Mani Sharma
"Ottawa should reduce waste at its source before relying on landfill expansion. The City should improve organics participation, make recycling rules easier to understand, reduce contamination, and expand convenient collection of household hazardous waste, textiles, electronics, and other materials.
I would also support:
- More repair, reuse, refill, composting, and sharing programs.
- Partnerships with local repair cafés, community organizations, social enterprises, and businesses.
- Greater use of reusable materials at City facilities and events.
- Better waste-diversion services in parks, public spaces, apartments, and multi-unit buildings.
- Stronger procurement rules that favour durable, repairable, reusable, and recycled products.
- Public reporting on diversion rates, contamination, landfill capacity, and program performance.
A circular economy means designing products and services so that materials remain useful for as long as possible. The City can lead by example through its own purchasing and operations."
Marie-Ange Ahinful
I would expand access to recycling and green-bin programs, improve public education and make waste sorting easier in homes, apartments, businesses and public spaces. To support a circular economy, the City should promote repair, reuse, donation and sharing programs, reduce single-use items, recover more construction materials and use its purchasing power to choose durable, reusable and recycled products.
Kevin Hua
I am a strong proponent of the right to repair which I hope to advocate for in my position as City Councillor both in terms of policy and programs at the municipal level that help to encourage it and build a stronger repair culture and in persuading our provincial and federal counterparts to pass legislation create a more conducive environment for it. I am also supportive of our waster diversion efforts to promote reuse
Chelsea Walton
"Ottawa's landfill capacity is limited, so reducing what we send to landfill has to remain a priority. I support the direction of the City's Solid Waste Master Plan, including increasing organics diversion, improving diversion in multi-residential buildings, and making reuse, recycling and composting easier and more accessible.
I support the three-item garbage limit, while recognizing that households sometimes need flexibility. Ottawa's existing Yellow Bag Program provides that option by allowing residents to purchase additional bags when they occasionally exceed the limit.
Longer term, I think we should be open to examining different ways of paying for waste collection that give households greater choice while continuing to incentivize waste reduction. Toronto, for example, treats solid waste as a rate-based utility service, with households choosing different garbage-bin sizes and paying more for greater garbage capacity. A model like that could provide more flexibility than a universal limit while maintaining a financial incentive to reduce waste. I would be interested in studying whether a similar approach could work in Ottawa when the City next makes major decisions about its waste collection contracts, collection system and equipment. Any change would need to consider affordability, accessibility and the different needs of urban, suburban and rural households.
But reducing waste cannot be limited to what residents put at the curb. A circular economy means finding ways to keep food, products and materials in use rather than throwing them away. We have a great example of that right here in Stittsville through Lionhearts, which operates an Ottawa warehouse on Iber Road. Lionhearts recovers surplus food and household goods from businesses and redistributes them at no cost to frontline charities and community organizations. That keeps usable products out of the waste stream while helping meet important needs in our community.
I would like to see the City continue to support and build partnerships with organizations doing this kind of work, while expanding repair cafés, swap and reuse programs, textile and bulky-item diversion, food-rescue initiatives, and better diversion of construction and demolition materials. The City can also use its own purchasing power to favour durable, repairable and reusable products and incorporate reuse into municipal procurement.
The goal should be to make reducing and reusing waste practical and affordable, give households reasonable flexibility, and ultimately extend the life of our landfill rather than simply placing more responsibility on individual residents."
Theresa Qadri
"I support Ottawa's waste diversion objectives and the implementation of the Solid Waste Master Plan, which prioritizes waste reduction, reuse, repair, recycling, and organics diversion to extend landfill capacity and improve environmental outcomes.
However, the current three-item garbage limit should be reviewed to ensure it is equitable for larger households. While the policy plays an important role in reducing landfill waste and extending the lifespan of the Trail Road Waste Facility Landfill, it can impose disproportionate costs on families with significantly higher occupancy levels that generate more unavoidable waste.
I would propose a targeted accommodation program that provides a limited number of free garbage tags to qualifying large families. Eligibility would be based on household size and residency requirements, with clear thresholds and accountability measures to prevent misuse. This approach would maintain the incentive to participate in recycling and organics diversion programs while recognizing the practical realities faced by larger households.
In addition, I would support the continued expansion of initiatives identified in Ottawa's Solid Waste Master Plan, including reuse and repair programs, textile diversion, food rescue initiatives, bulky-item diversion, and the expansion of the Take It Back! program. These measures help shift Ottawa from a linear ""use and dispose"" model toward a circular economy where materials remain in productive use for as long as possible.
A successful waste management policy must balance environmental responsibility, fiscal sustainability, and fairness. Ottawa can achieve its landfill diversion goals while ensuring that larger families are not unfairly burdened by waste disposal costs."
Sheetal Narwal
“The landfill is filling up, and the cheapest garbage to deal with is the garbage we never make. I'll push for better green bin and recycling access in townhomes and apartments, where participation is lowest because the setup is hardest. I'll support repair cafés, swap events and reuse days in Stittsville, and work with our local businesses on reducing packaging and waste. New rules like the garbage limit only work if residents get the tools and support to divert more, so I'll make sure families have that information in plain language. And I'll ask the City to publish diversion rates by ward, so we can see what's working.”