Waste not, want not: planning for consumer goods reuse in municipal waste management strategies

While sometimes buried beneath other urban discourse, the management of waste has long been, and remains, an important consideration for cities. Reuse as a means of waste prevention is well understood to be an integral component of municipal waste management strategies.

Considering the breadth of issues important to contemporary planning, in addition to the profession’s focus on holistic, systems-level thinking, puts matters such as waste management, waste prevention, and reuse well within its scope. Within this paper, a case study methodology is utilized to investigate instances of municipally-driven consumer goods reuse. This paper

highlights the distinctiveness of this practice and furthers the understanding of how this component of waste management is addressed in locales comparable to Toronto. Emerging from this research is the indication that an opportunity is present to expand municipal

involvement with consumer goods reuse in Toronto, including through greater sector specific reporting and by considering further strategies for multi-family residential buildings. While this paper is largely framed through a waste management lens, the concerns of this sector can be seen to link strongly to urban planning considerations, such as sustainability, resilience, and the imperative to consider the needs of future generations.

Key words: Reuse; Municipal Solid Waste Management; Consumer Goods; Toronto