Circular economy; let’s keep it rolling!

By Chantal Boudreau, member of the Environment Committee

October was circular economy month and while October is over, circular economy initiatives should keep rolling! 

According to the Government of Canada, a “circular economy retains and recovers as much value as possible from resources by reusing, repairing, refurbishing, remanufacturing, repurposing, or recycling products and materials”. It’s about using resources wisely, thinking about waste as a resource instead of a cost, and finding innovative ways to revalue outputs, usually during the initial design phase. 

Circular economy principles are most effective when companies design products and packaging with their full lifecycle in mind. By purchasing products from companies that follow these principles, you support a more sustainable way of living. For example, Cascades sells residential toilet paper that is wrapped in paper and shipped in recycled cardboard boxes, cutting plastic waste and reusing paper materials. Ottawa’s zero-waste store, Nu Grocery, showcases brands that have reduced or eliminated packaging. These are just two examples of the many companies embracing circular principles. 

The City of Ottawa and local organizations provide several options to support a circular economy model; below are a few more:

Reuse Ottawa is a City-wide program that provides a way for businesses to offer reusable takeout containers to their customers. After use, customers can return the clean containers to designated drop off locations for them to be recirculated. These offer a great alternative to Styrofoam or one-time use containers that end up in landfill. See their website for participating businesses, and consider recommending your favourite restaurant in Orléans.

Earthub is an Ottawa-based organization with a focus on reducing waste. Their “Items to Keep Out of the Landfill” (ITKOOTL) program allows community members to drop off common household waste items including egg cartons, milk bags, and plastic pull tabs to be reused or repurposed. There is a free drop-off bin in neighbouring Chatelaine Village; email [email protected] for the address and a map of all drop off locations. Earthub also offers a residential collection subscription, which accepts an expanded inventory of items including coffee bags, cereal liners, and candy wrappers, to name a few. With Halloween around the corner, it’s a great time to consider registering for residential collection. Earthub also offers circular economy consultations for businesses to help identify and implement long term sustainable practices. 

Re4m is an Ottawa based organization that repurposes different materials to provide a wide variety of custom built products. Examples of past projects include custom furniture, accent pieces, signs and so much more! If you have any project you’d like to discuss with them, they offer free consultations that can be booked easily online.

Box of life, an Ottawa-based company, sells at-home vermicomposting (worm composting) kits. You can also find guides for low-cost DIY options online. As an added bonus, you can use shredded paper as a bedding material for the worms, thereby diverting paper waste as well. (Note: While worm compost is extremely beneficial for soil quality, ensure that you remove all worms before adding it to your outdoor garden, as the worms are invasive.)

Circular economy is all about finding uses for materials that could otherwise be viewed as waste. Here are some other ways you can integrate principles of circular economy in your daily life.

• The City of Ottawa’s Take it Back! Program “encourages local businesses to ‘take back’ many of the household materials that they sell, and to ensure they are reused, recycled or disposed of properly.” Residents can use the Waste Explorer portal/app to find out where to bring items to be reused or repurposed.
• The City of Ottawa recently partnered with Love Food Hate Waste to provide several tips to help residents reduce food waste and save money. 
• Join a Repair Cafe offered by one of the wonderful community associations and organisations in Ottawa, such as the one hosted by the CGOW Community Association, the Ottawa Tool Library, or  community partners working with the City of Ottawa.
• TrashNothing allows users to post images of items available for free that others can reuse. You can use the app or sign up for emails to give and receive items.
• Lend-It.ca connects users with items they may only need to borrow for a short time, at a small rental fee. If you’re looking to use something for a project or a short time, consider using this service.
• ChipDrop allows you to request free woodchips from local arborists. Once you’ve registered, arborists will see the request and, if they have a job near you that meets your criteria, will deliver 1-2 truckloads of woodchips. Similarly, after major storms, the City of Ottawa has previously turned downed trees into free woodchips for community members.