Participate in Waste Reduction Week

Recycling Councils across Canada will be celebrating Waste Reduction Week, October 16-22, 2006. This, the 6th Annual event, is a campaign of waste reduction involving thousands of Canadians from across the country. Municipalities, schools and businesses will be spreading waste reduction messages and engaging citizens in activities that help to reduce waste and divert waste from landfill. Participating in local Waste Reduction Week events is a great way to discover the many ways you can reduce waste at home, at your workplace and in your community. The choices you make - big and small - really do make a difference.

Waste Reduction Week Theme: Too Good To Waste

Much of the concern around waste management includes the amount of natural resources we are removing from the Earth to produce goods for our use. Some items are meant for long-term use, while others are single-use items. Choosing products with little or no packaging, items that are durable and will last a long time, and practicing the 3Rs of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle will help to reduce waste and reduce our reliance upon landfills. Besides, why bury natural resources when they might be useful for another purpose, or recycled into a different product?

Approximately one-third of what goes to landfill is organic, and much of it could be composted instead. Organic materials do not belong in landfills; they produce methane gas in an oxygen-starved environment. Landfills are not huge composters; on the contrary, they are designed to prevent materials from decomposing! Alberta's goal is to reduce the amount of waste we're sending to landfill by one-third. Today, about 800 kilograms of waste per person goes into our landfills each year. We want to reduce that to 500 kilograms per person by the year 2010. Home composting is a great way to contribute to our provincial goal.

Waste Reduction Week 2006 is a great time to start taking action on waste:

Learn more about waste.
Learn more about composting and waste reduction by searching the Information Centre and Environmental Education websites.
Compare kitchen waste in 2006 to 1905, at A Century of Kitchen Waste. (Note: best viewed using Internet Explorer)
Make a commitment to action – it will extend the life of natural resources and might even save you money, too. Register your activities online.

Get Involved!

Local and National Events Listing Online. Click on "Register" under the appropriate category on the left side to add your event.

Contests for Grade 4 Classes

Participate in the Grade 4 science contest, Reduce Your Waste-Line Challenge, offered in partnership with the Recycling Council of Alberta. Do a waste audit in your classroom. At the end of a one-week period, sort your materials to determine how much could have been diverted from landfill.

Participate in the Grade 4 photo-essay contest, Sort It Out, offered in partnership with ACCESS The Education Station and the Recycling Council of Alberta. Record what your class, school or community does to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Classroom Speakers Available!

Alberta Environment and the Recycling Council of Alberta (RCA) have partnered to develop a "Speaker's Bureau" – a source for speakers on waste management in Alberta. Contact the RCA to see if a speaker is available in your area by e-mailing info@recycle.ab.ca

Businesses and Municipalities

What are you doing to participate in Waste Reduction Week? Learn more about the Recycling Council of Alberta's challenge to you to Reduce Your Waste-Line.

Download the Waste Reduction Week 2006 Poster from the Waste Reduction Week Canada Website:

Or order your own 23.75" x 17.75" copy from us at Alberta Environment

Check out previous Waste Reduction Weeks: 2005

Contact: env.education@gov.ab.ca for more information.

Phone: (780) 427-2700 (toll free by first dialing 310-0000)
Hours of operation: Weekdays, 8:15 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.