Only one per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in the Waterloo region come from waste. However, there has been an 11 per cent increase in emissions, from 2010 to 2015, when it comes to this area in the Waterloo Region.
According to Climate Action WR, “at least 50 per cent of municipal waste is organic matter that could be composted.”
One program is trying to tackle the food waste problem directly.
The Downtown Waste Diversion Program is a pilot project created by the Downtown Kitchener Business Improvement Area (BIA) to transform food waste into sustainable energy.
There are 13 restaurants and grocers participating in this project and their food waste is transferred to Bio-En Power in Elmira to be processed into biogas.
Amanda Volpato reports for Spoke.
What is Journalism?