To be used on other parts of the MV website.
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Six to Fix
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Why it’s a problem
A recent study by Next Generation Food found the USA wastes 40% of the food it produces. That means every American eats three meals a day and wastes enough food for two more meals! Sadly we're not that different from our neighbours to the south.
How to reduce food waste
- Plan your meals – that way you'll buy only what you will actually eat.
- Don’t go grocery shopping when you’re hungry.
- Have your veggies seen better days? Don’t throw them away – make a delicious soup, sauce or stew.
- Take leftovers as your lunch, feed a friend.
- Turn that food into compost, a resource that allows us to grow more food. Backyard and worm composting
- Food scrap recycling.
What others are doing
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Food Composting
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Fridge Leftovers
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| |  | Why it’s a problem
Despite recycling programs, paper continues to be one of the largest components found in residential trash cans.
Reduce tissue paper and paper towels
- Consider using cloths for clean up – cut up old clothes and towels for rags.
- Handkerchiefs. They aren’t just fashion accessories. People did just fine with them for generations, try it!
- Throw used paper towels and tissues into the compost.
- Most soiled paper products, like pizza boxes, can be composted too.
- Please continue to recycle clean paper in your blue bin.
How to cancel delivery of the phone book
Opt out of receiving the Yellow Pages phone book.
How to avoid junk mail
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Tissue Paper
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Why it's a problem
Remember your high school graduation? Well, the hairstyle is gone, your date is gone—you moved on and fashion has certainly moved on. The only thing left is the plastic clamshell the corsage came in. It is still out there somewhere—where it will stay for hundreds of years.
 A sea of plastic
Plastics use has climbed sharply, despite recycling efforts. The United Nations Environment Programme estimates the average person in North America and Western Europe now uses around 100 kilograms of plastic a year, a figure it predicts will increase to 140 kg by 2015. In Asia the average person uses around 20 kg of plastic per year, which is projected to grow to 36 by 2015.
- Postmedia News
Reduce plastic bags
- You already use a reusable bag to carry your groceries. Now bring smaller reusable bags for your produce and other groceries.
- Wash and reuse those smaller plastic food bags you’ve collected.
- How many plastic bags did you use last year?
Photography by www.jonbenjamin.ca
Reduce packaging
- Look for products that are unpackaged or minimally packaged, without unnecessary plastic wrap or cardboard backing.
- If possible, leave the packaging at the store.
- Buy reusable, washable mesh bags.
Reduce food packaging
- You can avoid those polystyrene trays. Get to know the butcher behind the meat counter.
- Buy local produce – it’s fresher.
- Buy foods from the bulk bin to avoid packaging.
- Use reusable take-out containers.
 Download this letter from the Province to show restaurant staff that reusable foodware is allowed under Health Regulations.
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Take Out
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Plastic Bags
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Litterless Lunches
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Milan. One of old Europe’s finest cities and a modern heart of fashion. Piazza Duomo is the nicest public square in this lovely city, in front of a richly ornamented Gothic cathedral. The first stone was laid in 1386 and the last stone was not set for four hundred years.
Relaxing in the Piazza sun, listening to the locals argue and laugh, sipping an espresso—from a disposable paper cup?
Why it's a problem
Take a look around you. Single-use items make up most of the litter, the garbage in public spaces and tonnes of the trash that ends up in the dump.
Bottled Water
With some of the best municipal drinking water in the world, why would you pay more for your water than you do for gasoline?
- Remember to bring your refillable water bottle.
Cling Film
- Re-sealable bags are reuseable, a low-waste way to keep food fresh. Or re-use those plastic bags that your produce came home in.
Food Ware All those polystyrene take-out clamshells and plastic cutlery we've thrown away are still out there - and will be for centuries.
- Surprise your favourite restaurant by bringing reusable take-out foodware with you.
- Guests will appreciate real plates and flatware at your parties.
- If you do use uncoated paper plates and napkins, they can be put in your compost.
Diapers
- Consider cloth diapers. A diaper service can be cost-competitive to disposables - washed and delivered.
Razors
- It’s plastic – and it’s metal. Recyclable? Not! No one will separate the metal blades from the handle, which makes them garbage.
- Dad used his safety razor for 50 years.
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Diapers
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Why it’s a problem
Thousands of tonnes of pet waste goes to the landfill every year, often sealed in little plastic bags. In the landfill, it decomposes and generates methanse gas. Methane is a greenhouse gas, about 21 times more potent than carbon-dioxide, that contributes to global warming. Reduce pet waste
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City Farmer's Pet Waste Composter
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Why they're a problem
Electronics, household cleaners, fluorescent light bulbs, solvents, cleaning solutions and other things we use every day contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals that can leach into the water and contaminate the food supply. Some electronics are shipped overseas where environmental standards are lacking, resulting in inappropriate exposure and health concerns for locals.
Reduce toxic waste
Don’t flush it, and don’t throw it away, because there is no such place as “away.” Make sure you dispose of these nasties the right way — find out how at MetroVancouverRecycles.org Paints, pesticides and solvents Batteries
- Use MetroVancouverRecycles.org to find the closest place to take rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries.
- Use rechargeable batteries. They save money in the long run.
Medication
- Got a new prescription? Talk to your doctor and/or pharmacist about taking only a small amount home to see how your body reacts before going for a full supply.
- Return your unused medications, vitamins and herbal supplements to the pharmacy where they were purchased. And please recycle the containers they came in.
Household Hazardous Waste (cleaners, solvents, paints, oil) Electronics
What others are doing
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Medications
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