Have you ever thought, “My office could be greener. I just don’t know how.” Well, here us out. 2020’s a new year. It’s the time to make something happen. If you want to make your Toronto business more eco-friendly and green, here are 14 simple ways to help you achieve that.

14 Simple Tips Any Toronto Business Can Do to Go Green, Recycle More, and Waste Less

Upgrade, fix, reuse

You want your office looking its’ absolute best. With that comes new equipment, furniture, and appliances, and removing what’s old. Unfortunately, the waste this mentality has produced is sizeable. Is it possible to simply upgrade existing equipment, fix your furniture, or find a way to repurpose or reuse it – if not, consider making a donation to a local charity. Even if you delay having to throw something out by six months, this still makes an impact.

Appoint a waste supervisor

Every office should have a waste management and recycling supervisor appointed. This is someone who is passionate about keeping your company green and eco-friendly. This person will set short-term and long-term goals, and help research future opportunities for you to continue developing recycling initiatives in the most economical way possible.

Reduce commutes

Some employees coming to your office probably have sizeable commutes to conquer just to arrive there. Is there a way to allow them to work remotely – this doesn’t have to be every day. Allowing them to work from home one or two days a week can help reduce your business’ emissions, cutting down on energy usage in the city.

Rent a dumpster

If you aren’t already set up with a program, every Toronto business that wants to go green deserves a dumpster rental that can be filled and picked up regularly. This gives you a place to put your waste, allows you to monitor it, and can motivate a switch to a more recycle-friendly culture.

Contribute to local programs

Look at local community-based programs focusing on recycling, wildlife protection, or maintaining the environment. Connecting with an organization that’s doing something good is a strategy employed by corporations who struggle to offset their carbon emissions. For a general office, it’s an approach to make a positive difference through financial contributions or promotions without having to change much in the office.

Connect with green suppliers

Are the companies, business partners, and waste disposal company you work with using eco-friendly, green practices – if not, consider making the switch to brands that are. In business, the connections we make and the relationships we carry affect a lot about our waste footprint. Looking at making a significant impact from an environmental perspective? Examine the relationships you maintain and identify opportunities for change.

Use less paper

Chances are, your office is already doing this. Instead of printing our memos, employee announcements, reports for meetings, and other communications, take the opportunity to go digital. Using email for such things, you can cut down on the print materials that have to be recycled.

Initiate a trade-in program

If you sell products requiring customers to upgrade or throw out old product semi-regularly, a Toronto corporation wanting to be eco-friendly can launch a trade-in program. An initiative like this helps keep our groundwater clean, eliminates environmental hazards, and can help you recycle the products you’re putting out there into the universe.

Donate or recycle old electronics

Printers, computers, and old electronics. Every office has them. Instead of sending them to the landfill, find an electronic waste collector who’s willing to take them or alternatively, if they’re usable, donate them. This is a great way to recycle and reuse in a Toronto office, saving you money on disposal as well as on your waste footprint.

Plant a garden

A garden is a great way to keep the local surroundings beautiful while committing to natural means of reducing emission. A small garden on your property sends a message. You can, of course, plant a larger garden, or even choose to bring in community stakeholders to help keep up with it.

Start a compost

In Toronto, we oftentimes struggle with having enough space to, well, do anything! For offices fortunate to have a little extra property to work with, starting a compost reduces food waste in the kitchen and reduces the amount of waste you have to pay to have picked up.

Plant trees

There are several organizations and programs out there encouraging financial contributions towards planting trees. If an office is looking to offset carbon emissions, this is a direct way to do so. Every tree comes with their own assigned value in terms of how much carbon they are expected to remove from our environment.

Get set up with a recycling facility

There are several reasons to connect with a recycling facility. The first is to have places to send office recycling in Toronto you generate or collect from customers. The second is, if you’re a manufacturer, to buy recycled materials. The use of quality recycled materials oftentimes cuts down on energy usage and can help a company ‘green-ify’ themselves!

Divide up waste and recycling

If you don’t already divide up your waste, set up two containers – one for waste and the other with recyclables. Thankfully, most businesses in Toronto already divide up their waste but some don’t. It also is worth including a sheet of what is or isn’t recyclable. Still, a lot of cross-contamination happens. No one wants to ruin a collection of recyclables by including a non-recyclable item with everything.

When you follow these tips, you may end up uncovering other ways for your office to go eco-friendly. There are many, many opportunities out there! Don’t forget to communicate with employees and your peers, ensuring everyone’s on board and aware of the waste disposal program you’ve launched.

