Green Loop Club recycles used lanyards destined for dump
Algonquin College’s Room C125 has a bin for dropping off unwanted or unused lanyards.
The Social Innovation Lab project Green Loop Club (GLC) is encouraging people to toss the lanyards in the bin rather than tossing them in the garbage. The lanyards can be reused rather than being sent to a landfill.
The Social Innovation Lab provides support to local organizations, such as charities and non-profits.
According to Kim Widya, the research assistant in the Social Innovation Lab, the GLC project is still working to educate people about the lanyard collection bin.
“One challenge is that people don’t know about it so people throw out their garbage in it,” Widya said.
According to the City of Ottawa, there are 410 tonnes of textile waste each year.
The GLC washes donated lanyards that were previously used in conferences before renting them out. The GLC offers multiple different options for renting the lanyards. There is also a system to keep track of all the lanyards they have.
“I want people to know that lanyards are recyclable to support non-profits,” Widya said.
Kevin Holmes who is the senior program manager and applied researcher with Social Innovation Lab mentioned that students focused on textile waste after reviewing the United Nations’ environmental goals.
