Waste Free Toronto

Buy Recycled

Buying recycled products is another way to reduce waste. Recycled materials don’t use as many raw materials and natural resources. They also use less water and save energy. Recycled products also help keep the green recycling economy thriving.

Recycled content is used for many products:

• office or school supplies (paper, pens and printing cartridges)
• home supplies (paint, storage bins and garbage bags)
• clothing or reusable bags made with plastic fibres

Choosing paper made from 100% recycled paper instead of trees uses 50% less water and energy - and it saves trees!

Challenge:

• If you’re buying new products, choose something that is made of recycled materials. Aim for 100% post-consumer recycled content.
• Share a photo or tell us about it

Take the extra step:
Write to a company that you buy from and ask them to include more recycled content in their products.

Tackle Toxic Trash

Certain types of waste can't go in the garbage or recycling bin because they contain toxic ingredients that can harm the environment or human health. This type of special waste needs to be sorted and sent to the right place so it can be recycled properly.

Special waste includes batteries, CFLs (compact fluorescent lights) and fluorescent tubes, medication, paint, oil, nail polish and cleaning products (anything with a 'hazard' symbol). Read the full list on the City website.

Challenge:

• Create a space in your home to store this. Choose a safe place away from kids and pets and keep all products in their original containers. Make a sign and let everyone in your household know about it.
  
  
• If you live in an apartment, ask your building manager to create a Special Waste drop off spot. They can call the City to collect it.

• Upload a photo of your waste collection spot in the comments below.

Where to recycle your hazardous and special waste:

• Residents can drop off special waste free at any of the 7 City waste Drop-off depots.

• You can drop off special waste (and other things) at Community Environment Days held across Toronto in the spring, summer and fall. Community Environment Days are held in each ward, ensuring that residents in all parts of the City have a nearby location to safely handle waste. Find out when your local event is on the City website.

• If you've got a lot of special waste, the Toxic Taxi can come right to your door to collect special waste for free. You need the equivalent of 10 litres of hazardous waste (about 2 and half paint cans).  Call 311 or fill out an online request.

• If you live in an apartment, talk to your Property Manager about arranging a collection day for the whole building

Take the extra step:
Find ways to reduce the special and hazardous waste in your home. Use rechargeable batteries instead of disposables. Or make non-toxic cleaners that are safer for you and the environment.  See recipes in Section 8 of TEA's Toxics Reduction Tool Kit. 

Help Grow Green Bins

One of the biggest types of waste is organic waste - this includes food waste and other things that can be composted, like tissues. However, many Torontonians just don’t have green bins. A large number of people who live in apartments and condos don’t have access to green bins. Many schools, small businesses and community centres across the City also don’t have green bins. That means thousands of tonnes of food waste are going to landfill.

The good news is that the City offers green bins to every apartment, business, school and building that the City collects waste from. 

Challenge:

• Help bring green bins to more Toronto buildings. Call or email the building manager of your apartment, school or community centre to let them know that you'd like green bins for the building.

• If you have green bins at home, think about community centres, businesses and other places you go that don't have green bins, but should. Write to the relevant property manager, or call your Councillor.

Make a phone call, or use our suggestions below to send a letter to your building manager. 

Dear (INSERT NAME of relevant property manager for your apartment, school, temple, etc),

INSERT PERSONAL STATEMENT - e.g. "I live in this building." Or "I attend this school." Or "I use this Community Centre for weekly classes."

Food waste is the largest single type of waste in our garbage. Toronto studies found that up to 70% of garbage from residents in apartments is food waste.

Organic waste collection, or green bins, can greatly reduce waste, recycling valuable nutrients back into the soil. With City of Toronto collection, green bin pick up is free, which also means lower waste bills.

Please bring green bin collection to our  APARTMENT / CONDO / SCHOOL / COMMUNITY building, so that we can start reducing waste.

Sincerely

YOUR NAME,  ADDRESS / EMAIL ADDRESS

Take the extra step:
Start a backyard composter, or set up a worm composter on your balcony or at your office!

Knowing how much waste you produce will help you identify how it can be reduced!

• Use Tool #1 OR Tool #2 below to calculate the approximate garbage your household creates in a year.
• Enter your calculated household waste per year in the comment box below to complete the challenge.

The Waste Free Challenge is 10 simple steps that anyone in Toronto can take.
Tell us about you, and why you are taking the Challenge!