If your employees know you’re passionate about recycling and going green and that you’re following your own rules, they’ll be more motivated to do the same. Be the example and get inspired! Small changes can lead to big changes in any company, no matter the industry. For waste disposal services in Toronto and the GTA, contact Core Mini Bins. We can help with same day service, dumpster rentals, mini bin rentals, and more. Everything you need to make the effort to go and stay green, you’ll find with Core Mini Bins. Don’t hesitate to reach out.

Source: https://www.garbagebinrentals.ca/waste-collection-removal-disposal-blog/748-14-simple-tips-any-toronto-business-can-do-to-go-green-recycle-more-and-waste-less.html

The winter weather in Canada has just begun to arrive but with the colder temperatures and snowy conditions, waste disposal suddenly gets complicated. Let’s say you have some old furniture to move, you can’t just leave it at the road if you want someone to pick it up for reuse. Junk removal services are needed to get it elsewhere and in shelter.

Though winter does complicate things a little, speaking from the perspective of a Toronto junk removal service, it’s not so bad. Just like our customers go to work, go grocery shopping, and catch up with friends and loved ones, we work through the same weather to get stuff done. Looking to get some junk removal done this winter? There are a few things you can do to assist the junk removal process. Here’s how you can do a junk removal in winter.

Where to Go for a Junk Removal Service in Winter Anywhere in Toronto or the GTA

The advantage of hiring a junk removal service in winter

A junk removal service has equipment to get your waste gone quickly and efficiently. They generally also have relationships with recycling facilities, charity organizations, and similar resources ensuring your junk is going to all the right places. They save you the hassle of taking away all the waste yourself. All the heavy lifting, it’s done! A junk removal company makes it so easy.

Have a plan for what you want to throw out

Junk removal companies are hired to unclutter and clean spaces like offices and households. Unfortunately, not everyone always knows what they want to throw out or keep. Before the contractors arrive, know what you want gone. It may be overwhelming seeing the empty space or removing yourself from the potentially emotional connections to certain items. We’ve been there. That said, when you’re unclear about what’s being tossed, it slows things down.

Move everything to the doorway

Unless you live in a condo where rules might be a little different, in a household on the ground, move everything to the doorway if you can. Much like you would for movers, a junk removal company’s going to want easy access to anything they’re going to get their hands on. During winter, time is of the essence with cold and snowy conditions sometimes complicating the pick-up process. Items at the door is the best way you can help who you’ve hired.

Lay down mats, carpet, or towels

Even if your winter Toronto junk removal crew is only two people, if they’re walking in and out of your home, entranceway mats and carpet prevent them from staining your floor or creating a slipping hazard. No matter how careful someone is, there’s always going to be some moisture, road salt, and snow that get tracked in. Mats and carpet can catch that as well and prevent spreading all over the home.

Clear off the walkway

You want to give yourself a safe place to lay your items down, to avoid slipping yourself, and of course to make it as easy as possible to move things. Shovel snow away to keep the outdoor walkway clear. In junk removal, sometimes workers handle large pieces of furniture from big cabinets to extended couches. This is difficult to do even a sunny day. A clear path goes a long way in keeping things moving speedily.

Get a pet-friendly room ready

This applies if you’re having a junk removal company actually come into your home. Opening and closing the door means the opportunity for pets to escape into the cold. If you’ve got contractors coming in, ensure you have a comfy room in your home where you can put your favourite pet in. Ensure they’re equipped with everything to feel safe, secure, and snug.

Do I need a dumpster rental instead?

Some projects you may prefer to have a dumpster rental instead of junk removal. For things like small constructions or renovations, a dumpster can be advantageous as you create waste throughout the course of the project. If you’re not moving big pieces like couches, appliances, and other furniture, smaller items and general construction waste can be contained in a dumpster, mini bin rental, or similar arrangement with your waste disposal company.

How much is a junk removal during winter?

The prices for junk removal in winter are no different than they would be during summer. For contractors, it may be more challenging but the service is generally the same and the cost is similar.

Is there anything a junk removal service won’t take?

As long as it can be lifted and it isn’t hazardous waste, a junk removal service can take almost anything. Just some of the junk that we’ve picked up in winter includes electronics, TVs, appliances, carpeting, renovation waste, furniture, hot tubs, mattresses and box springs, refrigerators, tires, household trash, yard waste, glass, exercise equipment pool tables, printers, computers, pianos, and more.

What happens to my junk after it gets picked up?

The answer to “what happens to your waste after a junk removal company picks it up” depends. Most will try to recycle or reuse as much of it as possible. A lot of junk that gets removed are furniture that can be donated or contain materials with a value to them. Some recycling environments will dismantle junk, almost like a scrap yard, and see if there’s anything to sell.

