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Food-Waste February: Use It Up! Making the Most Of Food Scraps

February 21, 2020 by Heather Varner Leave a Comment

This month, we will be featuring several blog posts focusing on one of the hottest topics in the industry: Food-Waste. As we dive deep into the ideas surrounding this important issue, we look forward to connecting with our followers about the roles and responsibilities we each have as we work together to make a difference. If you are actively working to reduce Food-Waste in your life, be sure to comment and share your strategies. We look forward to hearing from you!

carrots on table

In today’s post, we thought it would be fun to share a few of our favourite ways to reduce food-waste by making the most of food-scraps. If you’ve been following us for awhile, you’re probably well aware that our team loves compost. But before we use compost to give back to the earth, we believe in following the food-waste hierarchy to reduce food-waste at the source.

Image result for hierarchy of food waste


If we can re-think the way we treat food scraps in our own kitchens, we can reduce how much food-waste we generate in the first place. This takes innovation and a change in our mindset, but it absolutely can be done! Keep reading for a few of our favourite ideas:

person holding sliced watermelon

Click any of the links below to find a recipe or directions on how to use food scraps in a new way to reduce your food-waste at home!

  1. Pickle Your Watermelon Rinds
  2. Make Candy Out Of Citrus Peels
  3. Use Bones And Other Scraps To Make Bone Broth
  4. Use Vegetable Scraps (Ex: Onion Peels) To Make Veggie Broth
  5. Make Chips Out Of Vegetable Peels
  6. Boil Pineapple Peel To Make Tea
orange peels

We’d love to hear further recipe ideas that allow us to put our waste to work in the kitchen! Comment and share your favourite way to repurpose foodscraps into a new tasty meal or treat.

Tagged With: food waste, food waste february

Grocery Shopping While Keeping Waste In Mind – Part II

February 15, 2019 by Heather Varner Leave a Comment

Today’s post is a guest post from Nathalie Heyden. Nathalie Heyden is a student at the University of Waterloo, who is currently completing a co-op placement here with our team. Nathalie will be writing about sustainability, waste & recycling, compost & so much more. We invite you to read along and follow her on this exciting journey with our team. This post is the second in a two-part series about how waste reduction and waste diversion can play a crucial way in the way we grocery shop. 

 

Continuing on from last week’s post, Nathalie Heyden breaks down her recconmended steps to approach grocery shopping with a focus on waste reduction… 

A detailed groceries list for a mindful consumer

I have broken your groceries list down into five categories: produce, grains, proteins, drinks and treats. The first four categories are straight from Canada’s food guide, and the fifth is my personal (and often favourite) addition. This week you will be focusing your spending habits on eliminating packaging that goes to waste, reducing recyclable packaging and continuing to take advantage of reusable container programs.

Produce

First, let us compare fresh versus frozen produce. Fresh produce come with a small barcode sticker whereas frozen produce comes in a film-plastic bag. (For reference: if you can easily rip the plastic packaging, then it is unlikely that there is a recycling market for it.) The fresh produce is the better option when it comes to the amount of waste, but only if you remember to bring reusable bags for it. Some great options for produce are mesh or cotton bags. If you are a DIY enthusiast, you can even give a shot at making your own.

Grains

There is such a wide variety of packaging when it comes to grain products. There are plastic bags, paper bags, cardboard boxes, and those noisy-crinkly-metallic bags (you know, those loud ones that ruin movie night) that end up in the waste-bin. Grain products are best bought in bulk with reusable containers, but if that is not possible, aim to buy grains that come in boxes (e.g. boxed pasta) or that come in paper bags (e.g. fresh bread). Try your best to avoid packaging-within-packaging such as cereals and granola bars. If granola bars are a must-have, consider making your own. These are some of my favourites.

Proteins

When we think of protein, many of us think of meat products. What we do not think about is how our meat is packaged. Meat will more often than not, come in a plastic bag, or on a Styrofoam plate with plastic wrap. The exception is instances where we go to the butcher’s and our meat is wrapped neatly with waxy paper. None of this can be recycled, and in most cases the waxy paper must go as well. So, as a challenge for this week, I encourage you to buy more nuts, seeds and legumes. These can be bought in bulk with your own container, or in recyclable metal, glass, and plastic containers. I am not asking you to become vegetarian, but substituting a portion of your meat intake for nuts and legumes is a great way to reduce packaging. Not only are they great for reducing packaging, they are often less expensive. One pound of lentils or beans are around $1 to $2, one pound of chicken is around $5 and a pound of beef is around $6. If you are reluctant to give-up meat altogether, ask your butcher if they’d be willing to place your meat in a reusable container that you bring from home. As long as it is well-cleaned, most butchers are happy to accommodate your waste-free request.

Drinks

I want to talk about water. More specifically: water from the tap. Yes, I know… You love your bottled water, but I cannot express enough, how much of a waste of money and resources it is to buy bottled water. If you have access to tap water, you should take advantage of that commodity.

Some great options to avoid bottled water include getting a water filter or investing in a jug that you refill at the groceries store.

