The Provincial Day of Action on Litter
When:
Observances
The Provincial Day of Action on Litter is celebrated on the second Tuesday of May each year in Ontario.
We generate nearly one tonne of waste per person every year in Ontario footnote 1[1]. It is estimated that almost 10,000 tonnes of plastic debris enter Ontario’s lakes and rivers each year.
In Ontario:
just over 50% of the waste we divert is through blue box, green bins and leaf and yard waste collection programsfootnote 2[2]
70% of all waste materials from residential, commercial, industrial and institutional locations end up in landfills, and 30% are divertedfootnote 1[1]
Food and organics make up one third of the waste we generate. When food and organic waste breaks down in landfills it produces harmful greenhouse gases.
Ontario’s greenhouse gases from solid waste in landfills totaled 6 million tonnes CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) in 2020footnote 3[3]. Waste that doesn’t get recycled or go to landfills ends up as litter in our environment, which can have a negative effect on local ecosystems.
Litter along our shorelines, in our green spaces and on our streets can spill into our waterways and break down into micro-plastics in the environment, which can hurt or even kill wildlife and damage ecosystems.
We generate nearly one tonne of waste per person every year in Ontario footnote 1[1]. It is estimated that almost 10,000 tonnes of plastic debris enter Ontario’s lakes and rivers each year.
In Ontario:
just over 50% of the waste we divert is through blue box, green bins and leaf and yard waste collection programsfootnote 2[2]
70% of all waste materials from residential, commercial, industrial and institutional locations end up in landfills, and 30% are divertedfootnote 1[1]
Food and organics make up one third of the waste we generate. When food and organic waste breaks down in landfills it produces harmful greenhouse gases.
Ontario’s greenhouse gases from solid waste in landfills totaled 6 million tonnes CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) in 2020footnote 3[3]. Waste that doesn’t get recycled or go to landfills ends up as litter in our environment, which can have a negative effect on local ecosystems.
Litter along our shorelines, in our green spaces and on our streets can spill into our waterways and break down into micro-plastics in the environment, which can hurt or even kill wildlife and damage ecosystems.