Sorting through your old stuff, there are also a handful of local charities ready and willing to take things like furniture and/or electronics. If what you’re throwing out still works or are lightly used, they can be repurposed and given to families in need or sold for profit on behalf of these organizations. Any donations that can be made will be made, from your junk, at least when an environmentally-friendly team’s hired.

Junk removal anywhere in Toronto any time this winter. If you need Core Mini Bins, we are there. We also offer dumpster rentals and more. If you need waste removed and disposed of, let us provide a little assistance. We’ll ensure anything that can be reused and/or recycled gets to the right place, and anything that needs to be sent to the landfill gets there safe and sound. High quality, reliable, safe, eco-friendly junk removal that’s always affordable and easily arranged according to your schedule. Call Core Mini Bins today.

Source: https://www.garbagebinrentals.ca/waste-collection-removal-disposal-blog/747-where-to-go-for-a-junk-removal-service-in-winter-anywhere-in-toronto-or-the-gta.html

Toronto is Canada’s largest city and with that size comes challenges, one of them being waste management. Though our recycling system has come so far in the past decade, the GTA still carries a lot of myths and misconceptions about what’s recyclable and what isn’t in Toronto.

Debunking the most common of these, we hope to shine a light on how recycling’s moving forward in the GTA as an industry and as a waste management policy shared between stakeholders from all backgrounds.

Debunking the Top Common Recycling Myths in Toronto

Myth – Everything’s recyclable

You’d think by what Torontonians put into their recycling bins, anything and everything is recyclable. Unfortunately this isn’t quite true yet. What ends up happening is called cross-contamination. When recycling bins are contaminated with food, food by-products, or non-recyclables, this affects what can be recycled.

Myth – Biodegradable is recyclable

Just because something is biodegradable does not mean it is necessarily recyclable or an eco-friendly product. Biodegradable means that a product degrades in a natural environment. In degradation, a product can emit very toxic fumes and technically, still be considered ‘biodegradable’. Also, some biodegradables require specific conditions for them to degrade. If conditions aren’t met, a product can sit in our lakes or in our streets and take a very long time before eventually degrading.

Myth – A lot of recycling still goes to our landfills

This is, in part, true. Recyclables that are contaminated or without value get sent to landfills or diverted towards waste-to-energy facilities. The numbers however of how much recycling is diverted has been exaggerated.

Myth – Recycling in Toronto doesn’t include electronics

There are recycling depots in Toronto accepting electronics, hazardous waste materials, and more. If you have what you believe to be a recyclable item, go online and see if there’s a recycling depot nearby. If you cannot find a recycling facility near you to accept materials excluded from your bin, you may find luck with a local charity organization if it’s something reusable.

Myth – Recyclables are always recyclable

Unfortunately, there are numerous ways to render your recyclables as close to worthless as is possible. The most common is contaminating it with grease, such as a cardboard pizza box covered in grease from the pizza. The cardboard is recyclable but once it’s covered in grease stains, it can’t be recycled anymore and has to go in the waste bin. This sort of stuff happens frequently in Canadian recycling facilities. In fact, sometimes, entire bins have to be given as waste because of a food-related contamination.

Myth – Recycling’s not worth the trouble

When we recycle, we make such a positive difference to our environment. We reduce greenhouse gas emissions when we recycle, save energy in the production of new materials, conserve water and reduce water use, protect our natural resources in Ontario from development, and that’s not all. Economically, we conserve available landfill space, and recycling continues to create 1,000s of jobs for Canadians in and around Toronto as well as all over Canada.

Myth – Canada’s recycling industry as a whole is in a state of crisis

When China decided it was no longer going to be accepting waste from foreign countries, Canada’s recycling industry was set spinning – albeit briefly. In cities like Toronto, recycling continues to be collected and diverted into reuse. In cities alone, thousands of bales of paper, plastics, and metals are created, and the recycling industry hasn’t stalled.

Myth – Torontonians don’t want to recycle

Toronto has taken a very hands-off approach to recycling, somewhat shocking consider the number of new residents the City welcomes every year. New and existing Canadians in Toronto want to recycle but they may not know what’s accepted. This requires the city to distribute education and to make it a point to communicate to citizens what’s recyclable. As the industry continues to advance, we expect to see the list of recyclables increase significantly. An education-based approach should already be in effect but unfortunately this isn’t the case.

Myth – Canada’s recycling is being refused from countries like China

China has refused to accept only certain recyclable plastics and paper, alongside other waste products. Canada continues to send high amounts of recyclables and scraps to China. Approximately 25 percent of all Canada’s exported paper continues to go to China.

