Winnipeg Needs A Green Bin – email campaign

Let council know you support city-wide curbside composting

On March 23^rd at the City of Winnipeg Council meeting, Green Action Centre and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives were delegates urging Council to not delay the proposed program.   The councillors voted to defer Councillors Eadie’s motion (that would cancel the City’s green bin plan) to the Council’s Water and Waste Committee meeting which will occur on April 14^th.  Learn more by reading CTV and CBC articles.

To find out what Green Action Centre is proposing as a way forward, click here.

Since the debate is not over, it’s important that Winnipeggers continue contacting their councillors and Mayor about this important issue.

Four easy things you can do:

1. Email your councillor. We’ve written a sample letter below.

2. Sign our Winnipeg needs organics pickup now petition on Change.org.

3. Share widely.

4. Come to City Hall at 9:30am on March 23rd to support Green Action Centre as we explain the importance of moving forward with a curbside organics collection program.

Email Your Councillor

Dear Councillor [insert your councillor’s name here],

I am in support of launching a curbside collection program for organics in Winnipeg.

In 2011, city council adopted Our Winnipeg, a plan that recommends a curbside collection program for organics. The latest report indicates that from 2009-2014, Winnipeg doubled the amount of waste diverted from the landfill, largely thanks to the new yard waste collection program.

In spite of this success, Winnipeg is still diverting only 30% of our waste, a long way from the 80% of material that could easily be kept out of the landfill. In the Quebec region, when yard waste collection expanded to include kitchen waste, the number of composting households more than tripled. It’s time for Winnipeg to join the other major cities across Canada who have added green bins to their residential collections, including Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Yellowknife, and even Brandon.

The City of Winnipeg must stop delaying and move on this initiative now. Therefore, we strongly urge you to continue consultations with the public regarding the proposed curbside organic collection strategy, and to provide clear and transparent communication related to the service details and proposed fee structure.

Winnipeggers are ready for a city-wide organics collection program, and it is up to our city councillors to build on this momentum for a more sustainable future.

Thank you for your consideration,

[Sign your name here.]

How To Email Your Councillor

1. Click your location on this map. Click the Email link on your councillor’s contact page.

2. Copy or edit this letter and paste it into the message field on the contact form.  Don’t forget to include your name and your councillor’s name in the message.

3. Fill out the rest of the form and click Send.

4. Don’t be shy to pick up the phone if you prefer to call your councillor.

Invite your friends to our Facebook event, or tweet “Winnipeg needs a green binnow! #greenaction #wpgpoli @greenactionctr”