Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Our planet has provided us with an abundance of natural resources. But we have not utilized them responsibly and currently consume far beyond what our planet can provide. Goal 12 is about sustainably managing natural resources, reducing and managing waste better, and promoting sustainable lifestyles and company practices.
Improving waste management
Pictured here: Calvin Lakhan
Managing waste in Ontario is very expensive and it’s time to rethink our provincial strategy, according to Calvin Lakhan, PhD and co-investigator of the “Waste Wiki” project. The Waste Wiki is an online, open-access resource that houses data, research and literature that is pertinent to Canada’s waste management sector. It’s also a research initiative designed to advance understanding surrounding waste diversion behaviour and the impacts of waste management policy. “The Blue Box program costs $400 million each year in Ontario and municipal waste management runs to more than a billion dollars each year,” says Lakhan. “However, our research shows that not all recycling is created equal and we need to prioritize what to recycle and why.”
Facts
108
publications
(2019-2021)
62%
of publications co-authored with international collaborators
2+
K-12 Outreach Programs
focused on environment and sustainability
15+
Programs relevant or related to SDG 12
77%
Waste Diversion from landfills
(up from 66% previous year)
2,170 mt
of waste recycled
Stories
