Malloum Abakardid
"Before new programs, publish how each ward is doing on diversion, and make sure residents know what the green bin and recycling programs already accept. A program people don't understand doesn't divert anything."
Laine Johnson
"We need to be much more intentional about reducing the amount of waste we send to landfill and building a circular economy in Ottawa. I served on the Councillor’s Advisory Committee for the rollout of the Solid Waste Master Plan, where I provided feedback on how the plan was being implemented through its first two years. That experience has given me a close look at where the City is making progress and where we need to keep pushing.
I’ve also focused on bringing the right people together. I connected IKEA with the City’s Solid Waste team to identify opportunities for circular economy projects, because there are businesses and community organizations already doing innovative work that the City can help scale.
We also need to make waste diversion easier for residents. I have pushed for household hazardous waste programs that people can actually access without a vehicle, and we are now starting to see neighbourhood-based events, like the recent event at Lee Valley. That is the kind of service delivery we should be expanding across the city.
There will be significant decisions next term about the future of Ottawa’s waste system, including our landfill capacity and the potential role of waste-to-energy. I will be focused on making sure those decisions are made with the long-term needs of the city in mind, while continuing to prioritize waste reduction, reuse and recovery. I also want to keep connecting community organizations and businesses with the City so we can identify practical opportunities to keep materials in use rather than sending them to landfill.
There are also smaller, practical changes worth pursuing. For example, I want to explore whether a version of the yellow bag program could help food banks divert more of their food waste into the organics stream, if we have the capacity to support it. We should be looking for those kinds of opportunities across the system: reducing waste, making diversion easier, and finding new ways to keep valuable materials out of our landfill."