Added: Feb 21, 2021
Last edited: Sep 08, 2021
Secondhand Sunday is a twice yearly event where residents of participating neighbourhoods are encouraged to leave items that they no longer want on their front lawns to be taken by those who need or want them. Neighbourhood volunteers promote and oversee the event in participating neighbourhoods.
Community actions help reduce the amount of reusable or recyclable waste going to landfill and allow for safe disposal of household hazardous waste. Toronto is already active and empowers the community via Community Environment Days, when residents can drop off items and collect free compost made available by the City's organics processing facilities.
The City of Toronto is also helping the Secondhand Sunday initiative, initiated in 2015 from adapting the idea of Secondhand Sunday from similar events that happen in New Zealand. Secondhand Sunday is a community sharing event to take place once in September after the summer and once in April when people are doing their spring cleaning. A small grant received through The Flavelle Family Foundation has enabled the organization to purchase print materials, pay for door-to-door flyer delivery and hire a social media coordinator.
Secondhand Sunday is developing Toronto’s circular economy by:
- promoting a culture of sharing in urban communities
- keeping household goods in use for longer
- making used items available for free to neighbours and local charities.
In September 2018 Secondhand Sunday Event, in total 6 neighbourhoods and 150 households have participated, and approximately 3,000 items were made available (67% of items taken).
