Waste Reduction

It's time to get serious about trash

We have ambitious goals to reduce the amount of waste going to our landfills. Every year we manage thousands of tonnes of waste, which produces greenhouse gases such as methane, costs money and consumes other resources.

If we're serious about saving the world for ourselves and future generations, we must move towards zero waste through recycling, composting and reusing programs.

Making small changes to our approach to trash can make a big difference in reducing waste.

Solid waste initiatives

We're one of 21 member municipalities working with Metro Vancouver on solid waste initiatives, including the Integrated Solid Waste and Resource Management Plan (ISWRMP). The plan aims to:

  • minimize waste generation
  • maximize reuse, recycling and material recovery
  • recover energy from the waste stream after material recycling
  • dispose of remaining waste in a landfill after material recycling and energy recovery

Join us and help keep items out of the landfill by following these easy steps:

Reduce and reuse

  • Clothing waste – we throw away an average of 44 million pounds of clothing in our region every year. Think Thrice About Your Clothes provides tips and solutions to help residents reduce their own clothing waste.
  • Food waste – in Canada, 63% of our food waste is avoidable. Love Food Hate Waste offers tips and ideas to reduce food waste at home.
  • Holiday waste reduction – Halloween and Christmas don’t need to be wasteful. Get tips on how to reduce waste during the holidays. 

Recycle

  • Food scraps recycling – Food Scraps Aren’t Garbage provides tips for green binning. Learn about how using your green bin helps reduce greenhouse gases.
  • Where to recycle – Metro Vancouver Recycles is a database for residents and businesses to find out where to recycle or donate thousands of different materials.

Donate 

Charities and neighbourhood share groups are great for donating old household items that are in working condition.

Local charities

Neighbourhood share groups

Have questions?

Solid Waste and Recycling Division
Phone
24-hour information
BC recycling hotline

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