Myth – It doesn’t make enough of a difference for households to recycle

You may look at the landscape of waste disposal, recycling, eco-friendliness, ‘being green’, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change, and think, “I’m just one person. I’m just one household. I’m not making that big of a difference. So what’s the point?” Well, the truth is recycling’s a good thing no matter what. If every household on your street did their part in recycling, that’s a lot. If more households in Toronto recycled, that’s a lot of power. Do our corporations and larger companies need to do their part – absolutely! BUT, everyday households and Canadians have more influence than you may think in how recycling works.

Myth – Single use products are ok if they’re biodegradable

The elimination of single-use non-biodegradable products is something we’re going to have to confront in the years ahead. That said, what about single-use that are biodegradable? Well, though they’re an improvement, why some environmentalists may disagree with their use is because of the fact that they can’t be recycled. In efforts to get to a waste-free society, the elimination of single-use products including those that are biodegradable is a subject up for debate.

Myth – All plastics are unrecyclable

There are nearly a dozen different kinds of plastic – some recyclable and others which aren’t. Unfortunately right now Canada-wide, only 11 percent of our plastics are recycled. The rest end up in our rivers and waterways, in landfills, or mixed in with other waste products. Toronto and Canada aren’t doing enough to tap into our plastic recycling potential.

Myth – Recycling is complicated

Recycling in Toronto, as a part of the GTA’s waste management strategy, is not simple but it’s solutions-oriented. Needless to say, it’s far from complicated. The industry is still developing, with new technologies and facilities arriving every year. There’s a lot of promise ahead, jobs to be created, and economic prosperity.

As advocates for a more eco-friendly, sustainable Toronto, we support high-efficiency waste management and recycling in the GTA. For waste disposal, junk removal services, dumpster rentals, and more, contact Core Mini Bins today.

Source: https://www.garbagebinrentals.ca/waste-collection-removal-disposal-blog/746-debunking-the-top-common-recycling-myths-in-toronto.html

On the subject of the holidays, there’s generally two themes every family deals with – gift buying and consumption. Money’s going out and ‘stuff’ is coming in. Unfortunately, this creates a lot of waste in cardboard boxes, ornaments, wrapping paper and gift bags, excess food, packaging, and more.

Companies in waste management and disposal are put on high alert come the holidays, as we know full-well that there’s going to be a big uptick in waste the week following Christmas. Households and businesses can do more to minimize their waste without affecting the quality or atmosphere of their Christmas. We’ve chosen to give a quick account of some of the easier, simpler steps to take at caring for the environment and having an eco-friendly Christmas this year.

Tips on How to Have an Eco-Friendly Christmas with Recycling Strategies and More!

Shop locally

eCommerce has quite the pull and while buying gifts via online shopping can be tempting, shopping locally is much more eco-friendly. That’s because shopping online requires a lot more packaging and transportation, meaning more greenhouse gases and more waste in general. Seeking out local stores and gifts from places like vintage shops or thrift stores is where to go.

What’s the environmental impact of your Christmas gifts?

Consider the environment when purchasing Christmas and holiday gifts for family and friends. Buying products made from sustainable materials, choosing reusable products rather than single-use, and even doing something like picking up an e-reader instead of a collection of books all have a positive environmental impact.

Go without wrapping paper

For a lot of people, wrapping paper is a necessary part of Christmas but unfortunately, it’s not amazingly eco-friendly. Wrapping paper is essentially just fancy waste paper. Reduce your footprint by either not using wrapping paper at all or repurposing newspapers, flyers, or other papers in the place of purpose-bought materials.

Still want to buy wrapping paper? Make sure it’s recyclable!

What makes wrapping paper unrecyclable is any glitter, dye, plastic, or foil included. If you absolutely must buy wrapping paper, you will want to ensure it’s a recyclable design. They do make recyclable wrapping paper for Christmas, giving you the same ability to wrap like a superstar but without the ramifications it usually takes on the environment.

Be cautious about how much food you buy

Maybe you’ve never had this problem at your house but roughly 7 in 10 Canadians admit to buying more food than they need during the holiday season. We get it. The holidays are a time for merriness, indulgence, and to be festive! While we don’t want to take away from that, ask yourself when you’re buying a box of cookies or something similar whether it’s needed or just accompaniment.

Make a Christmas donation!

Especially if you have kids, making a donation to a local thrift store or charity is an encouraging eco-friendly holiday act. In this vein, maybe you want to look around your home for items or products you received last year that you haven’t used or other goods you no longer want. Removing these and giving them to a charity or family in need may make someone else’s Christmas a lot more special.

Do not use single-use plates and cutlery

You may not want to be doing any dishes on Christmas but heck, set them aside for December 26 instead. Single-use plastics, cutlery, plates, and other plastics are entirely unnecessary and environmentally problematic. Choose to use the real thing rather than going for plastic disposables.

