Zero Waste Newsletter for Residents: Spring 2023

Banff strives to be a model environmental community, and in this newsletter, you’ll find tips and tricks to shrink your waste and keep up-to-date on how the Town of Banff is working towards zero waste to landfill by 2050.

In this edition:

What’s in Banff’s Garbage? Waste Data Dashboard
Upcoming Events: Earth Day & Waste Transfer Site Tour
Single-Use Item Reduction Bylaw
Trailblazer Announcement

If you know others who would enjoy receiving this newsletter, please direct them to sign up at banff.ca/Notify.
Email us: ZeroWaste@Banff.ca
Learn more: BanffZeroWasteTrail.ca

What’s In Banff’s Garbage?

We’re excited to share the Town of Banff’s new waste data dashboard to keep you informed about the progress of the zero waste initiatives.

The most notable progress residents have made to date is tripling the amount of food scraps sent for composting since 2018.

We still have a long way to go. Despite all residents’ efforts to reduce waste and compost and recycle as much as possible, the majority of Banff’s residential waste is still being sent to landfill.

What’s still in the garbage you might be wondering?

We dug in to find out...below a snapshot of what's in the average Banff garbage bin that goes to landfill.

We've come a long way in separating recyclables and compostable materials out of the landfill but we still have more progress to make to get to our goal of Zero Waste.

Visit BanffZeroWasteTrail.ca/Dashboard to view the zero waste dashboard, created in house by Vicente Frias, resource recovery team member. The dashboard reports how the whole community is doing and the progress the commercial and residential sector is making.

Celebrate Earth Day with the Zero Waste Team

Saturday, April 22, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Banff Recreation Grounds
Celebrate Earth Day with us by learning how you can reduce your landfill waste through buying less, and composting and recycling more. Our team will be at the Banff Recreation Grounds from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. with family-friendly activities.

You'll have the chance to:

see samples of what Banff residents send to landfill
take a picture in the garbage truck
ask questions and get tools to reduce your waste
learn about our residential environment rebate program

Waste Transfer Site Tours

Join us for our next Waste Transfer Site Tour on Thursday, April 27 at the Town of Banff Waste Transfer Site,160 Hawk Avenue.

Afternoon Tour: 1 – 2 p.m.
Evening Tour: 5 – 6 p.m.

Email: Zero.Waste@Banff.ca to register!

Single Use Item Reduction Bylaw

The Town of Banff has passed a Single-Use Items Reduction Bylaw to support a range of voluntary initiatives underway to help reduce disposable items that are used once than go to landfill. The Single-Use Item Reduction Bylaw (PDF) will be enforced in stages:

Effective July 1, 2023:

Customers must request accessory disposable items.
Customers must be allowed to ask for food and beverages to be served in their reusable containers.

Effective January 1, 2024:

Plastic shopping bags are banned.
Businesses are required to provide reusable food ware for dine-in services.

As a resident, here’s what you can do to participate:

Bring your own bags when shopping around town
Bring your own cup when you go out for coffee
Choose to dine-in, to reduce takeout waste
If you do get takeout, let the restaurant know that you have your own clean container for refill
Got too many reusable bags? Donate them to our upcoming bag share program by dropping by on Earth Day!

You can find more information on the proposed Single Use Item Bylaw here.

Fjällräven awarded Zero Waste Trailblazer honours

Pictured in photo: Daniel Illsey, store manager

Fjällräven is the latest recipient of the Zero Waste Trailblazer Awards, a recognition for Banff businesses and institutions that go above and beyond to reduce, re-use and recycle.

Fjällräven was awarded Trailblazer status for their efforts to help Banff move toward zero waste. A few of their most notable waste reduction practices include:

Rather than throwing out damaged goods or returned clothing, Fjällräven sends them to Calgary to be repaired
Whenever they have an excess of packaging materials, Fjällräven posts it on social media to be picked up for free
The company voluntarily enrolled itself in a program called “The Green Business Bureau” where branches go through regular environmental assessments and have to maintain a certain score

Fjällräven is currently exploring opportunities for alternative packaging, while there’s a way to go in eliminating disposable packaging altogether, we congratulate Fjällräven for tackling what is in their control and not being shy to share it with the community. Thank you to the enthusiastic team at Fjällräven for providing Banff with excellent clothing and equipment that we can feel good about!

Visit BanffZeroWasteTrail.ca/Commercial to become a Trailblazer today.