Did you know October 20 to 26 is Waste Reduction Week? The Town invites residents to take part and learn more about waste reduction and sustainability.

Here’s how to get involved:

1. Know Before You Throw - Five Rs Workshop 

Tuesday, October 21 at the Whitby Public Library, Brooklin Branch (8 Vipond Road) from 4 to 5 p.m.

Children in grades 1 to 6 are invited to attend a waste management workshop to learn about the importance of responsible waste management through a variety of activities, including a story and hands-on waste sorting.

Register now

2. Enjoy a Waste-Themed Family Storytime and Craft

Saturday, October 25 at the Whitby Public Library, Central Library (405 Dundas St West, Whitby, ON).

From 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. gather around the first-floor fireplace to listen to family-friendly waste reduction stories that encourage children to learn about the importance of reducing waste, reusing items, and recycling materials. Then, from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. children can go to the Children's Program Room to take part in a craft to repurpose waste materials and prevent them from going to landfills.

3. Attend A Repair Café

Saturday, October 25 at the Whitby Public Library, Central Library (405 Dundas St West, Whitby, ON), Meeting Room 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Have a broken or damaged item? Pop by the Repair Café to learn how to fix them with the help of local experts. Don’t forget to bring your own reusable mug and enjoy a cup of coffee while you wait.

Register now

4. Drop-off Difficult To Recycle Waste

Saturday, October 25 at the Whitby Public Library, Central Library (405 Dundas St West, Whitby, ON), Front Lobby from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Drop off items you can’t put in your blue bin to help reduce your impact on our planet. Bring your old Brita filters, disposable razors, pens, markers, highlighters, and old toothbrushes to boxes in the Library’s Front lobby for us to repurpose material from. No registration is required.

5. Schedule A Community Cleanup

The Town has an anti-litter app that makes it easy to put waste in its place. Town Staff provide a cleanup kit and collect the waste after the event. View Whitby’s parks, trails, and roads that are available for adoption or schedule a one-time community cleanup at whitby.ca/CleanUp

6. Never Miss Waste Pickup Again

Do you know your garbage, recycling, yard waste and compost collection days for your address? Download the Whitby Waste Buddy app from Google Play or the App Store to view your waste collection schedule and determine where and how to dispose of your waste items including by scheduling a Special Large Item Collection pickup. You can even sign up to receive garbage day reminders by email, digital calendar, text or phone message by searching for your address and selecting 'Get a reminder.”

7. Transform Waste with Composting

8. Connect with Us On Social Media

Did you know the average Canadian generates approximately 2.7 kg of waste every day, which amounts to about 31 million tonnes of garbage annually, and 75% of it ends up in landfills? Follow @TownofWhitby on social media during Waste Reduction Week to learn more interesting facts.

Let’s all do our part to reduce waste, Whitby. For more information, visit whitby.ca/Sustainability.