Environment and Sustainability

The Town of Whitby has made a commitment to environmental sustainability for the benefit of our community. View the sustainability initiatives the Town has to offer, including green development standard.

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Sustainability plan

In order to ensure Whitby addresses all areas of sustainability, we've developed a Sustainability Plan. This plan follows the One Planet Living Framework; an international framework that consists of ten simple principles to ensure we address all aspects of sustainability including social, environmental and economic sustainability.

Each year, we review write a report to assess how we are doing to meet the goals outlines in the Sustainability Plan:

Nature, trees and greenscaping

Nature provides important environmental, social and economic benefits. These benefits include cleaning the air we breathe, helping us fight climate change and beautifying our community. Review our programs that help best maintain and protect these natural assets:

Pollinators

Approximately 75% of all flowering plants depend on bees and other pollinators. Canada is home to over 1,000 species of pollinators, but these populations are threatened by:

The depletion of natural areas
Pesticide use
Climate change

Bees aren't the only pollinators that need our help. Other pollinators include:

Butterflies
Hummingbirds
Moth
Beetles
Bats

Find out how the Town of Whitby is helping protect pollinators in our community.

Pollinator gardens

To help increase habitat for pollinator species, we are committed to planting native plants to diversify the existing pollinator habitat across the community. Pollinator Gardens and meadows can be found at:

Whitby as a Bee City

The Town of Whitby is a designated Bee City. This is awarded to municipalities that make a declaration to protect pollinators and their habitat through action and education.

Urban Beehive

The Town of Whitby has installed an urban beehive on the rooftop of Town Hall thanks to support from Elexicon Energy. This beehive demonstrates the Town's commitment to protecting local pollinators.

Elexicon Energy Logo

Mayors Monarch Pledge

The Town of Whitby has taken the Mayors Monarch Pledge through the National Wildlife Federation to help protect monarch butterflies. By taking the Mayor's Monarch Pledge, Whitby has committed to both restoring habitat in the community and encouraging and education citizens on how they can help.

Sustainable transportation

Transportation is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and poor air quality. In order to reduce this impact the Town is committed to encouraging to the transition to more sustainable modes of transportation. Learn more about our sustainable transportation initiatives:

Electric vehicle charging stations

In 2021, the Town of Whitby will be installing 10 electric vehicle charging stations at the following locations:

Brooklin Community Centre & Library
McKinney Centre
Operations Centre
Civic Recreation Complex
1855

To support the operation of these charging stations the Town will be developing policies including:

Electric Vehicle Parking By-Law
Electric Vehicle Workplace Policy
Education program

Waste, litter and recycling

The Town of Whitby provides curbside residential waste collection services to Whitby residents. This includes garbage, green bin organics, yard waste, and a special collection program for bulky items, metal goods, porcelain and electronic waste .

The Town is also committed to keep the community clean, litter free and promote the reduction of waste to aid. Programs to support this goal includes:

Elimination of single use plastics

We are working towards a zero waste future to prioritize reduction and reuse. Town staff will be developing a plan for Council's consideration for the phase-out and eventual ban on single-use plastics in Whitby through the Council endorsed initiatives:

Council Motion Resolution #273-19 – Council Meeting on September 23, 2019
Durham Community Energy Plan

The scope of this project will focus on three main areas:

Corporate behaviours
General public and household
Local businesses and the economy

How you can get involved

You can help reduce the consumption of single-use plastics in your community with these impactful, yet simple tips:

Do not purchase products that are packaged in single-use plastics
Avoid using single-use plastic items that are given to you in stores and/or restaurants
Use reusable alternatives like cloth bags and mugs
Participate in a community cleanup or consider adopting a public space
Spread the word about the benefits of using single-use plastic

Why are single-use plastics an environmental concern?

Single-use plastics pose a threat to wildlife, water quality and human health. Studies show that due to our large consumption of single-use plastics, the environment now contains single-use plastics even on a micro-scale.

Litter

Single-use plastic items are a major source of litter in our community. About 8 out of 12 most commonly items collected by littler volunteers across the country are single-use plastic, according to the Great Canadian Shoreline reports.

Waste disposal

Single-use plastics also place stress on our waste collection and disposal services. Most single-use plastic items cannot be recycled and end up in incinerators or landfills. Products that can be recycled often get "Down-Cycled" into a product that cannot be recycled again.

What are single-use plastics?

A single-use plastic is any product made up of plastic that is used only once and then discarded into either garbage to our landfills or blue bins to our recycling programs.

Local food

Whitby is dedicated to supporting local food opportunities. By supporting local food we can become more self sufficient as well as support local farmers and increase access to healthy food. Check out our local food initiatives and find out how you can participate:

Climate change and extreme weather

The Town of Whitby has declared a climate emergency and is working to develop policy to combat climate change. Review our climate change and extreme weather plans, reports and initiatives and learn more.

Water quality, storm management and flooding

Whitby delivers a number of initiatives to improve and maintain the health of our natural waterways as well as helping to protect our natural water based hazards:

Flooding
Stormwater management ponds
Source water protection

Get involved

There are a variety of ways that you can get involved in our commitment to environmental sustainability.

Sustainability Advisory Committee

Join Whitby's Sustainability Advisory Committee (WSAC), which promotes sustainability, supports environmental management and responds to climate change. This committee is a great way to get involved and help us reach our sustainable goals as a community.

Community events

Canada Water Week
Invasive Species Awareness Week
Earth Hour
Earth Day
World Environment Day
National Pollinator week
National Forests Week
National Tree Day
Shoreline Cleanup Week
Waste Reduction Week

Adopt a park, trail or road

Help keep our community clean through our Adopt a Park or Trail and Adopt a Road programs. Learn more and find out how you can get involved.

Youth Challenge International (YCI) – Innovate My Future

The Town of Whitby is a partner in YCI's Innovate My Future program, which offers Canadian youth the opportunity to take action on local climate issues and make a real different in the community.

Memberships and affiliations

The Town of Whitby belongs to a variety of environment and sustainability programs and initiatives. Explore our memberships and affiliations: