Waste Reduction Week: swap and repair

Reduce, reuse, recycle and recover! Throughout Waste Reduction Week, which wraps up today, the City of Vaughan has provided 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, on the last day of Waste Reduction Week, the topic is swap and repair. Find ways to extend the life of goods and learn how to find new life for unwanted or damaged products, whether it be clothing, children’s toys or household gadgets.

Here are actions to consider adopting to waste less:

• Participate in the City’s Curbside Giveaway Days – on today only! Before an item is tossed away for good, consider if it can be recycled for a new purpose or used as is by someone else. If you participate, remember to bring in any items left on your curb by 5 p.m. on Sunday evening.
• Everyone has clothing and other items at home that aren’t being used. Swap with friends or neighbours over online trading apps and groups and get ‘new’ items of your own.
• Learn how to make simple repairs to your items. Search for online tutorials that provide instructions on repairing textiles and other common household items.
• Donate any extra gently used items to a local second-hand store for someone else to enjoy.

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

Unsure what items go where? Check first by downloading the Recycle Coach App through the Apple App Store or Google Play for information on sorting your items. 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 to 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.

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 has been to celebrate the City’s environmental efforts and achievements while encouraging new innovative ideas and solutions for citizens to reduce their waste and protect 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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