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At Équiterre, reducing waste and reducing at the source are objectives that we work on every day, both in terms of public awareness and political advocacy.
During Quebec’s official waste reduction week, the Semaine québécoise de réduction des déchets, here are 2 things that you can do:
1. Dust off your reusable containers!
The use of single-use containers skyrocketed at the beginning of the pandemic for health and safety reasons, but we now know that those arguments and concerns are not valid.
To demystify the issues and to reassure businesses and consumers alike that they can and should get back into their old reusable container habits, the Cooperative Incita has published a 2nd edition of the Guide des bonnes pratiques sanitaires en alimentation pour la gestion des contenants et autres objets réutilisables (available in English at a later date), in collaboration with Équiterre, La vague, le Circuit Zéro déchet, l’Association québécoise Zéro Déchet, Montréal-Métropole en santé and Net Impact Montréal.
To ensure that all health issues were considered and addressed, the guide was reviewed by the Direction régionale de santé publique du CIUSSS du Centre-Sud.
2. Demand more durable goods that are more easily repaired
A product that lasts a long time and that can be repaired helps to reduce the extraction of new resources to produce a new product, the consumption of energy necessary to produce a new good to and ship it to the consumer, and the quantity of waste that ends up at the landfill. It also saves consumers time and money.
In order to facilitate access to repair for as many people as possible, our governments have a big role to play. We have launched a petition to the Quebec government, calling for concrete legislative changes to get there.
- If you haven’t yet signed it, please sign our petition to Demand more durable goods that are more easily repaired
- If you have already signed it, thank you! Please encourage your friends and family to sign it as well.
Have a happy waste reduction week!
