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York Region & City Of Markham are the Sultans of Green!

by Textile Waste Diversion Inc.

Today we were honoured to be one of several stakeholders invited to be a panel member at a very enlightening workshop hosted by York Region & City Of Markham called Textile Reuse & Recycling.

York Region and City Of Markham have always been dedicated to green initiatives and the thoroughness and level of understanding they have about waste diversion, and our particular industry challenges makes conversations with their representatives refreshingly productive and solutions oriented.

We were there to share our knowledge and expertise on textile recycling, to help find ways of inspiring an increased textile waste diversion rate – a priority for the region and city.

As much as we were there to share our knowledge, we learned a few very insightful things that are sure to be a part of our planning discussions at head office!

We learned that despite the variety of charities and recycling companies operating in York Region that offer a myriad of options including donation bins, depots & home pick-ups, 5% of their garbage stream is still textiles. That equals to approximately 4426 tonnes per year! Considering Markham has one of, if not the highest recycling rate in the province and beyond, we were astounded at that quantity!

York Region/City Of Markham did a study of how families decided what to donate, versus what they disposed of in terms of textiles. We learned that many residents were not aware that more than just ‘last season’s looks-brand-new’ quality can be donated, and that we take WAY more than just clothing. We accept linens, shoes, boots, jackets, coats, blankets, purses in any condition….hey, we’ll even take the stray socks you have stuffed in the corner of your sock drawer! Can’t find the left shoe? Its ok, we’ll take the right one…even if it has a hole in it!

Apparently, the majority of residents are not aware of that. In terms of public awareness, we clearly have some work to do!

What we love about York Region & City Of Markham, is their willingness to act on the information they receive. Studies, panel discussions and focus group results are used to inform council, direct policy, planning and programs. It is this willingness to act that makes both York Region & City Of Markham in particular, leaders in the greening of communities. They are an exemplary model that other cities should seriously consider emulating.

We work with bylaw and waste management departments in municipalities across the province, and Markham is always the strictest, but also the most progressive and well organized of them all. York Region’s dedication to waste diversion is evident in the lengths they go to inspire positive change and public awareness. Both definitely earn the Sultans Of Green Status!

< Repurpose Textile Scraps Into Beautiful Rugs!

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20200

Packaging and trash

Out of every $10 spent buying things, $1 (10%) goes for packaging that is thrown away. Packaging represents about 65% of household trash.

Save the trees

If every American recycled just one-tenth of their newspapers, we would save about 25,000,000 trees a year.

In the bin!

Used aluminum beverage cans are the most recycled item in the U.S., but other types of aluminum, such as siding, gutters, car components, storm window frames, and lawn furniture can also be recycled.

Kiss this!

An estimated 80,000,000 Hershey's Kisses are wrapped each day, using enough aluminum foil to cover over 50 acres of space -- that's almost 40 football fields. All that foil is recyclable, but not many people realize it.

Packaging at the dump

About one-third of an average garbage dump is made up of packaging material!

Glass skyscrapers?

Every month, we throw out enough glass bottles and jars to fill up a giant skyscraper. All of these jars are recyclable!

Plastic bottles by the hour

Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour! Most of them are thrown away!

The Sunday paper

To produce each week's Sunday newspapers, 500,000 trees must be cut down.

The aluminum recycling loop

A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can in as little as 60 days. That's closed loop recycling at its finest!

What gets recycled in Canada?

By weight, organics comprise the largest portion, accounting for 22% of recycled materials from all sources, followed by newsprint (17%) and cardboard and boxboard (17%).

Recycling by the Province

While on the rise overall, recycling varies quite widely from province to province. Ontario and Quebec recycle the largest quantities of materials, but the amounts of material recycled per person and the recycling rate are higher in Nova Scotia and British Columbia.

Canadian vs. American residential waste

Canadians produced 366 kg per person of residential waste in 2020; by 2020, this figure had increased to 418 kg per person. By way of comparison, residential waste production by our neighbours in the United States was 440 kg per person in 2020.

Canadian waste

In 2020, Canadian households produced 13.4 million tonnes of waste. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of this waste was sent for disposal, according to Statistics Canada’s 2020 Waste Management Survey, while the rest was recycled.

A great reason to recycle!

Landfills produce approximately 25% of Canada’s methane emissions (methane is a powerful greenhouse gas). Recycling, including textile recycling, can help reduce the amount of waste entering landfills and help conserve natural resources.

How much water do ice caps and glaciers hold?

The amount of water locked up in ice and snow is only about 1.7 percent of all water on Earth, but the majority of total freshwater on Earth, about 68.7%, is held in ice caps and glaciers.

How much recyclable material gets thrown away?

Paper is the number one recyclable material that we throw away. For every 100 pounds of trash we throw away, 35 pounds is paper. Americans throw away 25 billion Styrofoam coffee cups every year, 40 billion soft drink cans and bottles every year, and 38 billion plastic bags. Placed end to end, they would reach to the moon and back hundreds of times.

How much household waste can be recycled?

Over 80% of typical household waste - including food scraps, yard waste, paper, cardboard, cans, and bottles - can be recycled, reused, or composted.

How much carbon dioxide can a car emit?

On average, a car produces about 170g CO2 per kilometer. If your car travels 2020 kilometers per month, it produces about 340 kilograms CO2 - that's a lot of carbon dioxide!

How much harm can one styrofoam cup do?

A styrofoam cup contains one billion billion CFC molecules - a class of chemical compounds that deplete ozone. Once a CFC molecule reaches the ozone layer, it can take over 100 years before it breaks up and becomes harmless!

How many trees are cut down each year?

In 2020 statistics, primary forest area was reduced globally by 60,000 square km per year (about the size of Ireland). While it's impossible to get an exact count, at a rate of 50K to 100K trees per square km, this equates to 3 to 6 billion trees per year.

Worldwide Metals Production

Between 2020 and 2020, worldwide metals production grew sixfold, oil consumption eightfold, and natural gas consumption 14-fold. In total, 60 billion tons of resources are now extracted annually—about 50% more than just 30 years ago. Today the average European uses 43 kilograms of resources daily, and the average American uses 88 kilograms.