There is no waste in the natural world. Sunlight becomes plants, clouds become oceans, manure becomes fertilizer. But in the human world, waste is one of the 21st century’s biggest environmental problems. Food waste is a particular burden: food in landfill produces methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Research suggests that 20% of Canada’s food production is wasted (and avoidably so), contributing some 56.5 million tonnes of Canada’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.
Food manufacturers are acutely aware of the volume of organic matter wasted in the food supply chain. But today, more industry names are committing to becoming a part of the solution.
Ontarian manufacturers are cutting down on food waste
In 2018, Ontario released its Food and Organic Waste Policy Statement that pressed industrial and commercial facilities to reduce food waste by 50-70%, and to recover resources from their waste by 2025. Recovery (using waste materials to create new products) is what makes the circular economy go round. To achieve it, manufacturers will need to find productive applications for diverting their waste streams.
Since the release of the statement, multiple large food and beverage companies operating in Canada, including Kellogg’s, Nestlé, General Mills and Kraft Heinz, have committed publicly to reducing food loss and waste from their operations.
These large companies are leading the transition to a circular food economy, but all manufacturers — regardless of size — have a role to play.
What is a circular economy for food?
A circular economy is one where the materials used to make a product are re-used to make other products at the end of life. This creates an economic cycle that relies far less on natural extraction and landfill disposal, as most materials for new products are sourced from older products. In the circular economy, there is no true end of life — only the beginning of another.
“In a circular economy,” says the Government of Canada, “nothing is waste. The circular economy retains and recovers as much value as possible from resources by reusing, repairing, refurbishing, remanufacturing, repurposing, or recycling products and materials.”
In the food industry, a circular economy means that food waste or by-products become the raw materials for new products — perhaps it’s feed for animals, fuel for bioenergy, textiles for apparel products, organic fertilizer for crops. And any organic matter that cannot be funneled into secondary products is composted, returning to the earth in a natural way.
Manufacturers can fuel a circular economy for food
Most of the wastage in the food system occurs at the household level, but manufacturers play a significant role in avoidable food waste. The Canadian Government estimates that 1% of sugars and syrups and 10% of produce, meat, and field crops that enter the manufacturing stage is unnecessarily lost or wasted.
Food waste is a crisis, but it is also an avoidable one. As climate change intensifies and government and consumer pressure pushes companies in all industries to improve on environmental, social, and governance-related (ESG) performance, more and more manufacturers are looking for ways to put their waste to work.
For food manufacturers, waste is an opportunity
For food manufacturers, waste is more than just an environmental and economic liability; a circular approach to food waste management can become a strategic business advantage.
Capturing the value of your food waste begins with calculating the financial and environmental cost of your current waste practices. The next step? Find end users for your waste streams. Manufacturers can find these users by partnering with organizations like PRI Environmental, whose innovative waste solutions transform food waste into nutritious animal feed.
The outcome is unanimously positive: manufacturers capture value from what is otherwise a net loss, farmers acquire feed at affordable prices, and the planet benefits from a lower raw material extraction burden, and fewer greenhouse gases from food rotting in landfill.
Ready to capture the value of your food waste?
At PRI Environmental, it’s our mission to help Canada’s food manufacturers minimize the costs, maximize the value, and mitigate the risk of their waste management practices. Our unique bakery-waste-to-animal-feed solution is ideal for Ontario and Quebec-based food manufacturers.
Interested in learning more about PRI Environmental’s waste recovery options? Contact us today.