Beyond Earth Day Cleanups - Amplify your Impact!
- Admin
- Apr 28, 2024
- 6 min read
(8 min read)
On Earth Day weekend, Unbounded & I partnered to co-host 3 clean-ups in Toronto.
This blog post shares the results of the clean-ups & tips on how to take further action to address waste & litter.
Thank you very much to everyone who joined as a participant, & our sponsors!
SmartWater - clean-up equipment
Impact Kitchen - bone broth samples for Sat cleanup, 20% discount code for all participants through app
Muuse - reusable cups for bone broth samples
Village Juicery - free drink coupons
Footage from the Cleanups!
You can find some images & videos from the cleanup in this Google Drive folder.
The link allows anyone to edit - so if you’d like to add content - please do!
Share on socials!
If you share on Instagram or other socials, please tag us!
@lovingyournature @stayunbounded - we’d love to share!
RESULTS
Together, we collected about 160 lbs of litter from our local waterways & shorelines!
Saturday at Cherry Beach with Impact Kitchen team & community
Garbage: 95 lbs Recycling: 6 lbs
Sunday at Humber Bay Park community cleanup
Garbage: 26 lbs Recycling: Didn't weigh. A few cans & a few bottles
Monday at Humber Bay Park with Smartwater, Best Buy team & community
Garbage: 32 lbs Recycling: Didn't weigh. About a dozen cans & a few bottles
Recap of Key Concepts from the Waste Workshop/Discussion
Circular Economy
This is what we are moving towards locally & globally; away from the 'Linear Economy'
Linear Economy = 'Take' (resources), 'Make' (stuff), 'Waste' (throw it out)
Circular Economy = The way nature does it; in nature, there is no waste.
What would be ‘waste’ becomes a resource for something else being created.
We typically think of recycling for this - but reducing, reusing, & designing products for more ‘circularity’ is way more important - for example, many things are not recycled because they are not recyclable; they were not designed with the product's end in mind.
Diagram created by yours truly :) You can see where the waste ^ comes out - our goal with waste diversion would be recover (or prevent) materials from different types of waste streams from ending us as 'waste'
2 parts of (environmental) problems & solutions:
Both are important but the 2nd one needs much more attention...
1) Downstream: managing/cleaning up the mess
What happens to waste once it’s been created
Figuring out what is recyclable, compostable, etc
Doing cleanups like we did together
2) Upstream: preventing the mess at the source
‘turning off the tap’; if we have an overflowing bathtub - it makes sense to turn off the tap in addition to mopping up the water - same thing with addressing different ‘streams’ of waste
This is why we say “*Reduce, *Reuse, Recycle” - because they go in that order
Reducing & reusing are preventative, recycling is downstream & can be part of the solution, but only if done right (with proper sorting) & not overly relied on
Downstream Solutions
Sorting Waste Properly
Once we have waste - where we put things influences the success of our waste diversion systems
The City of Toronto developed 2 resources to help people know what goes where
Waste Wizard website
Cleanups
If waste ends up as litter - we can take action in community to clean it together.
If you’d like to participate in more clean-ups in the GTA, I made a facebook group (almost 300 members now) - where you can either post about a cleanup you’re doing or check to see what other cleanups are happening!
You can also check our @AGreenerFuture & @Wasteland.Fdn on IG for cleanups as well!
Upstream Solutions!
Single-Use Waste Reduction/Prevention
An important thing to note is that the focus should be on reducing ALL types of single-use waste - not just plastic or plastic-lined paper cups. Items that are paper, wooden, labeled 'compostable' or 'bio-plastic' still end up in landfills & require obscene amounts of resources to create.
'Compostable' items generally cause more hard than good since people believe they are the greener choice even though many are not compostable - & have been found to be contaminated with PFA's (aka forever chemicals) in a Toronto study - which are very unhealthy for humans & the environment.
Reusables for Events & Takeaway with Muuse!
Muuse partners with:
Food businesses & providers to offer reusables for takeout
Businesses SAVE money; win-win for profit & planet
Events & venues for dishware rentals (cups, plates, bowls, utensils) - preventing up to 10,000’s of single-use items / weekend event!
