Hamilton Moving Towards a Zero Plastic Waste Plan

Hello, Ward 8 Neighbours!

On Monday, May 13th 2019 Councillor Nann put forward a motion for Hamilton to move towards a Zero Plastic Waste Plan. The City of Hamilton’s ability to accept specific plastics and other recyclables was significantly impacted by global markets, forcing formerly recyclable items like black plastics and polystyrene foam into landfill and the environment.

In 2018, Hamilton only diverted 34% of all waste from landfill.

Municipalities can play a significant leadership role in addressing the tremendous damage done by plastic pollution by exploring new and alternative approaches to support institutional, organizational, corporate and business excellence in achieving zero plastic waste in landfills and the environment.

Single use plastics are a growing environmental issue here in #HamOnt. Blaming consumers or municipal recycling programs is no longer OK – we have an opportunity to lead as a municipality and eliminate nuisance plastics from our waste stream all together! https://t.co/2tHbu3JgfK

— John-Paul Danko (@JohnPaulDanko) May 13, 2019

Many single-use plastics, such as straws, utensils and stir sticks were never recyclable in Hamilton’s program.

What’s The Difference between Single Use Plastic and Alternatives?

Single-use plastics, or disposable plastics, are used only once before they are thrown away or recycled (examples in the picture below). This is what we are investigating options to eliminate.

Alternatives to single use plastics are currently readily available.

Biodegradable waste is any product that can be easily broken down naturally by water, oxygen, the sun’s rays, radiation, or microorganisms.

In the photo below, the plate and cup are biodegradable. The chopsticks and stir stick are disposable wooden cutlery, which is more Eco-friendly than single use plastic. The coffee pods are fully recycled by the manufacturer while the coffee grounds inside are composted.

Vancouver, Victoria, Halifax and Montreal have successfully introduced or approved measures to reduce and/or eliminate polystyrene foam and/or single-use plastics going into landfill and the environment, and both Edmonton and Toronto are reviewing what other municipalities are doing to reduce single-use plastics and how to best curb their use.

The Province of Ontario is weighing options for regulations that would lead to full producer responsibility of single-use plastics as part of a broader strategy to send less waste to landfills.

Our goal is to move in the direction of a zero plastic waste City.

Great that #HamOnt will officially review eliminating #SingleUsePlastics from our landfills. Nuisance plastics are an environmental nightmare & almost entirely unnecessary. Thanks to @NrinderWard3 for leadership, @terrywhitehead & council for their support https://t.co/skipJyYetK

— John-Paul Danko (@JohnPaulDanko) May 23, 2019

Questions or Concerns?

You can read a copy of the full Zero Plastic Waste Plan motion here.

If you have any questions you can contact our office here.