Do crafts instead of buying new ornaments

At Christmastime we have the ability to do some pretty heavy buying on ornaments and decorations. Although a lot of them are reusable, a lot are also non-biodegradable and made from plastics. Instead of going to these commercially-branded non-recyclables, create some decorations or ornaments yourself. Choose to go about a craft-friendly Christmas! You’d be surprised by how much money you can save doing crafts at home and the positive impact this choice will have on the environment.

Don’t buy an artificial tree

Artificial Christmas trees have been promoted as an eco-friendly alternative to purchasing an authentic tree from a farm however the truth is that the more environmentally friendly option between the two is real over artificial.

Artificial Christmas trees are made from plastics and oil-based products, usually manufactured overseas and having to be transported to cities like Toronto, they can’t be composted, and they can’t be recycled. The David Suzuki Foundation has even come out stating Canadians should avoid purchasing trees made of these PVC plastics which are non-environmentally friendly.

Compare that to natural, real Christmas trees which grow on these farms for up to 15 years, producing oxygen and which are recyclable. Although this is perhaps a controversial sentiment to some, purchasing a real Christmas tree from a local Ontario farmer gets you something recyclable and is supporting local industry.

Recycle your real Christmas tree

After Christmas is done, don’t be letting your Christmas tree go to the landfill. Instead, seek out local organizations or drop-offs collecting them. There are generally many places offering to recycle your Christmas tree. They end up cut down and reused in a number of paper or wood products.

Choose solar-powered lights or LEDs

Did you know some parts of the Earth are up to 50 percent visibly brighter from NASA satellites between end of November and New Year’s Day – it’s true! This demonstrates a lot of energy in process of being used. Instead of wasting this energy on traditional, non-environmentally sustainable lights, switch to either solar-powered lights or energy-efficient LEDs. This is an easy choice to make, with the majority of lights being sold in stores these days already being energy-efficient.

Will you be having an eco-friendly Christmas?

An eco-friendly Christmas is challenging but fully possible! Look around your home this holiday season and ask yourself what opportunities exist to create a beautifully sound, environmentally sustainable Christmas. Many are often surprised by how much waste their households create at this time of year and how much of it can be switched out for more eco-friendly Christmas alternatives. Although some of these eco-friendly tips might be unexpected, they can make a real difference in the world and to our environment.

Core Mini Bins is passionate about an environmentally friendly Christmas and holiday season. Opportunities exist for improving current waste creation, management, and disposal practices around the busiest time of year. Let’s help protect our environment, with an eco-friendly holiday.

Source: https://www.garbagebinrentals.ca/waste-collection-removal-disposal-blog/745-tips-on-how-to-have-an-eco-friendly-christmas-with-recycling-strategies-and-more.html

It’s absolutely mindboggling how much money Canada throws away every year in its waste management systems. There are a decent number of items put into our landfills which can be exchanged for money, worth a great deal to the rapidly advancing recycling industry.

A huge criticism of the environmental, climate change, and recycling movements has been it negatively impacts jobs or is anti-business. This isn’t exactly accurate to the reality of waste management however. The more we put into our landfills, the less money we save. The space in our landfills is very valuable. As you’ll find in the following sections, the truth about recycling in Canada is that it’s creating jobs and saving money – and it can continue to do that, if we let it.

Does Recycling Create Jobs or Save Money – See How Landfills are Wasting our Money!

Are you sure that recycling creates jobs?

Consider the recycling industry as a sort of underdeveloped category of waste management. After all, that’s pretty much what it is. In the last decade, as we’ve seen it develop, we have acquired verifiable evidence that recycling’s been creating jobs and will continue to. On average, recycling creates at least 9 times more jobs than our current landfills and incinerators have. This is due to all the sorting and processing, sale, reuse, and remanufacturing that any recycling brings with it.

What do current statistics show about working in recycling?

In the current Canadian waste management industry, it’s estimated that there are 25,000 jobs across landfills and incinerators. Comparatively, Canada’s list of recycling jobs number closer to 125,000 people. This is where the recycling industry jobs v. waste management industry jobs comparison is at today, although increasingly we have seen a shift towards more and more employment and business opportunity based around recycling.

How many jobs could Canada create with recycling?

Canada’s recycling rate varies according to city and region, although nation-wide statistics usually refer to somewhere between 27-35 percent. This certainly is not very high. A recent study analyzing the economic impact of recycling in Canada suggests that an increase of the Canadian recycling rate to 75 percent could create up to 1.1 million new jobs.

What are some of the jobs recycling has created?

