On Friday January 15th, TEA's Executive Director, Franz Hartmann and Waste Campaigner, Emily Alfred, met with Mayor John Tory to talk about some of the environmental priorities for the city.

The main topic of conversation was what the city can do to move Toronto towards a zero waste city. TEA presented the Mayor with a host of innovative ideas about how the city can help residents dramatically reduce what we send for disposal. This is all part of TEA’s efforts to get the city to adopt a new Long Term Waste Management Plan that puts the priority on reducing the waste we produce, therefore reducing the need for new disposal options.

The good news is that Mayor Tory was very enthusiastic about our ideas to help Torontonians use our Blue Bins and Green Bins more effectively. Mayor Tory was especially struck by the great work being done by the residents of Mayfair on the Green, a condominium in northeast Scarborough that has a great waste diversion rate and that TEA has publicized repeatedly. TEA invited the Mayor to join us for a tour of the condominium.

Franz and Emily made it clear to the Mayor that creating a zero waste culture is key to increasing waste diversion. That means engaging people to find out why they put things in the garbage that should go into the Blue Bin or Green Bin and then designing education tools and activities that help people do the right thing.

Franz urged the Mayor to use his position to advocate for better diversion and vote for ideas that support a zero waste culture.

The meeting ended with a brief discussion of TEA’s deputation to the Budget Committee. Franz reiterated that it is vital City Council ask the province for more ways to raise the money the City needs to get ready for climate change.