Tell One Friend: Eat Your Leftovers

Leftover food is just as nutritious and delicious as when it was freshly made. Leftovers can even be prepared purposefully as part of your weekly meal plan.

• Consider how to make leftovers easy to find and to use. 
• Use transparent containers and label them. Keep a marker near the fridge.
• Putting leftovers in single meal-size containers makes them easy to pack for a meal on the go. 
• Dedicate meals throughout the week to leftovers. 
• Make other meals using leftover ingredients (e.g. roasted veggies or grilled chicken), such as soups, salads, casseroles, sandwiches and more!

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Spread the Message

Try these tactics to encourage friends, family, neighbours and co-workers.

Model the Behaviour

Share your eating leftovers plan with people you live with, friends, family and neighbours. Comment on the benefits of saving time, money and reducing food waste. 

One Small Ask

Would you commit to eating leftovers as part of your weekly meal plan?

Offer Timely Prompts

When talking to family, friends and neighbours about lawns or outdoor chores, mention how cutting grass can be more efficient. 

Give Positive Feedback

"I liked your social media post about eating your leftovers.”

Visit www.edmonton.ca/foodwaste

Previous Tell One Friend: Make it Safe to Reach Your Trash

Tell One Friend: Make it Safe to Reach your Trash

Waste collectors lift and toss thousands of tonnes of garbage, every day. Edmontonians can keep collectors safe and moving by making it easy to reach your trash.

 

• Place cans and bags as close to the street or alley as possible.
• Do NOT put cans or bags on top of or behind piles of dirt.
• Keep garbage stands open and accessible from the front.

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Spread the Message

Try these tactics to encourage friends, family, neighbours and co-workers.

Model the Behaviour

Put your own garbage cans and bags out early and properly. Your neighbours will follow your example.  

One Small Ask

“I’ll share this link with you about waste collection. Will you take just three minutes to check it out? I’ll send it now. It’s edmonton.ca/wastecollection”.

Offer Timely Prompts

When talking to family, friends and neighbours about lawns or outdoor chores, mention how cutting grass can be more efficient. 

Give Positive Feedback

"I like how your garbage stand is open from the front. That makes it easy, fast, and safe for our waste collector to pick up cans and bags." or "I saw that you put your garbage can next to the curb for our waste collector. That’s helpful."

Visit edmonton.ca/wastecollection

Previous Tell One Friend: Go Bagless to Reduce Yard Waste

Show your Appreciation to Waste Collectors

Residents are encouraged to continue to show their appreciation to front line workers, including tomorrow, June 16, on Waste Collector Appreciation Day. Throughout the pandemic, waste collectors have been lifting record breaking volumes of waste. On any given day, a waste collector lifts a few thousand bags of waste. In the midst of the pandemic, collectors were lifting even more waste set at the curb by residents due to regular spring clean up and additional clean up made by residents who were at home during the last few months.

For Waste Collector Appreciation day, and year round, the City is asking Edmontonians to further celebrate by encouraging residents to give the gift of safety to waste collectors:

• Go Bagless! Grass clippings are heavy. Take the bag off your lawn mower, raise the height of the blade, and leave your clippings on your lawn as you mow, plus compost or mulch yard waste. Your yard will thank you.
• Make sure all recycling and garbage is securely bagged, sharps are packaged properly in boxes and labelled, and branches are cut down to 4 feet long and are bundled. 
• Make sure your recycling and garbage is easily accessible. Move your vehicle off the street on collection day. If that’s not possible, keep your garbage, blue bags, and yard waste away from parked cars (two car lengths away) so collectors can easily see and access them.
• Maintain Alberta Health Services physical distancing protocols (two metres/6 feet). Wave hello from a distance.

 In the past few months, Collectors found thank you notes and pictures tied to garbage bags, chalk drawn signs on fences, and even little treats left by residents showing their appreciation. Every one of those notes and pictures are posted at the Kennedale collections facility where collectors are reminded daily of how much residents truly appreciate their work. 

