Set up a covered space at the landfill for community members to leave items such as household appliances that still work, windows, doors, building materials, toys, clothes, furniture, electronics.

Distribute re-usable shopping bags and coffee travel mugs to community members. Set up a program at the local store to charge for plastic bags to help encourage use of re-usable bags. Encourage “litterless” lunches with re-usable food containers for kids to take to school.

Use large, refillable jugs of water at community events instead of individual bottles. Encourage the use of real dishes and cutlery in the community centre and at treaty days instead of plastic or styrofoam.

Ask community members who know how to fix small appliances, mend clothes, or repair bikes to help teach others. Organizations such as the W.R.E.N.C.H. (www.thewrench.ca) offer community or school workshops on basic bike repair and tune-ups.

Putting on a spring clean-up is a great way to get community members involved and learning how to reduce, re-use and recycle waste.

Doing a waste audit in the community or at the school can help to figure out what types of reusable or recyclable materials to focus on.

Growing food locally helps cut down the amount of waste from packaged food. Plus it’s way more delicious (and fresh)!

Start composting at your community garden to make the circle complete – grow food, eat food, compost food, add the finished compost to the garden to grow more food.

Sharing gently used clothing is a fun and easy way to change up your wardrobe, save money and reduce waste.

Create a personalized bag from an old pillow case and use it to carry your own re-usable plate, cutlery and cup to community feasts. This helps reduce the amount of styrofoam dishes used at events.

Skip the saran wrap and the prepacked cheese and salami. Try reusable food storage containers and drink bottles instead.

Stock the community centre with real cups, plates and cutlery for events instead of using disposable dishes.

Learn what community members are currently doing with their waste and recyclable items. This will help identify waste management needs in your community.