Reduce, reuse or recycle your waste for Circular Economy Month

Join us in celebrating Circular Economy Month this October. Embrace a lifestyle where nothing goes to waste – repair your torn clothes, fix your broken electronics, recycle glass jars or give them a second life as storage items. In addition to Circular Economy Month, the City is also celebrating Waste Reduction Week. Join us at various events to practise waste reduction by donating clothing and electronics, learning new skills at a Makerspace workshop, taking part in a repair hub or recycling batteries properly.

Event details:

What:

Donate to the recycling collection drive

The City is participating in the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s Partners in Project Green collection drive for clothing, textiles and electronics. From October 15 to 27, you can drop off unwanted clothing, textiles and electronics in one of the 12 bins located at various City facilities.

Take part in a Repair Hub

Join our Repair Hub to have our volunteer experts restore your items. On Saturday, October 26 from 1 to 6 p.m., come out to Meadowvale Community Centre, Program Room 1. Register for free one-hour appointments throughout the day. Drop-in appointments will be subject to availability.

Recycle your batteries

You can recycle single-use, non-rechargeable batteries (A, AA, AAA, AAAA, C cell, D cell, 4.5-volt or 9-volt) at any of the bins located by the customer service areas in each Library and Community Centre. Learn how to prepare batteries for recycling.

Learn new skills at a Makerspace

The Library’s makerspaces offer programs like 3D printing, learning how to use a Cricut machine or learning how to use a laser cutter. These programs can help you learn new skills to create something new with recycled materials or how to repair an item. Makerspace programs can be found at Hazel McCallion Central Library, Burnhamthorpe Library, Courtneypark Library, Meadowvale Library and Malton Library.

Who:

All Mississauga residents interested in learning more about repurposing, upcycling and waste reduction.

When:

Events take place throughout October.

Where:

All events are in-person at various locations in Mississauga.

The City’s efforts to reduce waste

This year, the City hosted a few events to help reduce waste. As part of Earth Days, the City participated in the spring recycling collection drive where more than 8,000 kilograms of clothing and textiles were donated, and nearly 9,000 kilograms of e-waste were recycled. The City also offered two repair hubs, in April and August, where 43 items were repaired and 18 items were assessed.

Over the summer, the City diverted from landfill more than 150 kilograms of food waste and avoided 1,000 single-use items of waste. This was done at the City’s largest outdoor movie event which took place every Thursday evening throughout the summer at Celebration Square. To minimize single-use items, food truck vendors offered reuseable dishware and staff and volunteers had multiple waste-storing stations available to properly sort and divert organics and recyclables.

Other ways to reduce waste at home

• Extend the life of items like clothing, appliances and electronics by repairing them when possible.
• Fruit and vegetable scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds and napkins can all be composted. Place these items in your Peel Region green bin for curbside collection or in your backyard composter.
• Remember to bring your reusable bags for shopping and reusable bottles and mugs for drinks.
• Consider borrowing or renting less frequently used items like tools, party supplies and board games. In addition to borrowing books, the City’s libraries offer movies, video games and sewing machines.
• Prioritize reusing, recycling or donating furniture, household items, office supplies and other materials to reduce carbon emissions and save expenses.

Learn more about how Mississauga is leading climate change efforts and other environmental sustainability initiatives through the Climate Change Action Plan.

Tags

• Climate Change
• Things to Do