35 Years of Building a Greener City for All

For 35 years, the Toronto Environmental Alliance has campaigned locally to find solutions to Toronto's urban environmental problems. As a not-for-profit organization, we advocate on behalf of all Torontonians for a green, healthy and equitable city. We rely on our supporters to help us work with communities and we act as an environmental watchdog at City Hall.

OUR MISSION

To promote a greener Toronto. We work with concerned individuals, community groups, professionals and workers, encouraging the participation of local people on local issues.

OUR VISION

A green, healthy and equitable city with economic activity that sustains our environment.

TEA has more than 60,000 supporters across the city. The unrestricted public donations from our members and supporters allow us to pursue our core mandate to promote a greener Toronto, enabling us to spend time talking to City Councillors and engaging residents in public policy debates.

ZERO WASTE BENEFITS OUR ENVIRONMENT

Zero waste reduces our climate impact.

Reducing, reusing and recycling can be a key part of a climate change strategy to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.S. EPA has estimated roughly 42% of all greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the production and use of goods, including food, products and packaging.3 Reducing, reusing and recycling will conserve that energy and dramatically reduce our carbon emissions.

Zero waste conserves resources and minimizes pollution.

Our current culture of consumption is unsustainable. Extracting raw materials from natural spaces requires large amounts of energy and causes pollution, whether it is logging a forest, mining for minerals or drilling for oil. Processing these materials requires more energy and causes more pollution. Once they’re used, the goods are simply dumped in a landfill or destroyed in an incinerator.

In contrast, a zero waste approach conserves natural resources and reduces pollution from extraction, manufacturing and disposal. Reducing and reusing means fewer products are made, as people buy less and as products are made to last. Recycling keeps waste out of landfills and incinerators and provides manufacturers with recycled instead of raw materials to make new goods.

ZERO WASTE BENEFITS OUR COMMUNITIES

Zero waste promotes social equity and builds community.

A zero waste approach can build community capacity, support marginalized communities and protect community health.

Community groups, and small businesses have solutions to help Toronto get to zero waste while also building community capacity and addressing social inequities.

Community projects focused on reuse help redistribute useful goods to those in need, from leftover food donated to shelters, to furniture for refugees, to business clothing for those entering the job market.

Community-based zero waste strategies like composting at a community garden, tool sharing and skills sharing to reuse and repair, build capacity to reduce waste and costs.

A zero waste strategy needs to ensure everyone has access to tools to reduce, reuse and recycle waste where they live, work and play. This allows everyone to participate in protecting our environment.

A zero waste approach also protects the health of communities by reducing pollution in the air, water and soil by keeping toxics and waste out of landfills and incinerators.