Spring cleaning season is here, but before you start asking if your household items
spark joy, some environmentalists want you to ask if your decluttering binge is just adding to the global waste problem.
“The reality is that most of the stuff that we get rid of in Canada goes to landfill,” said Myra Hird, a professor at the school of environmental studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., and author of
Canada’s Waste Flows.
“Many people think that consuming is OK so long as we ‘give away’ what we no longer want.”
Numerous studies have shown the
mental health benefits of organizing and simplifying your space, and the urge to purge has only
grown during the pandemic, when being stuck at home has pushed many of us to reckon with our immediate surroundings.
But the problem is all that stuff has to end up somewhere — and often, it’s the landfill. In 2016, 347 kilotonnes of textiles wound up in Canadian landfills, according to the 2020
National Waste Characterization Report produced by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Thirty-one per cent of the 10.2 million tonnes of waste generated by the residential sector was non-degradable, consisting largely of plastics, building materials, metals, glass (including dishware), electronics and bulky objects such as furniture and appliances.
People are much more likely to throw out household items such as old lamps and couches than attempt to recycle or donate them, according to
a 2021 survey by Habitat for Humanity ReStore and Angus Reid.
We have been conditioned to think of recycling as only what can go in the blue box, like cans and newspapers, said Julia Deans, the president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Canada. Plus, she adds, there’s the issue of convenience.
"People think, 'I don’t know where to bring it' or 'I would just rather have it out of sight.'"
By donating to Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore program, for example, Canadians last year diverted 43,000 tonnes of what would have otherwise been waste, Deans said.
But even those who think they are finding a new home for their stuff may be overestimating its worth to someone else.
Clothing is one example of this assumption, said Hird, noting that used clothing stores are overwhelmed with donations and that most of it goes to waste or is passed on to poorer countries, which are also overwhelmed with
used textiles.
Meanwhile, Goodwill stores in the U.S. pleaded with eager purgers in 2021 to
stop donating their trash.
So how can you declutter your home without creating waste? First, see if you yourself can reuse or repurpose the items. Shelves and dressers can be repainted and reupholstered, old textiles can convert to cleaning rags and some broken electronics can be repaired.
Also, don’t assume what you put out for recycling will actually be recycled, Hird said. In Canada,
less than 10 per cent of the plastics we use are recycled. “Recycling is not the solution. Reuse is better.”
If you still just want items gone, be intentional with your donations — don’t just leave them on the curb or in a charity bin. Post items in your local “buy nothing” group, take part in community giveaway days, find someone in your area who is collecting used items for specific causes, like Ukrainian refugees, and contact charities directly to see what they will take (some will even come to you).
Finally, stop accumulating clutter in the first place by buying less. Not only does it often go to landfill, but product packaging is one of the worst offenders, making up
half of the three million tonnes of plastic waste Canada produces every year.
And don’t use decluttering as an excuse to buy more items, such as plastic organizing bins and trays to give your house a more spartan look.
“Decluttering can add to the burden in our landfills, but ironically, it can also lead to the purchase of more stuff,” said Vancouver journalist J.B. MacKinnon, author of
The Day the World Stops Shopping.
“It can be a hollow gesture if it’s just another lifestyle trend or ‘look.’ It probably won’t last if it doesn’t involve bigger changes in values, such as practising voluntary simplicity.”
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Natalie Stechyson