Another suggestion I have to eliminate that undrinkable taste everyone claims tap water has, is to add fruits or vegetables to your water. I like adding cut lemons, but you can add other things such as cucumbers, raspberries and other fruits to add flavour. Do this by adding the fruit and veggies into a reusable water bottle, fill it up with tap water then leave it in the fridge overnight to allow the water to become flavourful. It is quick and ready to go for the next day. If all of these suggestions are not reason enough to ditch the bottled water, how about the fact that you do not need to find space in the fridge (or in your laundry room) for the 24-pack of water bottles if you use tap water instead.

Aside from water, first I want to briefly talk about milk. For milk, your best option is to buy milk cartons or milk in glass bottles, as the milk bags (primarily sold in Ontario) are not recyclable. If you are to buy juice, pop and other beverages, be sure that the container is recyclable. If you are truly looking to save money and reduce waste, you are best-off to limit your spending on beverages aside from tap water.

Treats

The fourth ‘forbidden’ food group. Also known as the ‘extras’ that we realize we should not buy but our sweet tooth urges us to. Baked goods, chips, candy – you name it. These types of foods are notorious for excessive amounts of packaging, so please try your best with this one. Homemade treats are a fantastic option to reduce the amount of packaging we bring into the house. If you do not have the time, aim for desserts that come in recyclable packaging, for example ice cream (this is the permission you needed to buy that tub of Ben&Jerry’s). You want to avoid the sleeves of cookies and bags of candies that are wrapped in layers of wasteful non-recyclable plastics. The bulk-food store is also a great location to buy your sweet needs. You can buy lots of baking ingredients, and there are many candies and sweets that you can fill your reusable containers with.

Thinking about the big picture

It is no easy task to shop with your product’s packaging in mind. This past weekend I went grocery shopping with these ideals considered, and I had a very hard time weighing certain options. I found that if I wanted to buy my produce in bulk (such as romaine lettuce or avocados), it would come with extra packaging, whereas the individual produce would not. I believe there are some areas where there is need for a change in the system itself, but there are other times where I could choose the product with better packaging between products of equivalent amounts and cost.

One positive outcome from my Sunday shopping, was that instead of buying pre-made sushi, my best friend and I tried a hand at making our own. There were still some products we used that created waste, but we were able to avoid the bulky plastic take-out container, and the individual soy sauce packets that the pre-made product came with.

That was a lot of information…

Here are the big take-aways to stick to your waste-budget:

  1. Compare product packaging where possible
  2. Drink tap water
  3. Buy ingredients rather than pre-packaged meals

 

Tagged With: food waste, grocery shopping, guest post, staff appreciation, student, sustainability, sustainable, waste, waste free, zero waste

Grocery Shopping While Keeping Waste In Mind – Part I

February 6, 2019 by Heather Varner Leave a Comment

Today’s post is a guest post from Nathalie Heyden. Nathalie Heyden is a student at the University of Waterloo, who is currently completing a co-op placement here with our team. Nathalie will be writing about sustainability, waste & recycling, compost & so much more. We invite you to read along and follow her on this exciting journey with our team. This post is the first in a two-part series about how waste reduction and waste diversion can play a crucial way in the way we grocery shop. Stay tuned for the second part of this series, to be published here next week.

 

Your “Waste Budget”

Does hearing the words “Your Waste Budget” make you say: “My what?” You’re not alone. A Waste Budget means that instead of exclusively focusing your Sunday grocery shopping on low prices, you shop with the waste-factor of your products in mind. To limit household waste, you need to be mindful of what you bring into your home in the first place. This includes what sort of packaging your products come in, and how much food you are consuming compared to how much you actually buy.

The Importance of Bulk Stores

Before we dive-in, I want to start by stating that not all foods stores are created equal in terms of waste production. If you are truly looking to go waste-free, I would highly recommend starting to shop at bulk-food stores. Bulk-food stores sell a large selection of dry goods including (but not limited to) pastas, nuts, spices and dried fruits. At bulk-food stores, you are able to bring your reusable containers from home to fill up, and you can buy the exact amount of a product you need.

Bulk Barn has released its reusable container program where you can bring your own containers – gone are the days of plastic bags and locating a pencil… Well, the pencil issue is unresolved (maybe in 2019 we will remember to bring our own?). Not only can you reduce plastic waste, you can also save money by browsing their weekly coupons.

Grocery Stores

There is a new category of groceries stores popping up around Canada. These are Zero Waste grocery stores. For these stores, you bring your own bags and containers, and the products you buy do not contain wasteful packaging.

Now… Back to navigating our ‘typical’ grocery store. Someone once told me that the healthiest way to shop, is to shop around the perimeter of the store. The perimeter of the store contains all of your fresh items including produce, breads, and refrigerated goods. If your grocery store has a bulk section, it too will be along the perimeter (usually near the bread section). I would encourage you to focus your shopping around the perimeter this week, as fresh products often contain less packaging (and less preservatives).

How Often Should I Shop?

