Tell One Friend: Wasteless Holidays

The holiday season is filled with decorations, parties and presents, but all this festivity can lead to an increase in waste. In fact, in the two weeks following December 25, the City of Edmonton collects almost twice the amount of waste compared to early December.

There are many ways to reduce waste during the holidays this year, including:

• Planning out festive feasts to reduce leftovers, and send food home with guests.
• Giving waste-friendly gifts, like experiences.
• Decorating for lasting memories by picking quality decorations, or making your own with items from the Reuse Centre.
• Recycling right! Use WasteWise to determine what waste can be recycled, online at edmonton.ca/waste or download the app.

Find more great tips at edmonton.ca/wastelessholidays!
Share how you are reducing your holiday waste by using the hashtag #WastelessHolidays and you could win prizes! To enter retweet, share or comment on a City of Edmonton Wasteless Holidays post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Read through our contest rules to make sure your entry counts. 
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Share Your Message Effectively
Try these tip to connect with friends, family, neighbours and co-workers. 

Model the Behaviour

Show friends and family how you put your wasteless holiday tips and tricks to action. 

Make it Normal

Post photos on social media documenting your wasteless holiday traditions.

Offer Timely Prompts

Encourage your friends and family to share their wasteless holidays tips and tricks on social media. Encourage them to enter the social media contest too!

Give Positive Feedback
"You're helping to reduce holiday waste this year, great job!"

Visit edmonton.ca/wastelessholidays

Previous Tell One Friend: Reduce Holiday Food Waste

  

International Volunteer Day is Coming Up!

December 5 is International Volunteer Day! We thank you for all of your amazing work as an MCR this past year. This year, Waste Services wants to hear why you volunteer and/or your peer to peer recognition story.

Tell us here.

From your stories, we will fill out one of the two slips below, post them on a wall in our offices and share them in future newsletter editions.

If you also volunteer at the Reuse Centre, pop in there to take a photo for their photo-wall.











For more information visit Volunteer Canada or UN General Assembly

                                

Tell One Friend: Reduce Holiday Food Waste

On average, Edmonton's garbage contains around 22 to 26% food waste. The amount of food waste found in Edmonton's garbage increases significantly around the holidays, according to City waste audits. Getting together with friends, co-workers and family during the holidays often involves food. With an abundance of food, food waste is a likely possibility around this time of year.

Getting creative with leftovers, encouraging guests to bring their own reusable containers to take home food, storing or freezing food correctly and planning out meals all help to prevent holiday food waste.
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Share Your Message Effectively

Try these tips to connect with friends, family, neighbours and co-workers.

Model the Behaviour

Encourage those who will be taking part in the meal to help plan out the food.

Make it Normal

Talk about preventing food waste while enjoying a shared meal and simple ways to prevent it.

Offer Timely Prompts

Did you know that a well planned out holiday meal is sometimes all it takes to prevent food waste?

Give Positive Feedback

Thank you for taking home and eating leftovers. You have prevented food waste!


Visit edmonton.ca/foodwaste

Previous Tell One Friend: Eco Stations, Open 7 days a week

  

A New Chapter in the World of Waste

It’s been a long road for Waste Services.

More than 2 years ago, we started a process to determine the best way to move forward with waste management in Edmonton.

Now, after researching best practices, conducting internal assessments, considering over 30,000 points of input from 2 rounds of public engagement and receiving feedback from the Edmonton Cart Rollout to 8,000 homes—we have a clear path forward. On September 10, City Council approved the 25-year Waste Strategy and accompanying reports.

“This is the beginning of a new era for Waste Services in Edmonton,” says Michael Labrecque, Branch Manager, Waste Services. “We’ve worked hard to build a plan that will help divert waste from landfill, in a way that works for Edmontonians. Now, we’re excited to put that plan into action.”

What’s Next?

Beginning in 2020, a 4-stream waste collection system will be rolled out in phases to single-unit residences. More information will be provided to residents as details solidify. 4-stream waste collection includes:

• A 120L green cart for organics (primarily kitchen scraps, topped up with yard waste)
• A black cart for residual garbage (residents will initially receive a 240L cart, with the option to exchange it later for a 120L cart at a reduced rate)
• Recyclables collection in blue bags
• Seasonal yard waste collection in paper yard waste bags, twice in the spring and twice in the fall

By the end of 2021, all single-unit Edmonton residences will receive 4-stream collection. Soon, planning and consultation will begin to develop new approaches to waste for condos and apartments and the commercial sector.

The 25-year Waste Strategy uses a Zero Waste Framework. This doesn’t mean we’re aiming to divert 100 percent of waste right now; our waste diversion goal remains 90 percent. Rather, Zero Waste implies a system that is constantly improving, with a strong focus on waste reduction. With that goal in mind, next steps will include developing rules to restrict some single-use plastic items, and supporting waste reduction-focused community programming.

But How Much Will It Cost?

Changes to waste services will be funded by small rate increases of about 2.5 percent per year for the next three years. Without changes to how we manage waste, it is likely that these rate increases would be higher. The Waste Services fee is included on EPCOR bills.

Learn more about the Future of Waste in Edmonton.