Guelph organization calls on businesses to embrace food waste diversion

The Guelph-Wellington Commercial Food Waste Diversion Collective is calling on businesses to reduce food waste.

For a little over two years, the organization has been fighting food waste and promoting food waste efforts.

Project coordinator Maggie Bain said she’s been really happy with their impact so far.

She said one of the group’s main goals is to try to facilitate a community-based system that catches on as the norm for local businesses and empowers them to be a part of something bigger that encourages participation.

“We really want to create a place-based solution that people are aware of and know is around,” Bain said.

In addition to redirecting food waste and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, another aspect of the collective’s approach is supporting small and medium-sized businesses to access food waste beverage and services at a more affordable and convenient cost and method.

Bain said part of what makes the collective’s approach a sustainable one is helping businesses recover resources through the creation of local systems.

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She said food waste reduction for food generating businesses in general is great and is good not only for the environment, but it has a social impact too.

Since 2021, the initiative has collected over $200,000 through food recovery efforts.

“So, in the case of rescued or recovered food, this food is still edible although this business can’t sell it,” she said.

“It’s good and it’s nutritious food,” she said, adding that the question is, “How we can help facilitate a system that makes sure it is properly redistributed back to the people it was initially meant to go to?”

The initiative, led by Circular Innovation Council, mimics the regional collection model of organic residential programs.

Organic food waste is collected before it’s converted into high-quality compost for local farms and gardens for soil health improvement.

A surplus of edible food is also picked up and collected and sent to charities to help those experiencing food insecurity.

The organization received a new round of funding for the trial and there is a possibility it gets extended past its deadline.

She said it’ll serve Guelph and the surrounding area.

“We send a truck starting in the morning in Guelph, and it does its rounds in Guelph and then heads up to Fergus, Elora and then to Arthur, where our processing plant is, ” she said.

“That alone helps cuts the cost quite a bit since the hauler doesn’t have to send out individual trucks for two or three businesses at a time.”

The trial program runs until the end of September.

For those interested in joining and to learn more, head to the Circular Innovation website.