On-going partners: Pride, Caribana, & Street Eats Market, City of Mississauga & more!
You can see examples of both of these (reusables for takeout & on-site) at Evergreen Brick Works - 1 min IG video
If you have any connections to food businesses or events/venues that would want to reduce waste - please feel free to share with me! sofiya@muuse.io (I recently joined Muuse as their partnerships manager after working with them for 2 years - prior to which I was an avid Muuse user & convinced them to hire me as a brand rep because I was sharing about them to anyone who was interested!)
BYO (Bring-Your-Own) reusable alternative of single-use items: cup, bag, utensils, etc
There are a variety of BYO businesses listed on the Canada Reduces website.
Or look for the BYO sticker! (eg. video about the BYO movement in St. Lawrence neighbourhood)
Specify ‘for here’ when ordering & staying on-site
Disposables are often automatically given out (such as in a to-go coffee cup) whether people are enjoying their drink/meal on site or not. If a business has ceramic/reusable cups - it makes sense to enjoy the beverage in these as opposed to a to-go cup
Support Policy Changes!
Individual & collective action can only do so much in a system that goes against it.
The Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA) follows what the city is doing & shares updates on what people can do to advocate for changes in the city, including feedback on proposed bylaws to address single-use waste!
Sign up to their newsletter for updates, &/or follow them on:
Reusable TO - follow on IG for single-use related updates & action alerts in TO
Other Types of Waste Prevention
Single-use items are a sort of ‘low-hanging fruit’ when it comes to waste prevention.
However - we can think critically about ways to choose to reuse or dispose of whatever would end up as ‘waste’/garbage - eg. furniture, clothes, toys, kitchenware, tools, etc.
Resources
Facebook group: Zero Waste Toronto
There are many great resources shared on here with 15k + members
Very engaged & helpful group of caring people - I always get multiple replies when I ask questions here!
It's a great place to get information & support with extending the life of items that would otherwise end up in landfill/incinerated, etc..
Responsible Disposal for Various Waste Streams
Electronics:
Clothing
Clothing swaps - Clothing Swap Revolution facebook page
These are events you can organize or attend where people bring their unwanted clothes (in good condition; clean, no or minimal wear/rips/stains), & take clothes that they'd like to own - for free!
The rest of the clothing are typically donated
Donate:
Value Village, Diabetes Canada, or another clothing donation centre. Even if you have clothing in sub-optimal conditions - they can take the textiles & send them to be recycled into other things, like car seat stuffing
The list could go on & on.. Keep thinking critically about where your waste goes & how you can get creative in finding solutions to dispose of it responsibly! :)
The City of Toronto Waste Wizard website/ TO Waste App can help.
Eco Events in Toronto
I’m a huge fan of attending/participating in events as a vehicle for transformation
Getting out in 3D; experiential learning
Connecting with like-minded people; conversation, brainstorming, etc
Get movement, sunshine, & fresh air (if outside)
A facebook group for eco-themed events (almost 1000 people):
Below is an event that is supporting the circular economy locally, big time!
REmarket
FREE event on June 12 & 13 at St. Lawrence market - where people bring good quality items of all kinds, to be taken for free by others! There is also a collection for recycling of different items, like:
Batteries
Dental waste
Disposable razors
Cosmetic containers
Coffee bags
Ink cartridges & toners
Black takeout containers
The also partner with Repair Cafe TO to offer free repairs for small items - including jewelry, electronics, clothing, & more!
Repair Cafe TO hosts their own events where neighbours help neighbours learn how to repair, & partner with other eco events across the city! Literal Earth Angels, I tell you!
I will be at the REmarket having a blast, because it's like heaven on Earth!
Hope to see you there!
Stay in touch!
Like making an impact with anything else - taking care of the planet is a collective undertaking.
If you have any questions or want support with anything eco-related, I’d love to help or share resources/contacts that would assist you to achieve your goal!
DM me on Instagram: @LovingYourNature
Inquiries for Muuse reusables for takeout and/or event dishware rental: sofiya@muuse.io
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