This month, Toronto City Council had a marathon meeting before their summer break and debated major issues that shape our city services. The 2017 City Budget and the Scarborough subway were hot topics, but other transportation issues like the Road Safety Plan and the Waterfront Transit Plan also got some attention. Toronto passed a new and improved Waste Strategy that embraces TEA’s zero waste agenda and Councillor Bailão is taking on smelly neighbours with a proposal to control odours from Toronto manufacturers.
News & Updates
Thanks to TEA's work and the action of our supporters, Toronto's Waste Strategy has a long term goal of zero waste.
Last month, Premier Wynne announced Ontario’s new 5-Year Climate Change Action Plan. The plan sets out the key steps the province will take to transition to a low-carbon future. These actions will help achieve the greenhouse gas reduction targets of 80% by 2050.
Every summer the TEA team grows thanks to financial support from the Canada Summer Jobs program. By hiring university students with an interest in community engagement, TEA is able to reach more neighbourhoods on issues like waste and air quality.
Inspired by the amazing zero waste success story of 430 Mayfair on the Green, Mayor Tory and Toronto's Solid Waste department just launched the Towering Challenge, a friendly challenge to all other multi-residential buildings in Toronto to get creative to reduce waste.
Toronto’s Long Term Waste Strategy is now one step closer to zero waste!
On Monday, TEA won a huge victory at City Hall: we got 5 Councillors to commit to moving forward with a goal to get all organics out of our garbage!
Plants need TLC to thrive. So does the Greenbelt. Now, there are two things you can do to help make that happen
Yesterday, TEA’s Waste Campaigner spoke to the Government Management Committee to draw attention to the sad state of recycling and organics diversion in City of Toronto community centres, recreation centres and libraries. Our efforts didn't go to waste!
Today, we launched a new report to show how Toronto can take the first step towards zero waste by focusing on organics in the new City Waste Strategy.
The Province recently announced their climate change plan, and it included some positive news for waste: the Province is supporting the use of Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) as one way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Ontario.
Victory! Toronto’s Board of Health has agreed to prevent pollution and develop a consumer right-to-know display for toxic dry cleaning chemicals thanks to TEA's latest campaign.
On June 1st, the Ontario government passed the new Waste Free Ontario Act (Bill 151).
While we have some concerns, we’re very glad to see this long-overdue policy passed, as it will mark a new phase for waste regulations in Ontario.
It can be difficult to picture the everyday impacts of climate change. While it’s an issue we deal with on a global scale, some of Toronto’s plants and wildlife are trying to tell us what it means for our city, our community, and our environment.
Toronto's waste diversion rate is going in the wrong direction - not only did we fail to meet our projected increase, but our diversion rate fell to 2012 levels.
In May 2016, the Province announced plans to grow the Greenbelt into 21 urban river valleys, including three in Toronto. Here's what others are saying.
After seven years of campaigning, including lots of help from our supporters, river lands in Toronto’s ravines are poised to become the newest “members” of the Greenbelt family.
Every month, Toronto City Council meets to debate and decide on issues large and small that impact our city. From Uber to bike lanes, transportation was a key topic of conversation at Council last week. The future of Scarborough's sewage was also decided.
Back in early August, one of my environmental colleagues sent me an early draft of what Canadians now know as The Leap Manifesto. The colleague asked whether TEA would sign on.
Whenever I get these sort of requests, I ask myself: are the values and proposed actions in line with the values and vision of TEA and our supporters?
Along with other environmental NGOs, TEA submitted comments to the Province in late February on the proposed Waste Free Ontario Act. In late April, TEA's Waste Campaigner, Emily Alfred, spoke to the Provincial Committee responsible for revising the draft Act.
At a recent event hosted by the City, I was asked to imagine what my life would look like if Toronto was carbon neutral in 2050. It was a question that required me to think about many transformative changes that would need to take place in the city.