Environment Week 2025

Environment Week continues with Textile Tuesday!  

Familiarize yourself with the impact that fast fashion has on our waste infrastructure. Fast fashion refers to overproduced, low-quality trends that are sold at low prices. Fast fashion is not aimed at durable and long-lasting clothing, but rather at cycling clothes in and out of the market at a rapid pace. 

Based on unpublished waste audit results for 2019 and 2020, the City of Lethbridge noted that approximately 1,000 tonnes of textiles are trashed by households in Lethbridge each year. That’s enough to fill more than 100 dump trucks. 

Luckily, there are 'sew' many ways you can help divert textile waste from our landfill: 

• Consider donating used textiles to local organizations so they can be reused or repurposed. Environment Lethbridge has an interactive online map of local organizations that accept donations.
• Instead of buying into fast fashion trends, make the old new again by visiting second-hand stores. Thrift shopping is a great way to acquire affordable – and often high-quality – clothing and textiles.  
• If your favourite shirt is starting to show its age but you aren’t ready to let it go, try fixing or repurposing it. Sign up for visible mending classes at Casa and learn creative ways to rescue your old, tattered threads. 
• Host a clothing swap. Like second-hand shopping, these events are a great way to find new-to-you clothes. For example, the City hosts internal clothing swap events where employees can donate their unwanted textiles and watch them go to a new wearer. 

More information on textile waste in Lethbridge can be found on Environment Lethbridge's Wasteless website. 

Environment Week heats up with Climate Thursday!  

Although necessary for our daily lives, consumption of electricity, natural gas, fuel and water can negatively impact our environment and climate. Electricity generation and water treatment often rely on burning fossil fuels, which contributes to greenhouse gases trapping heat in the atmosphere. Climate risks in Lethbridge include extreme heat, drought and grassfires.  

Checking your home’s energy efficiency is a great way to reduce overall consumption. We’ve developed a checklist of do-it-yourself techniques to help assess electricity, energy and water usage in your home. The checklist below outlines steps you can take to reduce your utility bill and environmental footprint.  

Electricity and power consumption  

• Swap inefficient lightbulbs with LEDs.  
• Check fireplaces for air leaks.  
• Identify ‘phantom’ appliances or those still using electricity in standby mode.  
• Check your appliances for an Energy Star rating.  

Energy, heating and insulation  

• Check windows and doors for potential drafts.  
• Consider using thermal curtains in the winter to cut down on heating costs.  
• Examine heating and cooling systems for clogged filters and screens.  
• Check the insulation in your home, including the attic.  
• Program your thermostat to shut off overnight or when you aren’t home.  

Yard care and maintenance  

• Practice ‘grass-cycling’ by leaving lawn clippings on the ground after mowing, returning nutrients to the soil.  
• Avoid using excess fertilizer or pesticides.  
• Wait until the first week of June to tackle yard work, as autumn and winter debris is a habitat for insects and pollinators.  
• Xeriscape your garden with drought-tolerant and climate-resilient plants.  
• Check for leaky taps, hoses and hose bibs.  

Water use and plumbing  

• Seal openings and holes for faucets and pipes.  
• Buy and build a rain barrel to recycle rainwater in your garden.  
• Check toilets for leaks by using the dye test.  

Ready to test your home? Stop by Lethbridge Public Library and rent a home energy audit kit from the Library of Things!