Malvern East residents introduce waste-reducing habits to the ‘burbs

One group is going beyond community clean-ups and working on shifting mindsets, teaching Malvern East residents how to reduce waste instead of just dealing with it after it’s been discarded.

Although the average amount of large litter decreased by 48 per cent between 2002 and 2022, it’s still a big problem with the City of Toronto cleaning up over 2,261 tonnes of litter from public spaces like sidewalks last year.

Meanwhile, despite producing less waste over the years, the city’s landfill diversion rate has remained stagnant for over a decade, according to Toronto Foundation’s 2024 Vital Signs report.

Firdous Hussein, a resident of Malvern East, says, “I think the challenges with disposing of like waste is learning how we can reduce waste to begin with, and then how to sort out waste and then to see the whole cycle. I feel [that] if we also [know] where our litter actually goes, we will be producing less litter.”

“I think the main concern is, how do I reduce waste more than how do I recycle it?”

Even in the suburbs of Scarborough, residents are complaining about the increasing amount of litter. 

So, a group of residents in Wexford decided to launch Scarborough Zero Waste, a grassroots environmental organization, in 2020.

Quentin De Becker,  the organization’s executive director, says, “In the suburbs, many people work a lot and they use public transport to go to work, so there is the single-use packaging [that] is used a lot, like for coffee or takeaway,” he explains. “There is a link between the lifestyle in the suburb and the amount of litter that’s happening in the neighbourhood.”

From community clean-ups, repair cafes, upcycling workshops at schools and borrowing programs, the group has helped Wexford residents reduce their waste.

Now it’s reaching bigger audiences at the Scarborough Farmers’ Market in Malvern East. Partnering with the City of Toronto’s Live Green initiative, Scarborough Zero Waste is offering vendors and volunteers sustainable packaging and teaching shoppers how to upcycle through an art workshop.

“We have a plethora of culturally diverse, just yummy, yummy food. And what Scarborough Zero Waste has helped us do is begin to show our vendors ways with their packaging and with the containers that they are sharing to the public, ways that we can better reduce the waste that we’re putting forward using reusable cutlery, plates and cups, containers,” shares Jennifer Forde, the Development Manager for the Scarborough Farmers’ Market.

Scarborough Zero Waste will continue to partner with other organizations to reduce waste while also empowering community members to take action in their own spaces, promoting waste-reducing habits in schools and workplaces.