“If we all continue to use single-use items, our world is just going to be full of plastic,” she said.
“Let’s figure out a way to reduce that.”
Oct. 18 to 24 is the 20th annual Waste Reduction Week in Canada. As the owner of No Planet B Refillery, Huot-Besler is one of many St. Albert-area residents promoting new ways to keep waste out of the landfill.
Waste and the pandemic
Waste organizations are encouraging municipalities to hold activities next week to promote waste reduction, said Christina Seidel of the Recycling Council of Alberta (one of the organizers of the event). St. Albert residents can take part in a scavenger hunt to win a waste-reduction kit, for example, or listen to free waste-reduction webinars hosted by the Edmonton Public Library. Landmarks such as Edmonton’s High Level Bridge will also be lit blue and green to mark the occasion.
COVID-19 has had wide-ranging effects on Alberta’s waste stream, Seidel said. Residential waste has surged relative to commercial, as has cardboard waste from Amazon boxes, as more people have worked and shopped from home. Use of disposable items has soared, especially when it comes to disposable masks.
“It’s been fairly frustrating,” Seidel said of the surge in disposables, especially since reusable items were safe to use during the pandemic, provided they were properly cleaned.
At the same time, Canada has also seen more low-to-no packaging options come onto the market in recent years, Seidel said. Loblaw has partnered with Loop out East to offer cookies, ice cream, and other products in reusable containers, for example, while other companies have started producing packaging-free items such as laundry strips (solidified detergent).
Huot-Besler carries bulk soap and shampoo customers can pour into reusable containers, as well as package-free toothpaste tablets and shampoo bars (which are like soap bars for your hair).
“Everyone has a good assortment of containers already,” she said, and by reusing and refilling them, we can reduce waste and sometimes save money.
Where to start
Recycling is an imperfect solution to packaging waste, said Michael Kalmanovitch of Earth’s General Store in Edmonton. Glass and plastic are often land-filled or recycled into something other than new containers, while plastic can only be recycled a finite number of times before it becomes waste.
Kalmanovitch said the first place to start with waste reduction is consumption.
“Do you need it? Do you need that much?”
Next, buy bulk products using refillable containers. Kalmanovitch said bulk products can cost less and reduce packaging waste. Package-free products such as shampoo bars can also cut carbon emissions from transportation, as they are lighter and easier to transport than their liquid counterparts.
Huot-Besler said glass jars are ideal for refills, as they are easy to clean, but old plastic jugs (such as that dish-soap bottle she keeps reusing) also work.
Food can be a challenge for packaging waste, as so much of it comes in plastic, Kalmanovitch said. Some vendors sell berries in cardboard instead of plastic, and he sometimes lets customers buy spinach or berries using their own containers.
Huot-Besler advised residents to try and address one item at a time, starting with their highest-use products, when it comes to packaging waste. If you can’t avoid those strawberries in plastic clamshells or can’t afford toothpaste tablets, don’t sweat it.
“Do what you can,” she said, and pressure store owners and companies to sell package-free products.
Check the Waste Free Edmonton Discussion Board on Facebook for other waste-reduction tips.
