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Celebrate Waste Reduction Week In Canada

Waste reduction does not look like this. Photo: Mackenzie Photography

Waste Reduction Week is an annual initiative dedicated to learning about and then taking action toward waste reduction. With the recent news in Edmonton that our waste management facility is only recycling about 75% of the collected blue bag items – and sending the rest to landfill – waste reduction is becoming a more appealing option.

WASTE REDUCTION WEEK CANADA

October 19 to 25, 2020 is our time to celebrate all things waste reduction, and spread the good word about initiatives folks are taking in their communities across Canada. While this week was officially started in 2001 by the Recycling Council of Ontario, many cities and provinces have been hosting their own waste reduction awareness initiatives since the 1980s. Closer to home, the Recycling Council of Alberta is presenting events across the province.

THEME DAYS

Waste Reduction Week is structured into 7 themes, with one to focus on each day. As with many waste free initiatives, you might have a lot of knowledge or interest in one area, and less in another. This structure gives everyone an opportunity to learn about something new or work towards a deeper commitment. All activism and organizing is more manageable when broken down into smaller steps, and waste reduction is no different.

The themes are as follows:

  • Monday – Circular Economy
  • Tuesday – Textiles
  • Wednesday – E-Waste
  • Thursday – Plastic
  • Friday – Food waste
  • Saturday – Sharing economy
  • Sunday – Swap and repair

For detailed information on each theme, and more resources, visit the Waste Reduction Week site here.

HOW TO CELEBRATE

With the seven themes, and various events and programming set for each day, there are a lot of different ways you can “celebrate” Waste Reduction Week and take action. If you are already doing some waste reduction in your household, pick a theme you are less familiar with. And if you’re very confident in your current actions, perhaps take this time to inspire others. We recommend chatting with your friends and family to find an activity you can do together. If you’re motivated, perhaps contact your community league, local politician, or your workplace to try to implement larger changes. Regardless of what you choose, choose something! We’ve compiled some activities for you, ranging from low effort to truly changemaking. It’s easy to stay at home and stay safe, too; you won’t have to compromise your cohort to take part!

With some online webinars on the list, you won’t have to compromise your cohort to take part!

LOW EFFORT

Watch a documentary with a waste reduction theme. Some Waste Free Edmonton favourites are The Story of Plastic and Wasted! The Story of Food Waste. Canadian documentaries are also available for viewing.

Take part in The Alberta Leftovers Challenge on October 21. Post a photo on social and tag friends, family, local politicians and ask them how they prevent food waste.

MEDIUM EFFORT

Pack yourself – or your kid – a plastic-free lunch.

Sign up on the Share Waste app and make a compost delivery this week.

Take the City of Edmonton Waste Reduction Roadmap survey this week, and then share the link with your friends, family, and coworkers!

MOST EFFORT

Host a waste collection drive – Canada generated 638,300 tonnes of “e-scrap” in 2017 – or a clothing swap – approximately 9% of the average black cart materials collected by Strathcona County are reusable or recyclable textiles – in your community.

Do a trash and recycle bin audit, and then commit to making one item swap using the audit as your guide.

Garbage piled up on the corner of a field.
All this garbage — even if it was once recyclable, it is not anymore — could have been handled differently.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

As with any waste reduction lifestyle change, we are ultimately looking for systemic change as well. Waste Reduction Week’s mission is to empower all Canadians to adopt more environmentally conscious choices. But unfortunately we know that not everyone has equal access to those choices. Ultimately, it is the systemic change that is needed to permanently turn the tide on climate change. Talking to your workplace about making changes, helping folks in your community take their bulky and hazardous waste to the Eco Station, and packing plastic free lunches are very important. Communication and inspiration go a long way. We can take those actions a step further by joining or organizing an advocacy group to present a waste reduction recommendation to your City Council. More and more people are turning to their community leagues to help form a community-wide waste reduction strategy. Another important aspect of environmental justice is using your skills and platform – whatever that looks like – to amplify the voices of many Indigenous individuals, groups and Nations already doing this work.

Waste Reduction Week is a great place to start your journey, learn more about waste reduction in general, and then use as a springboard to achieve the systemic change needed to make a difference in our world.

RESOURCES

Waste Reduction Week Canada

Recycling Council of Alberta – WRW

Strathcona County Waste Reduction Week

City of Edmonton – Future of Waste

Reuse It Edmonton – WRW 2019 Blog

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Compost Your Way to Environmental Justice This Fall

The equipment needed for backyard compost -- large plastic bins and a pitchfork.