There are four types of shoppers that I know: those who have specific days to shop, those who shop when they run out of food, those who shop per nightly recipe and those who have no sweet clue when the shopping is done, they just know that the fridge refills itself every so often. No matter which one of these shoppers you are, this week I want you to aim to go to the grocery store at least twice a week. Why? This way, you will not over-buy during your once-a-week Sunday outing. Did you know that Canadian households waste on average $1,700 yearly on avoidable organic waste? If we shop more often, we are less likely to over-estimate how much we are going to eat in a week, and instead we will finish what we have in the fridge and then go back for more.

Three goals I’d encourage you to set for your shopping routine this week:

  1. Try incorporating reusable containers programs
  2. Reduce browsing the package-heavy center section of the grocery store
  3. Add an extra grocery shopping day to reduce food waste

Tagged With: food waste, grocery shopping, packaging waste, plastic waste, waste diversion, waste reduction

Compost 101 – It’s Not Rocket Science!

April 16, 2018 by Heather Varner Leave a Comment

The Rocket In-Vessel Composting System

Crazy for Compost

Our company founders George and Marnie Brown have been in business together since 2001. But beyond that, they’ve been married to one another for over 30 years. This means that when you combine their years of experience as both business partners and a married couple, you get an endless number of great stories – some of which have become “MASS Classics” – in the form of friendly tales and anecdotes that get told around the office on a regular basis.

One of the most popular stories that our team loves to hear revolves around George’s long-enduring love of compost. Yes …. You read that correctly. His love of compost.

Marnie often tells us stories about how George’s journey towards finding the right compost solution involved a LOT of experimentation. For years, George endeavored to find a system that we could provide to our clients which would allow them to create nutrient-rich compost on their own grounds. He envisioned providing our clients with the opportunity to develop their own closed-loop food waste system right on-site. Thus, he battled to find a way to find a compost system that would eliminate the issues of pests, vermin, and overwhelming odours.

Fortunately, Marnie is happy to report that along the way, George discovered a solution that creates nutrient-rich compost without the pests, vermin, and other unpleasantries that you might expect. That solution came in the form of the Rocket In-Vessel Composting System, a piece of equipment out of the UK, for which MASS is now the exclusive Canadian distributor.

And while George has been known to say “I’d rather smell compost than methane gas,” we have to say that the Rocket is a system that even those of us with the most sensitive noses can happily handle.

Giving Back to the Earth

Operations Manager, Alex Brown with a Rocket located at an Ontario Independent School

If you’ve had your finger on the pulse of the waste industry in Canada over the past couple of years, you’ve probably heard a lot about food-waste. Food-Waste regulations have been passed at both the regional and provincials level across our country, in places like Nova Scotia, Calgary, Metro Vancouver,  Victoria, BC, and more! Here in Ontario, we are awaiting the exciting implementation of Bill 151 as we gear up for a food-waste ban within the Institutional, Commercial, Industrial (ICI) Sector.  What this means is that businesses, restaurants, health care facilities, educational institutions, and more should be prepared with a solution in place to divert their food-waste from landfill. Whether this be through a commercial organics program or an on-site closed loop system, it is encouraging to know that participating in such an initiative truly is an investment in the future.

Composting enriches our soil, retains moisture, and keeps plants healthy. It reduces the need for chemical fertilizers which are related to pollution, and encourages the production of healthy bacteria and fungi. Most notably, compost reduces the methane emissions from landfills which allows you to minimize your carbon footprint. With all this being said, MASS encourages businesses across the country to consider a compost solution, as an opportunity to reduce your environmental footprint, future-proof your operations, and become a truly ahead-of-the-curve business.

At MASS, we are seeing a number of clients eagerly pursue the opportunity to implement an on-site closed-loop organics processing system. This entails an organics processing system, in the form of a Rocket Composter. Through this leading-edge equipment, businesses are able to create their own personal circular economy within their daily operations, within which they become responsible for all food generated and wasted at their location. Then, they are able to utilize the compost on-site, and give back to the earth.

Waste Audit Manager, Mac Brown, shows how easy the Rocket is to operate and maintain

Rocket Science

By controlling temperature, aeration, and moisture, the Rocket In-Vessel Composting System creates nutrient-rich compost out of your food-waste within a short 14-day period. Because the Rocket is a totally enclosed system, access to pests is prevented, and the high heat process destroys pathogens.

The compost created by the Rocket is crumbly and soil-like, containing all the trace elements need for healthy plant root generation.

Currently, Rocket Composters are in operation in a number of settings including: Independent Schools, Universities and Colleges, Health Care Facilities, Multi-Unit Residential Dwellings, Office Towers / Buildings, and more. MASS works closely with our clients in all sectors across Canada to find a Rocket Composter to suit their unique needs.

George Brown with a Rocket Installation in Metro Vancouver

Explore More

Looking to learn more? CLICK HERE to learn about the different Rocket models and send an email to: service@massenv.com for our guidance on determining which unit may be right for your location.

At MASS, we believe that each of us has the individual responsibility to give back to the earth. Composting is a truly effective way to do your part to mitigate your environmental footprint.

 

Tagged With: business, canada, cobourg, compost, compost system, eco friendly, food scraps, food waste, in-vessel composting, on-site, ontario, organic processing, organics, rocket

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