Category: Materials and Products

Buy gently used, Swap and Share, Understand the Carbon Footprint of the Products you purchase and the Companies you purchase them from.

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April is Earth Month, Take the Pledge!

1952 Cuyahoga River Fire

April is the time of year when we celebrate Earth’s bounties, take joy from daylight as it emerges from darkness’s sheath, and as we are released from the ravages of winter cold, snow and ice. April is also a time for us to reflect on the importance of the earth’s natural environment to our health and wellbeing, and the damage it suffers as a result of human pursuit of perpetual economic growth. The old adage that, “those who forget history are doomed to repeat it” is poignant today for many reasons but, perhaps, especially so for the environment. With government’s of all stripes and colours, north and south of the Canada, U.S. border, rolling back environmental legislation in the name of progress, growth and affordability, it’s worth looking back to the time before much of this legislation existed to examine the impact that unbridled growth can have on our quantity and quality of life.

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BEA Supports Events in Bramalea and Caledon East on March 22nd

BEA Table at Caledon Earth Day Event

Saturday March 22nd was a busy day for the BEA supporting two community tables.

In the morning, the Bramalea Community Network hosted a Health and Wellness Day at the Knightsbridge Seniors Centre. About 30 neighbourhood residents attended including seniors from the Centre as well as families from the surrounding community.

March 2025 Health & Wellness Day Knightbridge Seniors Centre
March 2025 Health & Wellness Day Knightbridge Seniors Centre

The event featured presentations on nutrition, mental health, and overall well-being by expert speakers from William Osler Health System and B.L.O.O.M. Empowerment Group.

It also included a short chair yoga session.

BikeBrampton/BEA table Knightsbridge Centre
Brampton Bike Hub’s Sonia Maset , Health and Wellness Day

About 10 community service organizations, including BikeBrampton and the BEA, were invited to set up information tables around the room’s perimeter.

Feedback on the resources and information provided was positive.

Busy tables at Health and Wellness Day
Busy tables at Health and Wellness Day

That evening, the BEA attended an Earth Hour event in the Caledon East Community Complex. This first ever event was organized by Eco-Caledon and sponsored by the Town.

Caledon's Earth Hour Event
Caledon’s Earth Hour Event

Almost 300 attendees and 25 exhibitors spent the evening celebrating sustainability, environmentalism, and our collective efforts to protect the planet!

Caledon Earth Hour Event
Caledon Earth Hour Event

Exhibitors were encouraged to include interactive activities at their tables and they delivered. Magicians, kale smoothies, blue planet cookies, bean bag tosses, and heat pump demonstrations were all part of the mix.

Locally grown winter vegies from Mount Wolfe Farm
Locally grown winter vegies from Mount Wolfe Farm

The BEA’s activity was a One-Planet Pledge. Participants were invited to select one of the ten principles from the One Planet Living Framework® and then pledge to take two actions that would help fulfill that principle.

Caledon Earth Hour celebration, Making the pledge.
Caledon Earth Hour participant makes a One Planet Living pledge.

Join the Contest, take the One Planet Living Pledge for Earth Day 2025

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2024 BEA Year-end Review

2024 Litter free city workshop

It was difficult to write this year-end review for the Brampton Environmental Alliance. Not because we didn’t work very hard to make a difference but because several things conspired to make this a very challenging year, environmentally speaking.

Among the issues we faced: the Province prioritizing building Highway 413, and the efforts of the Emerald Energy From Waste company to expand its garbage burning operations in Brampton without appropriate environmental controls being in place. Of greater concern is the general apathy of the public towards environmental issues and the vitriolic response to public policies aimed at climate change mitigation, notably carbon pricing and rebates. The fact that we seemingly cannot have an adult conversation related to these important topics is deeply troubling.

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Litter Reduction Charter Launch & Signing Event

PAL trash shot

In the summer of 2023, BEA member Bill Godfrey pitched an idea to Brampton City Council that the City should develop a strategy to become the first litter-free city in Canada. Bill is the founder of a local community group, People Against Littering. Since 2019 he and his enthusiastic volunteers have organized and participated in hundreds of clean-up events across the City and have documented picking up over 3,000,000 pieces of litter! Despite these efforts litter remains a persistent problem that is both an eye-sore and a health hazard to visitors and residents alike.

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BEA delegates to Peel Regional Council

Regional Council

The Emerald Energy from Waste facility has been operating in Peel since 1992, initially built and operated by Algonquin Power. The Region cancelled a waste burning contract with Algonquin in 2012 but the facility was sold to Emerald shortly thereafter and has been continuing operations by consuming waste from industrial, commercial and institutional sources.

In 2016, the Region considered building its own waste burning facility but cancelled those plans due to concerns about the pollution a second facility would emit. Instead it embarked on a plan to divert 75% of its waste by 2034, through a combination of improved policies, procedures and, technologies related to waste reduction, reuse, recycling and, composting.

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Brampton Environmental Alliance hosts Annual General Meeting

AGM Announcement Tile

The Brampton Environmental Alliance (BEA) hosted its second annual general meeting this past Wednesday March 13th. Twenty-two individual and organizational members attended along with 9 non-members and 5 guests. Among the guests was Brampton North MPP Graham McGregor who engaged with members at the conclusion of the meeting.

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Heat Pump Chronicles Vol. 6 Is “Axing the Tax” really a good idea?

This is the sixth in a series of posts on our journey to navigate government grants and loans available for home energy retrofits and to replace our natural gas furnace with a cold-climate heat pump. Click here to see all articles in the series.

I realize I’m about to wade into the political swamp by arguing that taxing carbon is a good thing for Canada and for most Canadians. Mr. Pierre Poilievre, leader of his majesty’s loyal opposition, has made carbon taxation the key plank in his Conservative party’s unofficial election platform. And, if the polls are correct, he has successfully convinced the majority of Canadians that this villainous initiative of the Liberal government’s environmental strategy is the root cause of virtually all of this country’s economic woes.

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