Green Coast Rubbish is delighted to have been awarded the 2017 BBB Torch Award for Community Excellence.
Community goes to the heart of everything we do at Green Coast Rubbish. We strive to create healthier and greener communities by diverting waste away from landfills in our day to day operations and our team is invested in giving back whether it’s finding a way to help others in need or finding ways to take care of the city where we live, work and play.
Being a small business goes hand in hand with participating in the community and being recognized for those efforts with this BBB Torch Award in Community Excellence is phenomenal! — Eamonn Duignan, President & CEO of Green Coast Rubbish.
Here is a look at the things we do to help enrich our community:
Giving Back to the Community Every Day – A Business Model
Giving back to the community every day is integrated into the business model at Green Coast Rubbish. In our daily operations, we pick up waste from clients and divert an industry leading 82% of that material away from the landfill. All reusable items – including furniture, clothing, household goods, and valuable building materials – are donated to deserving organizations. Our clients know and expect that they are benefiting the environment and the community by using our services.
In 2016, we donated 4.66 tonnes (over 10,000 lbs) of materials to charitable organizations who were then able raise funds to benefit the community by selling these goods. The proceeds go to assist the most vulnerable members of our society who may need help with food, shelter, medical and/or other services for their families.
Community Partnership with Habitat for Humanity
In 2016, Green Coast Rubbish announced a new partnership where we donate our services to support Habitat for Humanity’s deconstruction program. This program focuses on diverting architectural waste from home renovations away the landfill, raising money to build affordable housing for local families in Metro Vancouver. At the same time, volunteers gain valuable skills, work experience and networking opportunities. Green Coast Rubbish donates our services, completing demolition work, recycling and debris removal from the site.
Green Coast completed our first project with Habitat for Humanity in February 2016 on a residential renovation project where we donated a full kitchen. Since then, we have completed 6 deconstruction projects and have donated 12 kitchens as well as appliances, furniture and building supplies with a value of approximately $17,000.
Tempe Pond Shoreline Cleanup
In September 2016, Green Coast Rubbish organized a clean up event the Tempe Heights Pond area in North Vancouver as part of the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup event.
The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, a conservation effort of the Vancouver Aquarium and WWF-Canada, does amazing work each and every year to mobilize volunteers to clean up litter on Canadian beaches. In this case, the Tempe Heights Pond in Lynn Valley is a safe nesting and breeding place for birds, turtles and blue herons. The pond is sometimes used as a late-night party spot leading to a lot of garbage being left behind.
The Green Coast Rubbish team, along with other volunteers from the local community, took time out of their busy schedules to put some muscle into solving the litter problem at the pond, covering a lot of ground and picking up all kinds of garbage and recycling in the area.
There are Always More Ways to Give Back
Green Coast Rubbish supports a number of charitable initiatives with fundraising, sponsorships, volunteer work and by donating our services. Recipients include:
- Lynn Valley Parent Advisory Council,
- Special Olympics BC,
- Lynn Valley Christmas Parade of Trees,
- The Music of Junk production,
- Union Gospel Mission,
- Middle Eastern Friendship Centre Society (which benefits Syrian refugees),
- Lynn Valley Days,
- BC Cancer Society,
- BMO Vancouver Marathon and
- Christmas in the Streets (an event benefiting the downtown east side at Christmas).
This award is the team’s second consecutive win; last year Green Coast Rubbish won the BBB Torch Award in the Green Category. Stay tuned to see what kind of community contributions we are up to this year!
