Guelph wins international praise for food waste and recycling pilot project

Most food waste from businesses and institutions in Wellington County, Ontario used to be trucked to landfills, where it rotted and released methane, a dangerously potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.

That changed in November with the implementation of a nonprofit environmental group pilot programwhich works to divert organic waste from landfills and redistribute edible food to people who need it, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Because the commercial, industrial and institutional sectors are known to be the largest generators of food waste in Canada, the program focuses on offering affordable organic collection services at locations such as supermarkets, hospitals and hotels in the city of Guelph and more rural areas, such as Elora, Fergus and Arturo.

This week, the pilot program of Circular Innovation Council received international recognition for diverting 318 tons of organic waste, redistributing 16.1 tons of edible food valued at $114,854 to local charities, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions related to transportation and landfills from November to August of this year .

The pilot, in collaboration with the City of Guelph’s Our food future initiative, received a special mention from the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact Monday night at a world forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The City of Guelph is part of the Milan Compact, an international agreement between cities committed to developing inclusive, resilient, safe and diverse sustainable food systems that provide healthy and affordable food for all. Member cities aim to minimize waste and conserve biodiversity while adapting to and mitigating the impacts of climate change.

The awards recognize the most creative efforts to achieve these goals.

“We are extremely honored to receive such esteemed international recognition,” Circular Innovation Council Executive Director Jo-Anne St. Godard said in a press release. “There is no other program like this in the world, but it is something that can be done in any jurisdiction.”

The pilot program was modeled after a residential door-to-door organics collection program and incorporated a cost-sharing cooperative model for facilities to access collection services at a much more affordable price.

“From an environmental perspective, we know that organics generate the most methane of all the materials in the waste stream, so this is not just a waste diversion strategy, but also a major climate change program.” said St. Godard in an interview with Canadian National Observer.

A Guelph-Wellington County pilot program to divert food from industrial food suppliers from #Ontario landfills has gained international recognition. #recycle #FoodSafety #FoodWaste

“We all know that now is the time to create solutions around climate change and reduce emissions.”

St. Godard said the Guelph region was chosen for the pilot because it was already focused on creating a less wasteful food system. So far, 55 companies, organizations and institutions from the area have participated, and the number continues to grow.

“The participants are very happy. They can do the right thing now, without the cost of an arm and a leg… They take pride in what they are doing to reduce excessive food waste,” said Andrew Telfer, City Development and Collaboration Lead for The Our Initiative. Guelph FoodFuture.

The Circular Innovation Council hopes to expand the program in other regions.

They are working with Calgary on a pilot and are in the discussion stage with Montreal.

The special mention award was perfectly timed as it is Waste Reduction Week in Canada and October marks the inauguration circular economy month.

A circular economy is the opposite of a linear economy, moving in a straight line from resource extraction to waste disposal. Circular economies prioritize reusing, repairing, and reusing what would otherwise be considered waste in a linear economy.

“I think there’s no debate, really, that we want to redesign our linear economy to make it more circular, realizing all of its social, environmental and economic benefits… We’re trying to take those concepts and put them into action, and these pilot projects are exactly what needs to be done,” St. Godard said.

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