On September 9, Langara College hosted its annual Block Party, bringing music, activities, food, and plenty of opportunities to connect. Our BEST team joined the celebration with a different kind of challenge: putting the students' knowledge of waste streams to the test.
Invited to support Langara’s sustainability initiatives, we hosted an interactive waste diversion game where students sorted everyday items into the appropriate campus waste streams, including organics, paper, glass, soft plastics, and recycling. It was a simple way to turn something we all do every day into a conversation about where our waste goes and why sorting it correctly matters.
Along the way, the game opened conversations about some of the sustainability practices already happening across campus, including Langara’s Friendlier reusable food containers and how returning them correctly helps reduce reliance on single-use packaging. Students who took part had the chance to win sustainable giveaways, including reusable cutlery sets, pens, and notepads.
For us, the event was a chance to be part of the campus community in a different way. Supporting sustainability is not only about what happens after waste is collected; it is also about making proper sorting habits easier to understand and encouraging participation along the way.