Vaughan exploring Curb Swap Days program to meet its waste diversion target

YorkRegion.com
April 11, 2017
Adam Martin-Robbins

Vaughan is embracing the adage that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

City staff are planning a new initiative, dubbed Curb Swap Days, that would encourage residents to place reusable household goods such as small appliances, bicycles, computers or furniture at the edge of their property, on designated days for others to take free of charge. 

Currently, the city is considering co-ordinating Curb Swap Days once a month from May to October.

Participants would place items, marked with signage saying “free”, at the curb between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. But uncollected items must be removed from the curbside by 5 p.m.

The goal is to help Vaughan meet its target of diverting 289 kg of waste, per capita, from landfill by 2031.

“This type of program can also build community,” Kate Dykman, Vaughan’s manager of solid waste management, told councillors at an April 10 committee meeting.

“It’s a way (for people) to share with friends and neighbours items that they don’t need as well as for others to have things free of charge.”

The program is modelled on similar “long-standing, successful” events in Halifax, Ottawa, Saskatoon and Winnipeg, Dykman said.

Before it goes ahead, the initiative has to be approved by city council.