Fall is here in Edmonton! Many people I talk to about composting think it’s not worth getting started right now. But fall is a great time to start a backyard compost system or pile! Composting is something that everyone should be able to do, but in reality not all folks have equal access to the resources required to do it. In fact, income is a direct predictor of which households are composting. Here are three cheap and accessible ways to get started composting this fall.

ONE – THE BEST COMPOST SYSTEM IS THE ONE YOU USE

The best compost system is the one you are going to use, feel comfortable using, and can afford. There are a lot of systems (bins, tumblers, etc.) available to purchase at home stores, but a good compost system can also be as simple as a pile in the corner of your yard. The only equipment I recommend folks pick up to help make their composting easier, is a good pitchfork or garden fork. If you don’t have one of these, ask a neighbour to borrow theirs.

TWO – BOUNTIFUL BROWNS

In the fall especially, a compost system does wonders to divert all of the leaves and other yard waste that comes with the season. Carbon-based materials – in compost lingo we call these “browns” – can be hard to get your hands out throughout the year. But in autumn, they are bountiful! This includes: dried leaves, sticks, dead annuals, prunings from shrubs. Larger materials should be cut down to a more manageable size. They will break down faster this way, while maintaining a good air-to-material balance. If you have the space in your yard, bag up all your autumn leaves and save them for your compost in those brown-lean months. A good way to make friends with neighbours is to ask them for their bags of leaves! Make sure there is no animal waste included.

THREE – TOO MANY LEAVES

If you find you have too many leaves and don’t want or don’t have the space to store them, you can easily start a leaf compost. Gather your leaves, a bucket of soil, and a tarp. For every foot of height of leaves in your pile, add a layer of soil. The pile should be wet but not soggy. Placing a tarp over helps keep the heat in, which is needed to break down the material, and prevents the pile from getting waterlogged. Leaf compost on its own isn’t super nutritious for your garden, but it can still be used as a soil amendment. And even better, you get the satisfaction of knowing you avoided the need for waste collectors to transport your yard waste.

Our now-shuttered EWMC composter in better times.
MARCH 5, 2000: Aerial view of Edmonton’s new $100-million co-composter plant/ Darco Industries LTD.

IN LOCAL NEWS

Folks in Edmonton might also be wondering how their backyard compost fits into the City’s plan to “roll out” a green bin program in 2021. Smaller scale options like personal composters or community gardens offer huge benefits to our hyper-local economy and quality of life in our neighbourhoods. There are untold numbers of opportunities for community-building, for entrepreneurs and small business owners, and for folks to decide on a solution that best fits their neighbourhood’s needs. These made-in-the-community solutions are also more likely to support marginalized communities and BIPOC, who are often left out, forgotten, or ignored when top-down systems are imposed from often white-majority governments or stakeholders.

COMPOSTING IS AN ACT OF RESISTANCE

“Composting is just one of many forms of direct action related to environmental justice that people can participate in.” This act of resistance impacts larger systems, and BIPOC in our communities and the larger world. I have included some links below from folks, organizations, and scholars who have much more expertise in this area than I do, and I encourage you to learn more. And then turn that knowledge into  action in your community.

TAKING FURTHER ACTION

So, you’ve got your backyard compost systems set up, you’re excited, and you’re wondering what else you can do? Here are some next steps for folks who’ve got their toes wet in environmental justice and are looking to do more:

  • Set up a leaf drop off point in your community
  • Chat with the folks at your community garden, volunteer your time there, and drop off a bag or two of leaves if needed
  • Sign up on the ShareWaste app to accept compost materials from other people in your community
  • Talk to your friends and family about why you have a backyard compost system, and help them set up one for themselves
  • Volunteer your time with organizations in your community focused on food security and environmental justice

MILLIONS IMPERFECTLY

You might have heard the now-famous Anne-Marie Bonneau quote about zero waste applied to composting. “We don’t need a handful of people composting perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly”. This quote often is followed by a complicated list of all the requirements and expensive equipment to get a backyard compost system going. How can both of those things be true? Just like any activity, composting can be expensive and complicated if you want it to be. But there are also a lot of free and simple ways to get started. Composting should be available to everyone regardless of income, race, or background. By creating a compost in your yard or community you are directly participating in environmental justice, and helping to build beneficial systems far larger than your flower bed.

LIST OF SOURCES AND FURTHER READING

LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS

Edmonton Food Council

Sustainable Food Edmonton

Edmonton and Area Land Trust

Edmonton Horticultural Society