Waste collectors are among the most visible employees from the Collections Services section in the Waste Services Branch, however the section also has many employees who all play a huge role in keeping our City clean. Multi-family collectors, bin maintenance staff, recycling depot attendants, litter collectors, Eco Station attendants and the office staff all play an essential role helping Waste Services get the job done, especially during these unprecedented times.

While June 16 is the day to show appreciation for waste collector front line employees, we would like to acknowledge all front line workers within the city who have worked tirelessly through the pandemic to deliver services for all Edmontonians. 

For more information:

Waste Collection

Tell One Friend: Go Bagless to Reduce Yard Waste

In the summer months, up to half of all the waste collected from households is grass. Going Bagless is the number one way Edmontonians can reduce their waste. 

Benefits of Going Bagless:

• Reduces the need to water your lawn.
• Reduces need to fertilize your lawn. 
• Saves time-no bagging and dragging grass.
• Can cut water use in half.
• Reduces CO2 emissions.
• Yields a lush, healthy lawn.
• Helps prevent thatch build up and disease. 

It's Easy:

• Mow high so that no more than 1/3 of the grass blade is removed.
• Mow often; every 4-5 days during heavy growth and once a week when growth is slower.
• Mow when the grass is dry to prevent clumping.
• Make sure your mower blade is sharp. 
• Sweep grass clippings that end up on the sidewalk back onto your lawn. 

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Share your Message Effectively

Try these strategies to help encourage your family, friends and co-workers to have healthy, environmentally conscious lawns.

Model the Behaviour

Go Bagless when cutting your own lawn. 

Make it Normal

Display a Go Bagless sign on your lawn if you have one and talk about it with friends, family and neighbours. 

Offer Timely Prompts

When talking to family, friends and neighbours about lawns or outdoor chores, mention how cutting grass can be more efficient. 

Give Positive Feedback

"Your lawn looks so healthy" or "Your go bagless efforts have reduced CO2 emissions".

Highlight the Benefits

When engaged in a conversation about going bagless, share the aforementioned benefits and be excited about your success when going bagless. 

Visit edmonton.ca/waste

Next Tell One Friend: Leave those Browns on the Ground

Tell One Friend: Leave those Browns on the Ground

Spring has sprung. The snow melts away to reveal leaves and dead grass on lawns and yards. Yes, some folks will gather up these dead and dry plants. These are good "browns" for home composting. But it's also okay to leave browns on the ground.

Leave it on the Lawn

Lawns and landscapes like a layer of mulch. Autumn leaves and dead grass are also a good source of carbon for the soil. These browns break down slowly over the entire growing season. They provide free food for your lawn while protecting soil from sun and wind.

Invite friends and neighbours to keep some leaves and dry grass on the lawn. Be thoughtful about it. Choose parts of the landscape to look trim and tidy, while leaving other parts more natural. Remember, Mother Nature isn't a clean freak.

Residents can also mow over dry leaves. This breaks up leaves into smaller bits for the mulch layer. A mulching mower is nice, but it's not needed.

Help keep grass and leaves out of landfills by leaving clippings and leaves on the lawn this spring and summer. Alternatively, you can compost these items at home. If you need to bag and remove grass, leaves and yard waste from your property, please drop them off at an Eco Station for free or set out in clear or coloured bags (not black, blue or paper). This will help staff at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre easily distinguish yard waste from garbage and send it for composting. 

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Share Your Message Effectively

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

Model the Behaviour
Show friends and family how you use leaves and dry grass on your landscape. Talk up the benefits to your soil and plant health.

Make it Normal
Post a photo of mulch on social media.

Offer Timely Prompts
While friends and neighbours are doing spring clean up, mention how Browns are a valuable for both lawn and landscape.

Give Positive Feedback
"Your natural lawn with your mulched browns looks great!"

Highlight the Benefits
Change the narrative. Aesthetically-pleasing lawns and plants are healthy and not necessarily perfect. Healthy, natural lawns and plants, nourished with compost, contribute to a healthy urban eco-system. Insects, birds and animals will thank you.

Visit edmonton.ca/compost

Previous Tell One Friend: Set Up an Eco Station Box