The Sustainability Office invites you to participate in Zero Waste Week 2020: Home Edition! From October 19-23, we encourage you to take the zero waste mason jar challenge to get a better understanding of how much waste you generate in one week - you might be surprised! We'll also be sharing other exciting activities and resources on our social media throughout October, on topics such as:
Strategies for reducing food waste
- Waste sorting guidelines (on campus and in Waterloo Region)
- Specialty recycling programs and donation guidelines during COVID-19
- Repairing and upcycling clothing and textile waste
- And much more!
To learn more about Waterloo's commitment to becoming a zero waste campus by 2035, check out our Shift Zero Action Plan.
Read more about the challenge and supporting activities below:
Zero Waste Challenge | Activities | FAQs | Terms and conditions
Zero Waste Challenge
Are you ready for the mason jar challenge? The rules are simple:
Register your jar on the zero waste challenge registration page
- Collect your waste destined for landfill in a mason jar (or similar-sized container) for one week
- Recycling and composting do not count toward your jar
- Complete the follow-up survey (which will be sent to your email if you registered) by Monday, November 2, 2020 at 11:59pm
- BONUS: Share your progress on social media using #WasteWeekUW and #JoinTheShiftUW to help inspire others
By completing the steps above, you will be entered in a random prize draw to win one of these amazing prizes (see terms and conditions):
- $100 gift card to Zero Waste Bulk
- 1 of 5 $50 gift cards to Zero Waste Bulk
- 1 of 10 $10 WatCard top-ups
Note: There is no 'winning' or 'losing' the challenge at the end of the week. The goal of the challenge is to bring awareness to how much and what kind of waste we produce in a week and to reflect on opportunities for more sustainable swaps. We encourage you to try to keep your jar as empty as possible for the week, though we acknowledge that COVID-19 presents unique challenges to waste reduction.
Activities
We want to make sure you're equipped with all the tools you need for the zero waste challenge! Here are a number of activities we'll be offering leading up the Zero Waste Week to help you out:
Activity | Details | Date/Location |
WORKSHOP: TACKLING FOOD WASTE |
|
Wed, Oct 21 | 7-8pm |
WASTE WARRIOR QUIZ |
|
Open online between Mon, Oct 19 at 9:00am and Fri, Oct 30 at 11:59pm |
SHOW US YOUR SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE |
|
Weekly, Sep 14 - Nov 30 |
FAQs
We've compiled a list of frequently asked questions to help you prepare for Zero Waste Week. If your question wasn't answered here, please reach out to the Sustainability Office.