Coordinators Meetup at the Wyndham Gardens hotel situated on the Long Plain First Nation Madison Reserve No. 1. The event was inspired by comments made by coordinators who attended the MARR Recycling and Waste Reduction forum held in October 2022. The need for a Manitoban group of Indigenous waste technical advisors was made clear after the presentation held by Indigenous Zero Waste Technical Advisory Group (IZWTAG), who operate out of British Columbia.
Waste and recycling coordinators from 9 communities FNWM works with traveled to Winnipeg to meet about issues and topics related to the work they do in their communities and to begin planning how to work together more formally.
The event was a great success, with excellent in-depth discussions and collaboration taking place over the two days. Topics discussed during the workshops were successes, challenges, community, highlights, wish lists, and hopes for the future; with a couple key speakers offering their insights.
On day one, participants took a tour bus to Exner E-waste facility located in Elie, MB. Lunch was catered by Feast Bistro, who provided incredible bannock and ham sandwiches. Later on in the evening, the group went out to Uptown Lanes where we played 10-pin bowling and had a great time bonding over pizza and pins.
