The five-week City of Toronto civic strike, during which rotting garbage piled up on streets and in 26 parks and arenas that were opened as temporary dump sites, may have had at least one positive outcome.
According to a survey conducted on behalf of the Recycling Council of Ontario (RCO), the strike had the affect of “reminding people of the three Rs before they consume.”
The online survey of 1,000 Torontonians found that 68 percent of residents took measures to reduce their waste during the strike.
“I think people started to take some ownership and to look at the garbage that they produce in a different way,” says RCO executive director Jo-Anne St. Godard.
St. Godard says that as the piles of garbage grew, it wasn’t long before the strike “became the talk of the town” and people started to realize that their everyday choices do have an impact.
“I think it became less of an employment and employee discussion and more of an environmental discussion, which presented an opportunity [through the survey] to make sure that it stayed in the forefront of peoples minds.”
The survey also showed that Toronto residents were largely unaware of the amount of waste they produced prior to the strike. Almost half (44 percent) of the respondents reported that they were surprised by the amount of garbage that built up during the strike.
St. Godard says that because garbage is collected regularly by the municipality, people never really get an appreciation of how much garbage is actually being produced and the strike provided an opportunity to bring that realization home.
She points out that while North Americans account for only eight per cent of the Earth’s population, they produce 50 per cent of the world’s garbage, with large urban
centres like Toronto being even more disproportionate.
“It’s a sad comment. I guess it’s part of being a wealthy nation in a wealthy part of the world where we don’t think about consumption because we are so blessed with resources, so we consume without thinking about it. But in fact when you look at where populations are on a per capita basis, we are incredibly wasteful.”
Now that the strike—the longest labour dispute in Toronto’s history—is over, RCO’s goal is for people to continue reducing their waste. St. Godard says that while many will likely go back to “taking their waste for granted,” others will carry on with the practices they initiated during the strike.
“Hopefully this has demonstrated that it’s not really that big a deal—that you can make very small changes that collectively, by the sheer numbers, have great impact. I think the strike will have done that for some.”
What You Can Do:
The following are some simple actions people can take to reduce their waste.
Shopping:
- Choose products that have no or minimal packaging and use reusable shopping bags
- Inquire about the companies you support through your purchases—what role do they play in reducing waste? Do they support and participate in waste reduction activities?
- Take a reusable mug to your favourite local coffee shop—some will even offer you a discount for doing so
- Purchase quality products that will last a lifetime
- When buying a big item like a refrigerator or a washing machine, ask the retailer to take your used unit and recycle it
At Home:
- Reuse glass jars to store small items such as nails, screws and craft supplies rather than throwing them out
- Store leftovers in resealable and reusable containers rather than plastic wrap or aluminum foil
- Use old toothbrushes to clean tiles, shoes, etc.
At Work:
- Donate used working computers (and other useful electronics) to charities or schools and ensure non-working equipment is recycled responsibly
- Ask your employer or building manager if materials in your building are recycled
- Send files over email rather than providing colleagues with a hard copy. If you have to print, use both sides of the paper
- Bring your lunch in reusable containers rather than using plastic bags or purchasing your lunch which can often means excess packaging
Source: Recycling Council of Ontario
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