The Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA) has presented a plan to eliminate waste in the City of Toronto. TEA’s plan is entitled Zero Waste Toronto: A Vision for Our City.
CUPE 416, which represents a variety of workers across the city including waste management workers, has had a longstanding working relationship with TEA to promote environmentally responsible approaches to waste management.
The City of Toronto presently has the potential to divert 85 per cent of its waste by reducing, reusing, recycling and composting. TEA shows a way to boost this to 100 per cent waste diversion. Steps toward this goal include:
- Requiring equal access to Green Bin organics collection for all buildings – including where people live, work, study and play.
- Reducing food waste at the source and donating unwanted food to social programs, along with composting on a larger, community scale.
- Safely handling toxic materials and supporting the move to fully non-toxic alternatives.
Better community education is one way TEA proposes citizens will support its zero waste plan. CUPE members would play a central role helping to eliminate waste in the City of Toronto while promoting a vibrant, circular economy in the city.