Welcome to the home of the Waste Wiki! An open access project for data, research and information pertinent to Canada’s waste management sector
The Waste Wiki is home to more than 6000+ studies on waste, and provides users with the ability to interface with data so that they can make more informed decisions. Please check back for further updates, we have a lot of big things planned!
Tell us what you would like to see on the page. Email suggestions to lakhanc@yorku.ca
Quick Links
The Waste Library | Data Dashboards |
|---|---|
Cost/Carbon Models | Industry Data |
Research Snapshots | Waste Wiki 101 |
NEWS
October 4th, 2018
Congratulations to Club Coffee for the being the recipient of the 2018 Waste Wiki Environmental Leadership Award (Corporate)
While the debate surrounding single serve plastics rages on, Club Coffee has found a way to develop an innovative compostable solution that maximizes environmental impact at the lowest possible cost.
Better yet, they are a Canadian made product with headquarters located in the GTA. Learn more about Club Coffee below:
Club Coffee has built a reputation for quality and innovation since 1906. We are a major coffee roaster and contract manufacturer of over 500 custom label products and another 160 products under our own brands. A team drawing on the best of the retail and consumer and packaged goods sectors drives a culture focused on unleashing innovation that delivers what people want today. That culture is why leading coffee brands in Canada and the United States look to us for leading-edge sustainability advances such as our PῧrPod100™, the world’s first Certified 100% Compostable single serve pod for coffee, tea and other hot beverages in the dominant North American single serve format.
https://club-coffee.myshopify.com/
October 3rd, 2018
Congratulations to York Region for being the recipient of the 2018 Waste Wiki Environmental Leadership Award (Municipal)
While there are many municipalities across Canada that should be applauded for their pioneering work in waste management, York Region’s innovative approach to waste reduction and reuse deserves to be highlighted.
When we think of the 3Rs – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle – the emphasis tends to be on the word recycling. However, the 3Rs isn’t just a catchy slogan, it is part of the waste minimization hierarchy that prioritizes waste management strategies. Reduction is always preferred to Reuse, and Reuse is always preferred to Recycling (or so the theory goes)
York Region has not only excelled in the conventional metrics of overall recycling and diversion rates, but has taken it a step further to address reduction and reuse through lending libraries, curbside swap programs and community repair cafes.
Perhaps of greatest value is the fact these programs directly engage the community, fostering a sense of collective responsibility and stewardship among York residents.
An awards ceremony will be held early next month, so stay tuned for details!
September 23rd, 2018
The Waste Wiki is proud to announce that three FES students have joined our team. Welcome Ryan Guild, Kelsey Morden and Alexander Christison. Read more about them here:
September 23rd, 2018
Waste Wiki officially releases a white paper comparing plastic and compostable coffee pods.
September 19th, 2018
Check out the Waste Wiki presenting at the Composting Council of Canada in Montreal!
http://www.compost.org/English/PDF/2018_CCC_Conference_Agenda_ENGLISH.pdf
September 13th, 2018
My 2.5 minutes of fame on Global Morning News
https://globalnews.ca/video/4445641/is-it-time-to-ban-plastic-coffee-pods
June 20th, 2018
Live Recycling Q&A with CBC!
June 13th, 2018
Check out our study examining the efficacy of plastic bags relative to recycling bins/carts
https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/york-university-study-finds-recycling-bags-better-than-carts-at-reducing-contamination-and-program-costs-685340991.html
May 11th, 2018
Library Update: The Waste Wiki has been updated to include more than 6000+ studies/reports on waste!
May 9th, 2018
Waste Wiki Featured (Twice) on CBC’s The National:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/thenational/trying-to-recycle-everything-comes-at-a-high-cost-reduce-reuse-rethink-1.4656406
http://www.cbc.ca/news/thenational/how-your-lifestyle-is-making-recycling-unsustainable-reduce-reuse-rethink-1.4598283
May 1st, 2018
Thank you to the Recycling Council of British Columbia for inviting us to speak at the “Rethink a world without waste” conference (May 30th – June 1st, Whistler, BC)
https://www.rcbcconference.ca/program-details-may-31-am-session.html
November 7th, 2017
The Waste Wiki team (Dr. Calvin Lakhan) will be giving the keynote address at the National Textile Symposium in Markham on November 7th and 8th. Hope to see you there!
http://www.visionquestenvironmental.com/images/2017TextileRecyclingSymposiumAgenda.pdf
November 6th, 2017
We would like to welcome recent MEs graduate, Nicole Thompson, to the Waste Wiki team! Nicole has a background in municipal waste programs, with a specific expertise in textile diversion. Glad to have her on board!
October 2nd, 2017
Congratulations to the City of Markham for being awarded Waste Wiki’s inaugural “Environmental Leader” award. Markham continues to be a pioneer in the environmental and waste management field, and it is my pleasure to recognize their continued efforts and excellence in this space
September 15th, 2017
Come visit the Waste Wiki at the 2017 Textile Recycling Symposium on November 7th, where we will be giving the keynote address! Conference details found here:
2017 Textile Recycling Symposium
August 21, 2017
The Waste Wiki Library has been updated and now includes more than 5,500 papers on waste related issues. Thank you to all who have contributed to this project.
July 12th, 2017
The “Mega Dashboard” is now live – The university has aggregated every historical entry from the publicly posted data call files (for Blue Box financials, tonnages, Organics, and Non Recycling Items) and puts it into one easy to use visual dashboard. Simply select the municipality and the year, and it will display the relevant information.
June 5th, 2017
Waste Wiki June Update – The Waste Wiki is now home to more than 5000!!!! free studies and reports on waste. It is officially Canada’s largest online repository of open access waste related literature