The National Zero Waste Council brings together representatives of business, governments and community organizations to advance the discussion about waste reduction. Members of the NZWC, among them Malcolm Brodie and Shelley Carroll, recently participated in the Metro Vancouver Zero Waste Conference.
Waste disposal is an issue Canadians need to be aware of and not just in areas that are running out of landfill space, says Shelley Carroll, City of Toronto councillor and representative of the National Zero Waste Council (NZWC), a cross-sector leadership initiative of business, governments and community organizations.
"The first things everyone needs to know is that there is no cheap fix, every option carries significant economic and environmental costs," she explains. "So it's important that we get the amount of residual waste down to a bare minimum."
"Communities have made huge headway by engaging residents. But we need to shift the discussion from how we dispose of garbage to how we create it," says Ms. Carroll.
Malcolm Brodie, chair of the NZWC and mayor of the City of Richmond, says the NZWC hopes to unite Canada in the vision for achieving zero waste – shifting from a 'take, make and throw away' economic model to a circular economy where end-of-life materials are used to create new products, just like in nature, and where manufacturers consciously design products and packaging to be easily disassembled, repaired, reused or recycled.
A recent effort aims to create a tax incentive that supports the donation of healthy and nutritious food items to organizations such as community kitchens, school programs, food banks and others. "Cities from coast to coast have already adopted resolutions to that effect and we hope to get the support of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the federal government," he states.
"Research shows this trend toward a circular economy could be a $4.5-trillion opportunity for sustainable businesses around the world by 2030."
Malcolm Brodie is chair of the Metro Vancouver Zero Waste Committee and mayor of the City of Richmond
Ms. Carroll says, "When we reached out to all levels of government and partners to join us in the action around food waste, we had a huge favourable response from the academic and food security communities."
Mr. Brodie is clear that the initiative is not a panacea intended to solve food security or poverty issues – rather it is a waste reduction measure with strong economic and environmental benefits. It's also an example of the kind of partnership the NZWC is hoping to foster. "Waste reduction can't be just a top-down initiative – everyone has to be involved," he says.
Ms. Carroll says an important avenue for reducing waste is to go further up the supply chain. "We need to look at how we produce, manufacture and harvest."
The imperative for this all-hands-on-deck approach comes from Canada's poor track record. With the generation of 777 kilograms of municipal waste per capita – well above the 17-country average of 578 kilograms per capita – Canada ranked last among 17 OECD nations, according to a 2013 Conference Board of Canada study. "We generate the most garbage per capita, this is something we need to address since it has serious environmental and social implications," says Mr. Brodie.
Ms. Carroll, who also sees the push to a circular economy as critical, says that when she speaks to the public, the message that more has to be done doesn't fall on deaf ears – on the contrary. "No one argues with that," she explains. "People don't say 'I don't like sorting.' They ask what more can be done."
"Research shows this trend toward a circular economy could be a $4.5-trillion opportunity for sustainable businesses around the world by 2030," adds Mr. Brodie. "If we can get all the forces working together on tackling waste prevention and reduction, I think we are going to be quite well off."
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