Lots Planned For Waste Reduction Week

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This week is Waste Reduction Week in Canada!

Each day this week, the Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority has planned daily events and activities, plus some great free promo items to help local residents celebrate waste reduction week.

Monday, October 19th: Take Charge!

Bring your spent batteries, cell phones, leftover paint or any other chemical waste to the Public Drop Off and receive a free mini battery box – while supplies last from 9am to 4pm.

Waste Reduction Facts:

• The average Canadian household contains 13 battery powered devices which equals 60 million spent batteries per year.
• One third of Ontarians are incorrectly disposing of their batteries by throwing them in the garbage.
• Batteries and cell phones contain metals that are harmful to the environment if thrown in the garbage.
• There are 2,000 community drop offs in Ontario where residents can drop off batteries and cell phones safely.

Tuesday, October 20th: Baggin’ It
EWSWA staff will be popping up at local grocery stores to talk about how to reduce food and grocery waste! Receive a free reusable grocery bag – while supplies last from 9am to 4pm.

Waste Reduction Facts:

• Over 1 trillion plastic bags are used every year worldwide.
• Ontarians use an estimated 7 million plastic bags each day, which is roughly 80 plastic bags per second.
• Americans use 100 billion plastic bags per year, which requires 12 million barrels of oil per year to manufacture.
• Each reusable bags can eliminate hundreds (if not thousands) of plastic bags.

Wednesday, October 21st: Undercover Coffee
EWSWA staff will be popping up at local coffee shops to catch people in the act of reducing waste. If you get ‘caught’ recycling, you’ll win a prize between the hours of 9am to 4pm.

Waste Reduction Fact:

• Canadians throw 1.6 billion paper coffee cups in the garbage per year. If coffee drinkers switched to a reusable coffee cup, it would reduce the amount of paper we throw in the garbage by 10 kg (23 pounds) per coffee drinker per year.

Thursday, October 22nd: Clean House
Divert gently used items (i.e. books, clothes, or furniture) from the landfill by donating it to Goodwill. Drop off a donation to Goodwill and you’ll receive a free recycle box! (one box per vehicle0 It runs from 9am to 4pm.

Friday, October 23rd: Wacky Worms
They will be hosting mini worm composting demos all day. Stop by and buy some composting worms for only $10 (reg. $50). You must register to participate in this program. Call 1-800-563-3377 to register.  It will be held at the Public Drop Off Depot from 9am to 3pm.

Waste Reduction Fact:

• Vermicomposting lets us recycle just like nature does. A vermicomposting unit mimics natural processes, allowing organic waste to break down into nutrient-rich compost, which can be returned to the soil to help new things grow.
• Organics comprise 39% of our daily household waste.

Saturday, October 24th: Selfie Saturday
Are you reducing, reusing or recycling? Tweet us a ‘selfie’ of your finest waste reduction action today! Prizes will be awarded for best environmental selfie! Tweet us @ewswa

Sunday, October 25th: Get the LED Out!
Start changing your incandescent light bulbs to LED light bulbs! LEDs lasts 20 times longer than an incandescent light bulb, as well as reducing the manufacturing, packaging, and shipping footprints.

Waste Reduction Facts:

• Energy savings: they use at least 75 percent less energy than incandescents.
• Long life, low maintenance: LED lights last 20 to 50 times longer than incandescents and up to 10 times longer than fluorescents.
• Directional light emission: they can direct light where it is needed. (Incandescent and fluorescent bulbs emit light – and heat – in all directions, which is wasteful.)
• Size advantage: LEDs can be very compact and low-profile.
• Durable: unlike bulbs, they have no breakable glass or filaments.
• “Instant on”: LEDs require no warm-up time.