Newmarket recognized with York Region sustainability awards

Newmarkettoday.ca
Nov. 7, 2022

The Town of Newmarket was recognized with a Best Organizational Engagement Award and the Zero Waste Award at the 2022 York Region Sustainability Awards.

Presented by the Windfall Ecology Centre, the York Region Sustainability Awards recognize those in the public and private sectors making significant leaps in sustainability and contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“Congratulations to the Town of Newmarket and our staff for their dedication towards combating climate change,” says Mayor John Taylor. “Climate change is the most important environmental issue of our time. These two awards represent our commitment to continuously make eco-conscious and cost-saving decisions that benefit the environment and have a positive impact to our community. We look forward to doing even more to help fight climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our community.”

Best Organizational Engagement Award
The Best Organizational Engagement Award was presented to the Town of Newmarket for their efforts that focused on clear communications and staff engagement from across the organization that led to big results. This award recognized staff’s ability to work efficiently and effectively to reduce environmental impacts. From tankless water heaters to boiler replacement, implementing the list of action items has resulted in a 45 per cent savings on the buildings’ utility bills for hydro, gas and water -- adding up to just over $132,000.

Zero Waste Award
The Zero Waste Award was awarded to the Town for its zero-waste cleaning system that was integrated at the Magna Centre, one of the Town’s recreation facilities. Through proactive research by staff, it was discovered that by using a chemical cleaning system to clean the sand used in pool filters, instead of replacing it, the Town was able to divert 18,500 pounds of waste from landfill and save approximately $25,200.

Traditionally, pool filter sand is replaced at the end of its life cycle (between eight to 12 years), which comes with high costs and creates landfill waste.

Learn more about how Newmarket is a place where clean meets green by reading the 2019-2022 Community Report here. For a list of environmental initiatives in Newmarket, visit newmarket.ca.