Calgary is the World’s Cleanest City!

January 18, 2016
By Cody Battershill

Calgary is the World’s Cleanest City (2015)!

Downtown Calgary Skyline

If you keep up with the news, then you likely already know that Calgary has been no stranger to critical acclaim from research institutions and media companies from around the world over the past several years.

With awards such as the “fifth most livable city in the world” by the Economist Magazine under its belt - for five consecutive years I might add - it’s probably no surprise to any of us that YYC was also named as the “World’s Cleanest City” in 2015by Mercer Global Financial.

You see, many indicators used in these reports are quite similar. For example, those used by Mercer include the quality and availability of drinking water, waste management, pollution, sewage systems and traffic density to name a few. Some of these have to do with infrastructure relating to water and transportation which is also something that the Economist Magazine weighs in heavily on to determine its own statistics for the most livable cities.

Without a doubt the quality of infrastructure can be directly linked to the success of green initiatives a city has that act to reduce poor health and unsanitary conditions. Because without large sewage drains, big landfills and public facilities to manage and deal with waste accordingly, issues would arise for such a place as large as Calgary.

Green Initiatives

And as a matter of fact our city was ranked the cleanest in the world BECAUSE of its green initiatives, not to mention bylaws such as thousand dollar fines for littering. Simply dropping a cigarette butt on the street can get you stuck with one of these.

But it really is green initiatives such as Alberta’s Too Good to Waste program, which aims to divert as much waste as possible away from landfills, items like recyclables and other reusable parts, as well as other municipal programs like Green Calgary that really make Calgary shine as the cleanest in the world.

On a municipal basis, the Green Calgary program is just one of the initiatives that offer tips for all to living a greener lifestyle such as packing a less-litter lunch for the kids or improving the compost for the yard. One of the long-term goals of this program is to be diverting 80 percent of the cities total garbage away from landfills. The Green Calgary organization has been operating for nearly four decades – since 1978 – and also seeks to help locals feel empowered in creating healthy communities and homes within through educating residents on the environment.

Being born and raised in Calgary, I would always be the first to volunteer and tell you myself that YYC is a very clean place to live. But hey, don’t take my word for it this time around, but that of Mercer Global Financial and their findings for the “World’s Cleanest City” in 2015. Way to go Calgary!

See our 20 Reasons to Love Calgary, Alberta today!