The Town of Montreal West piloted its first ever Zero Waste Challenge as part of Circular Economy Month last year. To build onto this green momentum, the Town will be hosting another Zero Waste Challenge this spring!

From April 24 to May 19, participating households will commit to weighing their household waste (excluding recycling and compost) every week for four weeks. Households are also invited to attend workshops aimed at better understanding the waste they produce and collectively learning about ways to minimize it, with the kick off workshop being on April 17.

Everyone is invited to take part in this opportunity and make their contribution to protecting our environment. Households interested in participating in the challenge have until April 23 at 11:59 p.m. to register through the online form.

* Please note, challenge and registration dates have been extended

Challenge recap:

  • Registration period: March 24 to April 23 at 11:59 pm
  • Challenge objective: Reduce household waste by 20%
  • Workshop dates: April 17 at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. Date of 2nd workshop TBD
  • Challenge duration: April 24 to May 19
  • Prize to win: Zero waste starter kit

FAQ

Get your family on board. Choose a place and a time the evening before trash pickup. Find a bathroom scale, paper and pencil, garbage bag. Identify items going into the trash, note on tracker sheet, and place in trash. Then weigh the filled bag. Done!

What have you discarded? Can you think of another purpose for any items?

See the section on the Town website about how to sort your waste, it is rich with information to help you. Check with your teammates.

Your team captain will be in touch to invite you to the group and to let you know how you’ll all be connected.

You will learn how at the workshop before we start. Otherwise, check in with your team captain for support.

The challenge lasts three weeks.

Observation Week: No action to reduce waste, just observe and measure/record your garbage, using the shared tool. Determine changes to be made, e.g. reduce by 20% the next week.

Action Week: Take action based on tips. Observe and measure, using shared tool. Determine further reductions, if desired (e.g. 10% more reduction).

Third Week: Continue action based on tips. Observe and measure, using shared tool.

You will learn how you, your team and all the teams have performed when all the data is sent in. Then we will have a meeting to celebrate and present the prize to the winning team. Go Team Go!