Zero Waste Action Team
Towards a world without waste.
Our goal is to reduce the waste created by individuals and industry to prevent exacerbating the climate crisis. We also work towards a Green New Deal vision of better resource management, including water, focusing on waste reduction from production to consumption and support of a circular society through research and policy. Past member of Zero Waste Canada.
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The Zero Waste Action Team became inactive in Winter 2023 but one of our members, Ángela Viviana Ramírez-Luna, has launched the NL Community Composting Cooperative Network with the support of the Social Justice Co-op and the NL Federation of Co-operatives!
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The mission is to bring composting to every neighbourhood in St. John's and communities in NL. I'm recruiting members for the Steering Committee, which will define the committee members' responsibilities, co-op benefits and services, business plan and by-laws and other logistical necessities to incorporate.
Check out out their website and social media to learn the details and sign up!
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WE WON...
LEWISPORTE INCINERATOR REJECTED!
As a result of swift and strong community organizing across the province, community groups and members have successfully pressured the NL gov to REJECT the incinerator planned by synergy world power in Lewisporte!
Thanks to everyone's vigilance and effort, we did it!!
Members of the SJC, Council of Canadians - Avalon Chapter, and community groups came together to celebrate this victory in February 2023.
Letter to the City of St. John's
re: Climate Crisis Plan
"We were elated to see the City of St. John’s declare a climate emergency and join the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy in 2019. These actions recognized the threat of climate change and the vital role that cities must play to prepare. Since then, we have faced significant challenges, from “Snowmageddon” to COVID-19, highlighting the need for solid emergency preparation. We believe the City of St. John’s could be a climate action leader in Canada and well prepared for climate change’s challenges with active consultation."
Community Composting Pilot Project
In partnership with Stella’s Circle and Planeet Consulting, in summer 2022, we installed three composting bins in downtown St. John’s to collect organics from a group of neighbours and produce compost for the use of Stella’s and participants.
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Our long-term vision is to replicate this program across the city providing social, economic, and environmental benefits to individuals, neighbourhoods, community gardens, schools, businesses, and more! You can learn more about our vision in this blog.
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A big thank you to our sponsors: City of St. John’s (Community Grants), MMSB (Solid Waste Management Innovation Fund), and Food First NL (St. John’s Food Assessment).
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Plastics Study & Brand Audits
Our team undertook a Brand Audit as part of the #BreakFreeFromPlastic movement, a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Your participation will help us collect the data we need to work with the provincial government and the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board (MMSB) to implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), holding corporations accountable for the plastic pollution crisis.
Past Events
The Road to Zero Waste
Waste is a significant part of our economies, our cultures and our everyday lives. A number of waste reduction programs and policies have been promoted across the globe but with varying levels of adoption and success. With the mounting challenges of climate change and oceanic pollution, dealing with our waste is a pressing issue. This event highlighted two specific, yet related, approaches to waste reduction that have gained recent attention: Zero Waste (ZW) and the Circular Economy (CE).
What's in Your Trash?
On May 20, 2020, we joined Sophie Wells and Sarah Sauvé to learn about zero waste theory and how to do a trash audit so we can all have a better idea of what we throw out and how we can throw out less! This webinar was organized by the Zero Waste Action Team for anyone interested in reducing their waste at home.
COVID and Our Throw Away Culture
On May 27, 2020, we had a conversation with Kathryn Kellogg, Jamie Kaminski and Dan Rubin about our consumer make-take-throw away culture. The discussion addressed the following questions - How did we become a throw-away culture? Have we actually reduced what we throw away? Has COVID made us think about what is truly important? What strategies can we use to create a healthier way of life? What are we already doing that we can build on?
Green New Drinks: Barriers to Living Low Waste
On February 3, 2021, panelists Debbie Wiseman, Sarah Sauvé, Jess Puddister and Rob Salsman got togteher at Bannerman Brewing Co. to discuss 'Barriers to Living Low Waste'. They addressed the following questions: 'How did we get so wasteful? How do we reduce waste under an economic system that encourages and profits from waste? What stands out as a barrier to reducing waste, that you couldn't solve as an individual? How might we address this barrier structurally? The event was organized by The Social Justice Co-operative NL as part of 'Green New Drinks'.