The End of Waste
Green Orillia recently held its Spring 2022 Community Garbage cleanup where folks are invited to help clean up, get outdoors, and build community. But how great would it be to imagine a zero-waste future and a circular organic economy where waste no longer exists?
On February 7 2022, Orillia instituted a clear garbage bag program instead of the usually black bags. The City, in a press release claimed that in the first week of the program: 95% of residents participated by using a clear bag, a rigid container or did not set any garbage out. The weight of garbage collected at the curb decreased by approximately 47% and the organics collected increased by approximately 56% compared to the same collection week in 2021.
While this is a great initiative for waste diversion, why stop there? I have been working with Councillors Mason Ainsworth and Jay Fallis on a Community Survey of Waste Diversion Strategies for Orillia. We have brainstormed six key ideas that the City could adopt around town:
- Cigarette Butt Receptacles. A case study from Oceanside, CA showed installing these downtown and high traffic areas helped keep its streets and beaches cleaner by disposing of 454,953 cigarette butts (170+ pounds) of cigarette butts in the first four years of implementation!
- Water Refill Stations. Single-use plastics, especially water bottles are a serious problem: they solve short-term thirst but create a much longer-term environmental issue. Water refill stations could eliminate these, and help make safe and clean drinking water free for all.
- Waste receptacles at major bus stops with transit shelters. Many of the transit shelters in town lack waste receptacles, resulting in more littered garbage. In fact, in 2017 when a group of Councillors rode Orillia’s transit system to discover for themselves the challenges faced by everyday riders, this was one of their key takeaways/recommendations.
- Legislating restrictions on waste. Shifting responsibility onto producers through Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation, where anyone who makes a product, sells a product or imports a product that’s collected in a blue bin has to pay to recycle its packaging. This legislation is in effect in British Columbia, and at 69 per cent, BC’s recycling rate is the highest recorded in the country. Another idea is for Council to declare a waste-free city by a certain year (e.g. “Zero Waste Orillia 2040”) accompanied by a strategy to achieve it.
- Sharps bins for needle disposal. In 2020, Councillors Fallis and Ainsworth advocated to install needle disposal bins at Orillia’s two busiest parks (Couchiching Beach Park and Tudhope Park), but a majority of Council rejected the idea. While there are a few sharps bins around town, having a variety of public places to properly dispose of sharps is a necessary and meaningful way to keep the community cleaner and safer.
- Better waste receptacles with signage. The majority of receptacles in downtown Orillia are dated metal bins with one small hole for waste. Proper waste receptacles contain at least three different bins to sort different types of waste: garbage, recycling, and compost, with clear and legible waste sorting signage including images.
Which idea do you like best? While each has different costs and considerations, they offer real potential for bringing us closer to a waste-free community! Please vote in the survey! Unfortunately, the survey is restricted to Orillia residents. Not in Orillia but have other thoughts/ideas? Please reach out at greenorillia@gmail.com.
Green Orillia is a community organization dedicated to advocacy and sharing news, events, tips, resources and initiatives for sustainability in Orillia and area. Follow Green Orillia on Facebook and Instagram, sign up for the e-newsletter here, or check out the website.