Food Waste - Waste Reduction Week 2020

Did you know 58% of food produced is never eaten? Food waste is one of the biggest contributors to green house gas emissions in Canada. Studies have shown that avoidable food waste in Canada produces more than 22 million tonnes of climate-changing carbon dioxide emissions. Learn how innovative companies are tackling this global problem. 

Second Harvest, the Toronto-based group working to reduce food waste, commissioned a study that suggested that Canadians waste almost 400 kilograms of food per person, one of the world’s highest totals. This total includes unavoidable waste, such as animal bones, but one-third of the waste could be recovered. Another report by Value Chain says the value of usable groceries that wind up in landfills or other disposal sites is almost $50 billion. That’s more than half the amount Canadians spend on food every year and is enough to feed every Canadian for five months. 

A local company that is championing food recovery is FoodMesh. By working with municipalities and cities, FoodMesh has created a Canada wide food sharing networking. The have provided over $6 million meals and has helped save over $20 million in food value for organizations using their apps and services. Want to learn more about their amazing work? Check out our podcast with FoodMesh:  https://anchor.fm/recyclesmart/episodes/Episode-8-From-Food-Waste-To-Food-Mesh---Saving-Food-From-Landfill-eft4jl/a-a2i57id

If food isn't able to be reused, our next option is to process it. With the help of Hungry Giant's dehydration machine, we can divert millions of tons of food waste from being tossed in trash dumpsters and hauled to landfills or compost sites. This machine also saves costs for businesses since it reduces the contamination caused by food waste in the filtration systems of waste treatment plants. Curious how it works? The Hungry Giant Food Waste Dry Dehydration system (FWDD), turbo-charges the food waste decomposition process through accelerated dehydration and agitation, reducing the original waste volume by between 80 and 93%. Learn more here: https://hungrygiantrecycling.com/