City of Toronto issued the following announcement on July 12.
Councillor Anthony Perruzza (Ward 8 York West) joined City of Toronto staff and members of the community today to officially launch five new Community Reduce & Reuse Programs. The event took place at one of the program sites and included a tour of a Bicycle Repair Hub, pop-up activations of all of the programs, a barbecue and opportunities for bike, clothing and small appliance repair.
"These programs will play a key role in helping continue to build a culture of waste reduction, sharing, repairing and reuse here in Toronto," said Mayor John Tory. "They will also help to build sustainable communities by offering skills training, creating job opportunities and providing spaces for people to gather.”
The five programs are part of the implementation of the City's Long Term Waste Management Strategy and Tower Renewal Program and include Urban Harvest, The Sewing Program, Bicycle Repair Hubs, Sharing and Reuse Spaces, and Community Composting.
“The Community Reduce & Reuse Programs support the City’s aspirational goal of moving towards a zero waste future by educating residents about the importance of waste reduction and providing opportunities for sharing, repairing and reusing in Toronto neighbourhoods,” said Councillor Jaye Robinson (Ward 25 Don Valley West), Chair of the City's Public Works and Infrastructure Committee.
The program sites are based primarily in Neighbourhood Improvement Areas and include multi-residential buildings and community hubs. The programs were developed through a partnership between the Solid Waste Management Services and Social Development, Finance and Administration divisions and will be delivered in collaboration with various local agencies and non-profits.
“Community-based programs such as these reflect an investment in people, services, programs and facilities to strengthen the social and economic fabric of these neighbourhoods,” said Councillor James Pasternak (Ward 10 York Centre), Chair of the City's Community Development and Recreation Committee.
While all unique, the programs are interconnected and together will help to build a culture where items are seen as having more than one use and their lifecycles are maximized. Through their connections, the programs can support and benefit one another to achieve even greater waste reduction. For example, the bikes that are repaired at the Bicycle Repair Hubs can be used to collect and distribute the surplus food gathered through Urban Harvest using reusable bags created by the Sewing Program.
"We are grateful to have a number of these programs taking place in Ward 8,” said Councillor Perruzza. “I know that the local community will appreciate and take advantage of the opportunities they provide.”
Development and implementation of the programs began in 2017 and will be complete by the end of 2020 with a number of sites already up and running in neighbourhoods across Toronto.
Original source: https://www.toronto.ca/home/media-room/news-releases-media-advisories/?nrkey=67D8E29CADEA9787852582C80069B9CD