I’m an Activist at Heart
Activism has always been a part of me. In my earlier years, you could find me at demonstrations fighting for change, writing letters and boycotting products. These days, I’ve been focused on advocating for people with disabilities and the environment.
Being politically active fuels the soul and is our right as citizen’s living in a democratic society. Activism can ignite change in thinking and, ultimately, policy.
Most recently, I’ve chosen to become politically active and speak up for change in policies related to the construction industry and our municipal waste policies. Currently, when you put a dumpster outside your house for renovations, all of those materials, recyclable or not, end up directly in our landfills, unless it’s been specifically organized with a waste management company. Even when a construction truck goes to site, they must proceed directly to the disposal area of the landfill and not stop at the recycling section. It’s estimated that over 27% of the waste in landfills is attributed to the construction industry.
This reality has been weighing heavy on me, and I decided to reach out to Andrea Horwath, Hamilton’s mayor, as well as Alex Wilson, our local councillor to engage in dialogue regarding these staggering statistics. I recently sat down with Alex Wilson and we had an extremely engaging conversation around my experiences in the industry, my goals with the circular economy and I was pushing for a huge overhaul of our municipal waste policies. Not only was he willing to listen, he was engaged and we brainstormed next steps on how to move forward and make change.
We both left with meeting with action items to do over the next month, and then we will reconnect.
Most importantly, I was left with a feeling of hope and excitement with the possibility of change. I felt a sense of pride that I pushed hard for that meeting, that I’m standing up for what I believe in and that I’m truly living my values.
As Mahatma Gandhi said —
“You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results.”