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Zero Waste

Create Zero Waste

Reduce total solid waste going to landfill or incinerator by 50% from 2008 levels.  

For background information on this goal area, see below.

Strategies for Zero Waste

Nurture a Zero Waste Culture

The City of Vancouver will nurture a zero waste culture through a combination of information, inspiration, incentives and enforcement.

4
Work with Schools
3.833332
Develop a Zero Waste Education Campaign
3.8
Challenge Other Cities to a Race to Zero Waste
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Make Reducing and Reusing a Priority

Reducing and reusing are even more important than recycling and energy recovery in a zero waste society.

3.909092
Address Food Waste in Grocery Stores, Restaurants, and Food Processors
3.857144
Start Lending Libraries or Sharing Co-ops
3.857144
Reduce Junk Mail
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Capture the Organics

Organics are the next low-hanging fruit in terms of diversion potential and mitigating climate change. Collecting and processing organics offers tremendous potential for creating low-barrier and high-tech green jobs, generating bio-energy and returning nutrients and structural elements to the soil. 

4
Pilot the Collection of Food Scraps for Apartments, Condominiums and Schools
4
Expand Organics Collection to Include the Full Spectrum of Food Scraps
4
Make Organics Collection Mandatory for Apartments, Condos, Businesses and Institutions by 2015
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Be a Catalyst for More Takeback Programs

Almost 70% of garbage consists of thrown-away products and packaging. To address this problem, waste management is evolving in a way that makes companies responsible for taking back and recycling their products once they become waste. These takeback programs are the cornerstone of our zero waste plan and key to achieving a green economy. 

4
Advocate for New Takeback Programs
4
Encourage Coffee Companies to Set Up Takeback Programs for Coffee Cups
4
Help Expand the Collection Network for Existing Takeback Programs
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Keep Recyclables Out of Landfills and Incinerators

Maximize the diversion of recyclables to reduce the amount that end up in the garbage.

4
Establish a Corporate Waste Reduction and Recycling Program for the City's Own Operations
4
Install More Public Recycling Bins
4
Develop a Zero Waste Certification Program for Businesses
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Enhance Construction, Renovation & Demolition Recycling

Encourage reuse and recycling of building materials to reduce construction and demolition waste.

3.75
Ban Wood from Garbage by 2015
3.666668
Mandatory Recycling for Construction, Demolition and Renovation Projects
3.666668
Link Takeback Programs to Green Building Rating Systems
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Foster a Local Closed-Loop Economy

Transform our linear economy into a cradle-to-cradle economy where resources are used and reused to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

3.833332
Work With Metro Vancouver to Encourage More Recycling Facilities in the Region
3.8
Develop Local Recycling Markets to Encourage New Takeback Programs
3.8
Advocate for the Recycling Equivalent of the Provincial Innovative Clean Energy Fund
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Canadians produce more solid waste than just about any other country in the world. In the Metro Vancouver region, we generate over 3 million tonnes of solid waste a year. The good news is that about 55% of this is recycled, composted, or recovered for energy in niche waste streams. The bad news is that 1.5 million tonnes is still sent to landfill or incinerator. The City of Vancouver’s share of this is about 480,000 tonnes – enough to fill a line of garbage trucks end-to-end from Vancouver City Hall to Kamloops.

Harvesting, mining, pumping and refining these wasted resources contributes to some of the most pressing environmental issues of our time. Climate change, deforestation, species extinction, pollution, these and other issues stem from over-consumption and waste.

 

Thank you for your input! The strategies and actions listed here are drafts. Read the final version of the Greenest City Action Plan.

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Zero Waste
application/pdf iconDraft GC2020 Zero Waste Action Plan (short).pdf
application/pdf iconDraft GC2020 Zero Waste Action Plan (long).pdf

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