50 signatures reached
To: The Toronto Councillors Mike Layton, Kristyn Wong-Tam, Gord Perks, and Josh Matlow
Toronto's Waste Reduction Initiative
Make your voices heard in the fight against plastic waste by signing this petition and supporting efforts to push for impactful change!
We are a group of graduate students at Ryerson University who care about reducing plastic pollution and waste in Toronto. We want to strengthen Phase 2 of Toronto's Waste Reduction Strategy by pushing for the ban of single-use plastic bag sales, single-use black plastic, and phasing out single-use water bottle sales.
We will take action by bringing the signatures received in this petition forward in our meeting with Toronto City Council members.
We are a group of graduate students at Ryerson University who care about reducing plastic pollution and waste in Toronto. We want to strengthen Phase 2 of Toronto's Waste Reduction Strategy by pushing for the ban of single-use plastic bag sales, single-use black plastic, and phasing out single-use water bottle sales.
We will take action by bringing the signatures received in this petition forward in our meeting with Toronto City Council members.
Why is this important?
The equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic enters our oceans EVERY minute. Plastic is everywhere, destroying our ecosystems by releasing harmful microplastics and contaminating our water bodies. If we want to stop plastic pollution from destroying our environment beyond repair, we need to take action at the local level to push for impactful change. This is why we are calling on Toronto leaders to do their part in the fight against plastic pollution. We can do better. Every year, Toronto uses approximately 215 million plastic bags, which equals 1400 tonnes of plastic waste, adding to our growing body of plastic pollution. Black plastic takeout containers and cutlery are still used extensively, even though black plastic cannot be recycled in Toronto. 54,000 tonnes of recyclable material go to Toronto landfills every year due to contamination.
As a city, we have made some progress with Phase 1 of Toronto’s Waste Reduction Strategy by encouraging businesses to reduce single-use takeaway items. But we must take bolder measures to make the necessary reductions in plastic waste that are needed to save our environment for Phase 2. So, we are pushing Toronto City Council to strengthen Phase 2 of its Waste Reduction Strategy. Toronto must ban single-use plastic bags, non-recyclable single-use black plastic, and take steps to gradually phase out single-use water bottle consumption.
As a city, we have made some progress with Phase 1 of Toronto’s Waste Reduction Strategy by encouraging businesses to reduce single-use takeaway items. But we must take bolder measures to make the necessary reductions in plastic waste that are needed to save our environment for Phase 2. So, we are pushing Toronto City Council to strengthen Phase 2 of its Waste Reduction Strategy. Toronto must ban single-use plastic bags, non-recyclable single-use black plastic, and take steps to gradually phase out single-use water bottle consumption.