(Note: All graphics sourced from Annual Report, www.lethbridge.ca/news/posts/waste-environment-annual-report/) Lethbridge waste diversion efforts have successfully reduced annual waste rates by 34%, from the 2013 baseline of 330 kg/capita to 213 kg/capita. The target for 2030 is a 50% reduction of the residential waste stream (compared to 2013 rates), to 140 kg/capita. Overall, the Waste & Recyling…

Extended Producer Responsibility? Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is designed to shift the financial burden of recycling single-use plastics, paper and packaging to the companies that produce (or import) them. Financial incentives are expected to encourage companies to find innovative ways to recycle more materials and produce less packaging waste. The process of centralizing the collection…

Submitted by WasteLess to the consultation on the amendment to the Single-Use Plastics Prohibition Regulations. WasteLess is a committee of Environment Lethbridge comprised of individuals from a variety of interests who for over a decade have worked to inspire waste reduction in our community. A recent focus has been on reducing single-use plastics and informing…

Microplastics in the Environment Once again, Waste Reduction Week is upon us! And microplastics have probably been on (inside?) your mind. Microplastics are defined as pieces of plastic smaller than 5 mm. Microplastics much smaller than this, however, are being found in, well, everything. Imagine dividing the edge of a dime into 1000 slices –…

Lorne Fitch is a Professional Biologist, a retired Fish and Wildlife Biologist and a past Adjunct Professor with the University of Calgary. He is the author ofStreams of Consequence, Travels Up the Creek, and Conservation Confidential. Garlands of festively coloured plastic festoon the fences, shrubs, and trees. Intricate patterns accumulate on storm drains, in window…

Letter submitted to the City of Lethbridge regarding the Waste Management Master Plan 2024. Submitted by Kathleen Sheppard (Executive Director, Environment Lethbridge), Braum Barber (Chair, Southern Alberta Group for Environment ) & Cheryl Bradley (Chair, EL WasteLess Committee and Director, SAGE) In the decade since targets for waste diversion were first set by Lethbridge City…

WasteLess.ca recently hosted a film titled Plastic People on the topic of microplastics. Microplastics are defined as pieces of plastic smaller than 5 mm. Microplastics much smaller than this, however, are being found in, well, everything. Imagine dividing the edge of a dime into 1000 slices – that is a micrometer. Invisible to the eye,…