City Hall will be illuminated with green and blue lights to celebrate
The City is celebrating Waste Reduction Week in Canada from October 17–23. There are many ways the community can reduce its waste, and Waste Reduction Week has outlined seven daily themes to help people get started.
The City has also joined forces with Guelph Tool Library to promote Guelph’s largest clothing sale and swap on October 22, and a Clothing Repair Café on October 23 as part of the Circular Fashion Festival. The Circular Fashion Festival includes seven days of in-person and virtual events to promote reusing, repairing, and recycling textiles to reduce waste and support a circular economy.
“Our community plays a critical role in reducing the amount of waste in Guelph,” says Madeleine Myhill, Waste Program Coordinator, Compliance and Performance, Environmental Services. “We have many great resources for the community to learn how they can make more sustainable choices conveniently and affordably. We also have practical programs to help people reuse everything from paint and car wax to bikes and furniture.”
Residents can make a big difference by making sustainable choices, sorting waste properly, and taking advantage of Waste Reduction Week activities and City programs including:
- Guelph Waste App: Download the Guelph Waste app to learn how to sort your waste properly and sign up for collection day reminders.
- Goods Exchange: Goods Exchange weekends take place over the long weekends in May and September and are a great opportunity for Guelph residents to exchange reusable household materials like furniture, appliances, toys, and more for free.
- ReCycle bike reuse: Guelph residents can drop off their unwanted bikes and bike parts and can also pick up a bike for free.
- This program helps ensure usable products like paint, stains, cleaning products, and more, don’t go to waste. Products can be dropped off year-round or picked up for free from April to mid-October.
- Hazardous Waste Depot: Guelph residents can drop off hazardous waste year-round for recycling and safe disposal such as paint, batteries, and fluorescent tubes and bulbs.
- Curbside battery collection: The City offers curbside battery collection every fall.
- Recycling Zone: Guelph residents can drop off items year-round for recycling and reuse, including electronic waste (cell phones, computers, etc.), scrap metal, clothing and textiles, and much more.
Guelph’s Smart Cities Office is also recognizing the importance of Waste Reduction Week with two circular economy initiatives – Our Food Future and Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad (COIL). The circular economy is an economic model that recycles used materials into new products. Our Food Future is creating a circular food system, with food waste prevention and reduction as primary areas of focus. The project is a collaboration with the County of Wellington. COIL is focused on implementing circularity across enterprises, supply chains, and material streams by providing programs, tools, and resources to local organizations. The initiative helps organizations reduce their waste and costs to become more efficient, productive, and resilient.
About Waste Reduction Week in Canada
Waste Reduction Week in Canada is a national campaign created by the Recycling Council of Ontario that aims to empower all Canadians to adopt more environmentally conscious choices. Waste Reduction Week provides information and ideas to reduce waste in all facets of daily living, creating the solutions to many environmental challenges Canadians face including climate change, water pollution, and preservation of natural resources.
