A Red Deer family have agreed to become the face of composting for a city-run initiative to encourage local residents to reduce their garbage.
“We are putting together a video of this family that has never composted before,” said Lauren Maris, an environmental program specialist for the City of Red Deer. “We’re going to track them throughout a season of composting.”
The idea behind the project is to show people how to compost, but also to dispel misconceptions that composting takes a lot of work or is inconvenient.
It is an offshoot of the city’s Composting at Home program, in which 259 families were given all the tools and training they need to start composting.
The first two-minute video has already been shot at the home of Breanne and Mardy Hansen, parents of a three-year-old son, Hunter, and one-year-old Julia. About half a dozen videos will be shot in all and will be available on the city’s website at www.reddeer.ca/composting and on the city’s YouTube channel.
“We’re going to go back and see them before the snow flies and see how their weekly routine goes,” said Maris. “We’ll go back once in the winter to show them doing winter composting.”
Another shoot will take place in the spring and then they will be filmed harvesting their compost.
“I think it’s going to be a really good overall demonstration of how this family does it.”
A longer video on composting at home is also being prepared with more detail.
Breanne Hansen said she recycles and has been considering composting for some time.
“I really just didn’t know where to start. You walk through those Home Hardware places and they have a 100 different types of composters. That’s why I hadn’t done it before.”
Hansen said she was a little taken aback when she found out she was going to be captured on video but she’s happy to share her experiences.
“I think I’m really lucky to get the chance to show other people,” she said.
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com