Zero Waste
If you are not for zero waste, how much waste are you for?
Environment
Through managing our water and waste, and funding renewable energy, we support healthy and clean communities.
Scroll through the categories below to learn more about our Environment-related Programs & Initiatives.
Disposal
Definition
Final placement or riddance of wastes, under proper process and authority, by landfill or incineration.
Recover
Definition
Recovery uses various technologies to convert waste material into usable forms of energy, including heat, fuel, or electricity.
Recycle
Definition
Recycling refers to diverting products from disposal at the end of their useful lives. This includes sorting, transporting, and processing them to produce secondary sources of materials that are subsequently used in the production of new goods.
Composting is considered to be a form of recycling and is defined as is a biological process that breaks down kitchen, lawn, and garden wastes into soil-like material called humus.
Reuse
Definition
Reusing involves the use of a product more than once without altering its form, whether for the same or for a different purpose.
Why reuse?
The goal of reuse is to keep using items as long as they have a function or value. Municipalities can support reuse by linking those who have items with those who want them through events, standalone facilities, or dedicated areas of recycle depots or landfill centers.
The benefits of reuse include:
Reduce
Definition
Source reduction, also called waste prevention, means consuming and throwing away less. Source reduction can be achieved by purchasing durable, long-lasting goods, as well as seeking products and packaging that represent a reduction in materials, energy consumption or toxicity.
Waste Reduction
How do we reduce waste?
A common approach to waste management that begins with the 3R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle. When the 3Rs have been exhausted, recovery and disposal can enter the bottom of the hierarchy as last resorts.
What are other provinces doing?
Other provinces across Canada have implemented, or are in the process of implementing, a form of EPR regulations which include British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Québec. The Atlantic provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador initiated studies on developing a regulated EPR system in 2014, but no formal decisions have been made yet. Below are brief descriptions of what provinces around Canada are doing.
EPR Links and Resources
Do you want to learn more about EPR? Several news media outlets have reported on the recycling challenges in Alberta and how EPR is one of the solutions.
Why do we need an EPR Packaging and Paper program?
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