With about one-third of all food produced being discarded, food waste worldwide is a (sadly) perfect example of holistic (un)sustainability, with broad and interconnected environmental, economic, and social ramifications. For one, the decomposition of organic waste, the largest stream in landfills, increases emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas significantly more potent than carbon dioxide. Then, there’s the economic value of those millions of tons of perfectly fine fruits and veggies being discarded, plus all the wasted resources along the food chain required to produce them—water, land, energy, labor. And of course, this waste means taking away valuable food and resources that could help reduce food insecurity among the most vulnerable populations. While regulations and strategies focusing on recycling and composting have been around for a while, one of the biggest challenges for cities and other levels of government is to put in place prevention policies. In the European Union, the orientation is to increasingly put responsibility on waste producers – rather than on consumers or the public sector – as showcased by the pioneering French law from 2016 mandating large supermarkets to donate unsold food, instead of destroying it.

In Canada, food waste trends are similar, unfortunately. On the bright side, this increases the potential to share good practices globally. The Commercial Food Waste Diversion Collective, a pilot project developed in the city of Guelph (Ontario) has gained international recognition because of its multi-stakeholder approach, including the industrial, commercial, and institutional sectors, as well as an innovative weight-based financial model that incentivizes reducing discarded food altogether. Launched in 2021, the program offers a collaborative model for diverting food waste away from landfills while addressing food insecurity and fostering prevention through education and tracking of resource use.  It brings together sixty diverse local actors – grocery retailers, hospitals, hotels, office and residential buildings, restaurants, schools, care homes… – to rescue edible surplus food for redistribution through thirteen social enterprises and to ensure non-edible food waste is properly processed into compost. By employing real-time food waste measurement technology and a regionally consolidated organic collection service (similar to traditional municipal door-to-door waste collection models), participants can make data-driven decisions to minimize waste while reducing costs. Instead of businesses paying individually for organic waste services, this initiative introduces a cooperative financial model where costs are shared among participants based on the volume of waste they generate. Given the pilot’s impacts – 380 tonnes of organic waste collected and diverted, recovering more than 62,000 meals – the model is now being replicated in Alberta, in Westlock and Strathcona counties.

While food waste is certainly a large-scale issue that requires policy actions, individuals need to be also part of the solution. Simple actions—like planning meals, storing food properly, or using leftovers—can help reduce waste at home. Because, let’s be honest, no one likes throwing away a perfectly good plate of paella just because it got lost in the back of the fridge.