It’s Waste Reduction Week—a week that was created to inform and engage Ontarians about the environmental and social ramifications of wasteful practices. It strives to educate, engage and empower Canadians to reduce, reuse and recycle waste.

Waste Reduction Week provides information and ideas on how to reduce waste in all facets of daily living, creating the solutions to the many environmental challenges we face including climate change, water pollution and preservation of our natural resources.

In light of this very important week here are few things you can be doing to reduce waste and highlight a partnership that is producing some promising results for Ontario’s environment.

Here are 5 ways you can help reduce waste:

1. Bring reusable bags and containers when shopping, traveling, or packing lunches or leftovers.
2. Choose products that are returnable, reusable, or refillable over single-use items.
3. Avoid individually wrapped items, snack packs, and single-serve containers. Buy large containers of items or from bulk bins whenever practical.
4. Be sure to recycle products like tires, batteries, paint. Check with your local municipality on what can get recycled in your community as new products that can be recycled are introduced each year.
5. Purchase items such as dish soap and laundry detergents in concentrate forms.

One initiative that definitely deserves an honourable mention this week is born out of a partnership between CAA South Central and Ontario Tire Stewardship, who have teamed up for the fifth annual eco-friendly RecycleDrive initiative.

In fact residents can get involved by dropping off your old batteries, oil and tires at any participating Approved Auto Repair Services Facility and they will properly recycle them.