Green Calgary's Blog

Once again, it's Waste Reduction Week in Canada! From October 21-27, and each day has a theme: Oct 21: Circular Economy Circular Economy is all about planning for the entire life of the products people make and use. Rather than planning for the end of the life of a product to be the landfill, circular economy looks to reuse, re-make, or recycle every product.  Find out more here . Oct 22: Textiles Textiles, particularly clothing, make up a lot of waste that can be reduced and reused. Think about repairing clothing, buying high quality, and keeping a smaller wardrobe. You can learn about fast fashion waste here . Oct 23: Champions & Innovators You, too, can be a champion of waste reduction! Inspire your friends and family by setting green goals for yourself and showing them how it's done! Oct 24: Plastics & Packaging Plastics and packaging clog up our oceans and landfills, & creating greenhouse gases as they degrade. Find out more about how to deal with plastic

Ideas for a waste free Thanksgiving and Halloween! October is here and it's a month of feasting! Whether that is Thanksgiving staples or candy. In either case, celebrations undoubtedly mean that there is more waste than usual and being that this month also includes Waste Reduction Week (Oct 21-27) in Canada, it's a great chance to practice some waste reducing tips! Show your thanks to our planet by cutting down on waste! Thanksgiving. This national holiday is usually accompanied by feasting as a harvest festival and that means food waste. Here are a few ways to avoid the waste. Share food. Whether this means inviting people over, giving leftovers to your neighbours, or freezing as much as you can to give to others later, sharing food keeps the food waste down and is in the spirit of the season! Give yourself time. We live busy lives and frequently the holidays creep up on us, but prepare ahead of time and you can avoid a lot of waste. This lets you bu

It's that time of year again! If the snow last weekend was any indication, our water collection period is coming to an end and it's about time to winterize your rain barrel to avoid damage to the barrel. Here's how: If you have a Rain Barrel with an overflow hose: 1. Remove the overflow hose & store it for next spring. 2. Turn your barrel upside down & drain completely. 3. Store & secure your barrel for the winter. Ideally, move the barrel into a garage/shed if you can, but if you are leaving it outdoors, store it upside down and secure it to prevent damage & water accumulating. 4. Reconnect your downspout to allow melting snow to drain away from your foundation.   If you have a Rain Barrel with a diverter kit: 1. Turn your barrel upside down & drain completely. 2. Store & secure your barrel for the winter. Ideally, move the barrel into a garage/shed, but if you are leaving it outdoors, store it upside down & secure it to prevent damage &