Unlike general waste management, recycling has the potential to create so many different categories of jobs and work. Some of these jobs are manufacturing related, such as those who make the recycling equipment. There are also those who work at facilities that collect, process, and prepare discarded materials for sorting and recycling. There are reuse stores and facilities selling recycled items to the general public. There are also specialized facilities oftentimes with corporate partnerships who will accept recycled materials and turn them into new products.

Every year, new recycling businesses are starting in Canada

Canada has yet to see a year in over two decades where the number of recycling businesses decreases. There are already strong markets built to accumulate, recycle, and sell common materials like paper, plastic, aluminum, glass, and metal. This is probably as you expect. There’s also so much more, from organic recycling facilities to toner cartridge recycling facilities, construction material recycling, household goods, clothing and textiles, and over 200 other categories of recycling. This is an industry flourishing at a time when the world really needs it.

Why it’s important for Canada to focus on recycling

Economically, Canada will be literally throwing money away in the trash if we continue maintaining such a low recycling rate. Where there’s money to be made, make it! On top of that, Canada’s fortunate in having so much beautiful nature to explore and seemingly untouched environments. As we continue to accumulate more population from other countries and have families ourselves, it’s important that in all this development, we protect the resources and environment that make Canada what it is. To some degree, you might say it’s a patriotic investment to focus in on recycling as an economic and conservation move.

Why some say Canada’s recycling industry is broken

Canada pays for a lot of processes in its waste management that it doesn’t have to. Our governments pay to collect and dump waste, we pay to have it hauled off to other countries as exported waste such as to parts of Asia, and like other countries, when there’s a surplus of recyclable materials, we sometimes pay to have them thrown into landfills or they are incinerated. The industry is still developing which unfortunately means mistakes are being made, stakeholders are still learning, and there’s a lot of opportunities being missed. In the years to come we hope things change but if there ever was a viable criticism of how we recycle in Canada currently, this is it.

Did you know we can recycle almost anything?

It’s true that we can recycle almost any material that is non-toxic. The issue right now is that we either don’t have the facilities to do so or the market hasn’t developed to make it economically sensible to collect, process, and sell certain materials. To this point, there are so many underdeveloped opportunities in the worldwide recycling industry that is entirely not Canada’s fault. Even so, how much money we derive annually from recycling could increase so much assuming we made concrete commitments to building the facilities we need to adequate sort, process, and sell these less popular materials.

Saving money with more composting

We all create food waste from our scraps, crumbs, foods that spoil, and more. Food waste is an inevitability for any and every household. This is an example of an opportunity in our current recycling and waste management practices which is largely undeveloped. Although we bag organic waste and send it off to waste management centers for sorting, we could cut down on the strain this puts on our waste systems by emphasizing a culture of composting. If every household, apartment building, or condo development had their own composting area or composting center, this would eliminate thousands of pounds of waste trucks would otherwise have to pick up.

As a waste disposal company, Core Mini Bins wants to see cities like Toronto step up and keep their streets, businesses, and properties clean and green. As the recycling industry continues developing, we can’t wait to see what happens next and the many, many jobs which will be created!

Source: https://www.garbagebinrentals.ca/waste-collection-removal-disposal-blog/744-does-recycling-create-jobs-or-save-money-see-how-landfills-are-wasting-our-money.html

Single use waste might be one of the most obvious threats to eco-friendly waste management and recycling strategies in Canada. ‘Single use’ is defined as any product that is used once and then disregarded as waste, with no value to the product. There are a number of single use materials provided to consumers that continue to damage our environment.

Green cities like Toronto have been in discussion about banning certain single use items and corporations like grocery stores continue to play their part in reducing the presence of single use materials. Are we doing enough though – with alternatives readily available, many environmentalists would say no.

What Are the Worst Single Use Waste Products We Could Reduce or Ban in Canada – see here!

Plastic straws

Plastic straws aren’t accepted in municipal recycling programs. In Canada, roughly 57 million straws are used every day. This single-use plastic is unnecessary. These days, you can be paper straws which are more eco-friendly than their plastic counterpart. Alternatively, there are also reusable straws you can enjoy whenever you like.

Ziploc bags

Yes, Ziploc bags and similar plastic sandwich bags are single-use and non-recyclable. In fact, they’re similar to plastic grocery bags or shopping bags. Unfortunately, these are very popular. The average Canadian family is believed to use about 500 Ziplocs per year. It’s unclear how reduction strategies could be employed with a population fixated on using Ziplocs so often.

Coffee cups

Coffee cups and their lids have an oil-based polyethylene plastic lining inside. This lining does not separate well from the paper shell. This ultimately creates a product that is not really recyclable. In Toronto alone, we throw away 1 million disposable coffee cups a day. This is really bad news! Recycling plants don’t have the means of processing these which means a serious conversation needs to be had with coffee suppliers, such as Starbucks and Tim Hortons.

