Waste Reduction Week: e-waste

Reduce, reuse, recycle and recover! Throughout Waste Reduction Week, celebrated until Sunday, Oct. 24, the City of Vaughan is providing tips on how residents can reduce their household waste, apply many new and simple waste-less habits and learn about our shared responsibility to the planet to cut down on waste.

Today’s Waste Reduction Week topic is e-waste. Electronic waste (e-waste) includes cellphones, cables, computers, televisions, DVD/Blu-ray players, headphones, video game consoles, printers, speakers and more. Many of the parts that make up your electronics, like glass, gold, silver and copper, can be reused and made into another product.

Here are actions to consider adopting:

• Reduce e-waste by extending the life of your electronics. Buy a case, keep your device clean and avoid overcharging the battery.
• Donate gently used or old, but in good working condition, electronics during the City’s Curbside Giveaway Days on Saturday, Oct. 23 and Sunday, Oct. 24.
• Bring damaged electronic waste items to the York Region Waste Depot at 130 McCleary Crt. for safe disposal. Never place electronic waste in the garbage or blue box as this is not collected curbside.
• Visit recyclemyelectronics.ca to search the nearest retail recycling location in Vaughan by postal code.

Not sure what waste bin an item belongs in? Check first by downloading the Recycle Coach App through the Apple App Store or Google Play for information on sorting your items. Sorting correctly leads to less waste! The app provides waste-less tips and a personalized collection schedule with optional alerts on what to put to the curb each week. The City also offers an online sorting tool so you can quickly and easily check what item goes where using the search bar. Citizens can register online at any time to purchase garbage tags, blue boxes and green bins and exchange damaged or broken City-branded bins through Service Vaughan.

Zero waste starts now. The City of Vaughan challenges you to share your waste reduction efforts with a selfie or another picture or video using the hashtag #VaughanWastesLess on social media. For more information on waste services in Vaughan, visit vaughan.ca/waste.

The City of Vaughan has proclaimed Monday, Oct. 18 to Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021 as Waste Reduction Week to further its commitment to protecting the environment and fostering a more sustainable future – a priority outlined in the 2018-2022 Term of Council Service Excellence Strategic Plan. The week’s primary purpose is to celebrate the City’s environmental efforts and achievements while encouraging new innovative ideas and solutions for citizens to reduce their own waste and conserve the environment.

The City of Vaughan is a leader in waste management. Vaughan’s early commitment to York Region’s SM4RT Living Plan (Waste Management Master Plan) further strengthens that leadership. This plan identifies initiatives that set the stage for waste management to 2059 and beyond, focusing on the four Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle and recover – working toward building a circular economy and a “world in which nothing goes to waste.”

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