Waste Free Toronto

Send Your Packaging Packing

Too much packaging, wrapping, padding and stuffing comes with most products today. Most of it isn't necessary and is really just a way for companies to advertise. The worst part is that a lot of packaging isn't recyclable in your Blue Box!

Take a look at the things you buy - is there an alternative with less packaging or recyclable packaging?

For example, you can buy food in bulk stores to avoid food packaging.

Challenge: 

• Avoid products with excessive packaging, or non-recyclable packaging, or Change what you buy to avoid packaging and tell us about it

• Snap a photo and share your story

Take the extra step:
Sign our petition to ask companies to stop using non-recyclable materials and to stop offloading the cost of disposal to cities. Click here to sign the petition.

Read TEA's report on how companies can take responsibility for their product and packagin waste, including great examples of Ontario companies that are already doing it!

Companies that sell products have a choice about the type and amount of packaging they use on their products.

Many states and countries are creating rules that make these companies responsible for their products and packaging, even after they leave the store. This gives companies a reason to use less packaging and to ensure that it's recyclable. In Ontario, we've made a start, but companies need to do more.

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!

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.

Choose to Re-Use!

It's the small things that add up. One coffee cup or one bottle of water doesn't seem like much. Now, think about how full a garbage can would be with 250 single use coffee cups, one for every work day in the year?

Now imagine if just 10% of Torontonians (250,000 people) used throw-away cups and water bottles: it would be a nightmare of unnecessary waste!

But if you choose reusables, like a refillable water bottle, or a travel mug, you can help eliminate this nightmare. You save money and you help the environment (bottled water costs so much more than tap water, and Toronto's tap water is some of the cleanest in the world).

Challenge:

• Get a refillable water bottle and reusable travel mug and commit to carrying them with you. Or, if you're having a coffee or tea at a cafe, ask them to put it in a reusable mug instead of a disposable cup.

• Snap a photo of yourself using your refillable water bottle or mug and share it with us below.

Take the extra step:
If you already carry a mug and water bottle, choose a reusable to replace another disposable product in your life - for example using lunch containers instead of disposable bags, or carrying reusable cutlery to use when you get take-out food. Tell us about it and share a photo.

Think Twice Before You Buy!

Did you know that you can help the environment and reduce waste by simply not buying something? By repairing, sharing, swapping or re-using things, you can avoid wasteful packaging and avoid sending more things to landfill - and you’ll probably save money.

We can buy less, share things, or buy second-hand things to reduce the waste impact of what we own.

This includes things like borrowing a book from the library, or sharing tools with a neighbour instead of buying your own. You can also buy second hand clothing or donate your old furniture to a charitable store.

Challenge: 

• Instead of buying something new, reconsider it – borrow it from a friend, or rent it instead. Or, if you really need your own, buy it second hand. Share a photo and tell us about it!
• Instead of throwing out something you don’t use anymore, donate or sell it to someone who could use it. Tell us about it! The City of Toronto website lists local non-profit groups that accept donations of used goods.

Take the extra step:
Repair it! Instead of tossing something out, get it repaired, or learn to maintain it yourself so it lasts longer. Mend your clothes, or get them altered by a tailor. Tell us about your repair adventure and snap a photo!

Use Toronto’s Trash Tools

Did you know that in Toronto, more than half of what residents are putting into their garbage bag shouldn't be there? Much of what is put out as garbage can actually be recycled or composted.

There is a lot to learn about Toronto’s waste, and how we can reduce it.

The good news is that the City has a number of user-friendly tools to help you put your waste in the right place!

Challenge:

• Visit toronto.ca/wastewizard and bookmark the Waste Wizard, a simple online search tool to identify where to put your waste.
• The free City waste calendar lists waste collection days and each month features a number of tips on how to sort your waste - if you didn’t get one, order one now by calling 311 or send an email to [email protected] and ask for a Waste Calendar.

Tip:  See "What Goes Where" on City of Toronto website for links to information on how to sort and set out your waste.

Take the extra step:
If you already use the City tools above, share these links with a friend, or a family member.

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.