Plastic cutlery

If you’re having a celebration or a party and you don’t want to have much of a mess to clean afterwards, a lot of people will go to their nearest store and pick up some single-use disposable cutlery and plates. The cutlery is made from plastic. These are also included in fast food takeout orders. As you’ve probably guessed, this type of plastic cutlery is all landfill-bound and will take decades to decompose.

Plastic plates

We sometimes purchase plastic plates thinking they are recyclable but it is important to know these oftentimes still end up landfills. Even some recycling machines will recognize plastic plates as paper and sort them accordingly, creating cross-contamination that can’t be saved. Manufacturers are in the beginning stages of switching to similar single-use eco-friendly plates made from materials like palm leaves, bamboo, paper, and sugarcane. These are still in development stages though.

Plastic wrap

Plastic wrap such as the type you would use to wrap a sandwich is non-recyclable. Also known as ‘cling wrap’, the world would be far better off not having any plastic wrap in it. As with other plastics, the chemicals and resins added into plastic wrap make it too hard to recycle. The alternatives that exist include wax paper and beeswax paper, both organic, although these aren’t used with regularity here in Canada.

Plastic takeout containers

When we end up full at a restaurant and want to take the rest of our meal home, we’re given plastic takeout containers. These are meant for single-use. This type of disposable packaging is among a large category of packaging which is manufactured at a rate of $25.3 billion per year. The problem of plastic takeout containers can resolve itself by the customer bringing their own containers or alternatively, a restaurant providing recyclable containers. This has yet to happen, in any big numbers.

Single-use plastic rings

We aren’t talking about diamond rings here. These are plastic rings usually in the form of 6 together, applied around plastic bottles to keep them together. Thankfully, reusable plastic rings have been developed however they aren’t in use by every beverage company. As with other plastics which aren’t biodegradable or recyclable, these rings end up in our natural environment usually eaten by birds or sea mammals and cause a lot of harm.

Plastic shopping bags

Grocery bags and shopping bags made from plastic are very damaging to our environment. They’re difficult to sort, are single-use of course, and the plastic themselves is filled with toxic chemicals. In an effort to reduce consumption, some cities have discussed a permanent ban across these plastics. More than 15 billion of these are thrown out every year and in an age of increasing pressure from environmental activists, it would be a simple change to move from damaging single-use plastics like this.

Plastic water bottles

A lot of plastic bottles for water, Coca-Cola, and other beverages are recyclable. Unfortunately they don’t always end up in recycling. In fact, a recent study found roughly half of all plastic bottles end up in landfills regardless of whether they are made from recyclable materials or not. Yearly, that’s about 65 million wasted bottles. As they degrade, toxic fumes are released. Single-use plastic water bottles are anti-environment, despite their popularity.

Styrofoam

Styrofoam is a material used in packaging a wide array of different products, from food to electronics. Styrofoam, although convenient, in actuality is a horrible material. It takes up to 500 years for it to breakdown, is damaging to our ecology, and more than 14 million tonnes of it is consumed every year. It’s also believed to be a carcinogenic. Arguably more than plastics, Styrofoam is the most problematic single-use waste product in the world.

Food wrappers

Unless it’s paper, you will find a lot of food wrappers are unfortunately not very eco-friendly. In some cases, it’s unavoidable that these wrappers are used. In others though, there may be alternatives. A lot of food packaging manufacturers continue to explore using recyclable materials. This continues to be mainly exploratory however and hasn’t really sufficed to any significant action.

Single-use waste products may not necessarily have to be banned but there’s no questioning we’ve got to do more as a city and country to reduce their use wherever possible. Do we need all of these single-use materials – not in every case. There are opportunities to use more eco-friendly alternatives. As a top waste disposal service in Toronto and the GTA, Core Mini Bins puts a lot of support behind a future of reusing, reducing, and recycling.

Source: https://www.garbagebinrentals.ca/waste-collection-removal-disposal-blog/743-what-are-the-worst-single-use-waste-products-we-could-reduce-or-ban-in-canada-see-here.html

There’s been a lot of talk in Canada about climate change. How to fight it seemingly isn’t something we can agree on as a country however we are all on the same page that climate change is happening.

The model we currently have in Canada for how we make and dispose of waste is inefficient. We’re heading for what could be a waste management disaster years from now as we stand likely to overwhelm ourselves with plastics and toxic materials. From an ecological, business, environmental, and financial perspective, if Canada wants to fight climate change, a circular economy is a winning strategy.

If Canada Really Wants to Fight Climate Change, Creating a Circular Economy is a Start

What is a circular economy?

