Guelph-Wellington’s Commercial Food Waste Diversion Collective, an initiative aimed at combatting food waste and promoting food rescue efforts in the industrial, commercial and institutional (IC&I) sectors, is calling on forward-thinking businesses and institutions within the region to embrace waste diversion.
The IC&I sectors are among Canada’s largest generators of unnecessary food waste, a reality that often does not align with the community and sustainability values of many businesses. “With an estimated 22 million tonnes of food waste generated annually in Canada within food processing, distribution, and service/retail chains, the need for concerted action has never been more apparent,” says Katie Motta, Manager for the Collective.
However, implementing food waste diversion practices can be complicated. By streamlining the process of food waste diversion, the Collective makes it effortless for a wide array of Guelph-Wellington establishments, including grocery stores, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools and more, to keep food waste out of landfills and make positive impacts in the community.
“In Guelph-Wellington, our collective efforts have already recovered over $214,800 worth of food,” says Motta. “This demonstrates the economic viability and sustainability of the Commercial Food Waste Diversion Collective’s approach. It’s circular innovation with global scalability.“
Businesses and institutions can trial the program, which is led by Circular Innovation Council, for costs comparable to those of private haulers and landfill disposal. Mimicking the regional collection model of residential organics programs, participants work together to reduce the cost of collection, redirect edible food and food waste from landfills, and reduce GHG emissions.
Through the program, organic waste that is collected is converted into high-quality compost for gardens and local farms to improve soil health. Participating businesses are also offered free pickup of surplus edible food donations. These are collected and sent to local charities that support community members experiencing food insecurity.
“In a country where 1 in 6 face food insecurity, the urgency to address food waste cannot be overstated,” says Motta. “Even within our community, access to nutritious food is a struggle. Participants in our program have already made significant strides towards addressing this, diverting more than 62,000 meals from landfill during 2021-23 alone.”