WATERLOO -- Dallas Carder, a five-year-old from Waterloo, has decided to do something about the food waste in his home.
An initiative he asked for will now allow the resident of his condominium complex to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
His mother Sheila said the idea to 'save the planet' came to him after a dinner one day back in December.
"He asked if he could take our leftovers to feed the ducks, because we have a family of ducks that come around," she said. "I told him unfortunately no because we could make them sick and that we have to throw out the leftovers in the garbage, and he was a bit upset as to why all that food is going in the garbage."
Dallas then asked his mom if they could reach out to the building management team to ask for a compost bin.
"It took me a couple of days to respond," said Darren East of the Edwards Community Management. "The condo manager in me had the answer which was 'we don't offer that service at this time,' but the Dad in me really sympathized with Sheila."
East adds that the condo board of directors were in the process of reviewing their waste management service, but Dallas' request set a new plant in motion.
Working with Acorn Waste Management, a compost bin and bags were dropped off, along with a recycling bin, to test this new plan just before Christmas.
In just the first week, Dallas' family went from six garbage bags, no compost bags, and no recycling bin, to one garbage bag, six compost bags, and seven bins. They saved 51.5 pounds of food from the landfill.
"When somebody goes above and beyond in Waterloo we certainly like to recognize them," said Waterloo Major Dave Jaworsky. "If it's a five-year-old and he's done something special for his entire condo corporation that will save the environment, I'm all for it."
Due to Dallas' request, a new composting and recycling program will be rolled out at the end of March to the entire 116 unit condominium development he lives in.