A circular economy is a waste management and resource circulation approach that focuses on using materials which can be recovered, recycled, and reused. For example, a Coca-Cola aluminum can be purchased and then, recovered to be recycled and used again and again. Circular in its disposal, this minimizes what’s sent to our landfills. An economy like this reduces output into a landfill to near zero, saving valuable space.

Why is a circular economy advantageous to Canada?

Circular economies has many benefits in Canada, including creating new categories of management in waste disposal, creating more jobs, maintaining a greener environment and as mentioned, saving space in our landfills. It would involve slowly phasing out single-use items, dangerous or toxic materials, and encouraging innovation in the form of reusable, recyclable materials.

Where would the most benefit come from?

There are a lot of categories of manufacturing and consumption that produce a lot of waste. Clothing and apparel, for example, recycles less than 1 percent of its materials. The food and beverage industry sends 63 million tonnes of waste annually to the landfill. Consumer packaged goods, food packaging, and the eCommerce industry are also very big polluters. These categories can find tremendous benefits in switching to reusable, more eco-friendly materials.

Does Canada have a choice?

If we want to call ourselves an eco-friendly nation and pride ourselves on the care we give to environmental concerns, Canada doesn’t have much of a choice in moving to a circular economy. A lot of manufacturers are already switching to more eco-friendly products and a lot of consumers are better educated on how and where to buy recyclable products. To some degree, the building of Canada’s circular economy is already happening.

What is the economic benefits of recycling in Canada?

In the future, some of our largest corporations in Canada are going to be those in waste management, disposal, and recycling. You wouldn’t think it but there’s a lot of value in our recycling. What we discard as waste can potentially help raise millions of dollars to open new industries, new recycling facilities, and new markets for recycled product. At the same time manufacturers are moving away from non-recyclables, recycling companies in Toronto are opening up new facilities and making it easier to recycle. In the future, the recycling industry is only going to grow!

What if we don’t move to a circular economy?

Assuming Canada were to never move to fully circular economy, we would have a lot of problems. Even at our current rate of waste production, it’s not sustainable long-term. Add to Canada future immigration and we have a large, large population that needs proper waste disposal and recycling services. If we want to preserve Canada’s wilderness, environmental reputation, and commitments to climate change, a circular economy’s so important to the long-term.

What role can businesses play in encouraging a circular economy?

In this case, business is more powerful right now than any government in Canada at least as it relates to recycling and waste disposal. Our small businesses and corporations have a massive role to play in achieving a circular economy. It is up to them to make the moves to find eco-friendly suppliers, to sell recyclable products, and to use their power to encourage their partners to make the switch to more environmentally sustainable materials. A circular economy’s only possible if we all play a role in getting there and keeping us there.

What can I do to encourage a circular economy in Toronto?

It is far more likely that before Canada achieves a circular economy, cities like Toronto will. Consumers can play their part by simply having a conversation, educating themselves on the products they’re buying, and casting their vote for a circular economy every day by choosing green, eco-friendly options wherever possible. A lot of us may not know it but our money and voices hold a lot of power. When we share stories on social media, talk with our friends, and arguably most importantly spend our dollar, this all sends a message. To those who do, continue to do so!

Can we live in a world of no single-use materials?

Single-use materials cause a lot of waste. Things like plastic shopping bags, plastic straws, plastic bottles, and more can be very toxic and take up a lot of space. Unless the material is biodegradable or very recycle-friendly, it is unlikely that a circular economy can include any system where single-use products exist. For a lot of single-use materials, thankfully, there are already alternatives. The world is changing. We’ve just got to let it happen and maybe try to encourage it a little.

We are losing money in our current waste economy

The World Resources Institute estimates that every year, the world loses about $4.5 trillion in the current model of take-make-waste. This is essentially money we are sending down the drain. A circular economy could recoup the money we are losing in our current consumption model. A switch to a circular economy however would require the giving up of our current waste management approach which focuses on how to dispose of waste and continue consuming wasteful products. It means moving towards a circular economy approach which is as follows:

 To prevent the use of non-recyclable resources.
 To decrease the use of resources overall.
 To find new product use in reusable waste.
 To maintain and repair waste products.
 To refurbish and improve waste products.
 To remanufacture and create new products from old.
 To repurpose waste products for different purposes.
 To re-use the raw materials of waste products.
 To recover energy from waste products.

If Canada wants to do its part at minimizing the effects of climate change while preserving our environment, join Core Mini Bins in advocating for a circular economy.

Source: https://www.garbagebinrentals.ca/waste-collection-removal-disposal-blog/742-if-canada-really-wants-to-fight-climate-change-creating-a-circular-economy-is-a-start.html