The upcoming national Waste Reduction Week is a time for Islanders to reflect upon progress made and commit to future actions that will improve our environment, said Premier Robert Ghiz.
Premier Ghiz made his comments today as he officially proclaimed the week of October 15 to the 21 as Waste Reduction Week in Prince Edward Island.
“Here in Prince Edward Island, we have been leaders for some time when it comes to waste management through initiatives like Waste Watch. Going forward, as Islanders, each of us can look for simple ways that we can reduce the amount of waste that we create each and every day,” said Premier Ghiz.
“According to Statistics Canada in their 2006 report, Households and the Environment, Prince Edward Island led all of Canada in several benchmarks related to household access and use of recycling and composting programs,” advised Gerry Moore, CEO of Island Waste Management Corporation. “Properly managing the waste we produce is the first step, but reducing the amount of waste we produce is the next step to a cleaner, healthier environment,” added Moore.
Some of the things that Islanders can do to reduce their “waste footprint” include using reusable containers for lunches at work and school, using reusable bags for shopping, and using refillable containers for storage purposes. As consumers, Islanders can also ask retailers to reduce the amount of packaging used for commercial products.