Food and organic waste framework

Description of policy

The province has developed a proposed Food and Organic Waste Framework (Framework). Together with the Strategy for a Waste-Free Ontario: Building a Circular Economy and Ontario’s Climate Change Action Plan, the proposed Framework will help Ontario build a circular economy and fight climate change. The Framework consists of two complementary components:

• Part A: Proposed Food and Organic Waste Action Plan which outlines strategic commitments to be taken by the province to address food and organic waste; and,
• Part B: Proposed Food and Organic Waste Policy Statement under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016, which provides direction to the province, municipalities, producers, IC&I sector, waste management sector, and others to further the provincial interest in waste reduction and resource recovery as it relates to food and organic waste.

Ontario is shifting to a circular economy — a system in which materials are never discarded, but reused or recycled into new products and reintegrated into the market. Managing our resources more effectively will benefit Ontarians, our environment and the economy. It will help Ontario fight climate change and achieve its goals of a zero waste future with zero greenhouse gases from the waste sector, as set out in the Strategy for a Waste-Free Ontario: Building the Circular Economy, released in February 2017.

There are serious environmental consequences to sending food and organic waste to disposal.

In 2015, Ontario generated 3.7 million tonnes of food and organic waste, which includes food that could have been eaten or repurposed, as well as unavoidable waste such as food scraps and vegetable peelings. About 60% of this was sent to landfill. When these valuable materials end up in a landfill, they contribute to climate change. As food and organic waste break down in an oxygen-deprived environment, they create methane, a potent greenhouse gas. In 2015, greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sector accounted for approximately 5% of Ontario’s total greenhouse gas emissions from all sources. Greenhouse gas emissions from Ontario landfilled food and organic waste represent 93% (8.0 megatonnes) of total emissions from the waste sector.

Sending food and organic waste to landfill is ultimately unsustainable and puts additional strain on our environment by requiring new landfill space. Given the projected population growth and economic trends, it is forecasted that Ontario will need 16 new or expanded landfills by 2050, if no progress is made to keep our resources out of the landfill.

There are also economic consequences to sending food and organic waste to disposal. The amount of food waste each year is staggering. In Canada, about $31 billion worth of food is wasted annually. This equates to about $868 worth of food per person per year and equivalent to about $12 billion for Ontario alone.

Current efforts to collect and recover resources through household food and organic waste programs, and leaf and yard waste programs support approximately 1,700 direct and indirect jobs in Ontario, and generates over $100 million in gross domestic product (GDP). In addition, turning the food and organic materials into compost and digestate creates economic and environmental benefits which can improve soil health, help reduce erosion, and improve water quality. Similarly, renewable natural gas and biofuels can be produced from recovered food and organic waste and their use can help reduce our dependence on greenhouse gas-intensive fossil fuels.

The proposed Framework sets a vision for a circular economy that moves towards zero food and organic waste and zero greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sector.

In developing the proposed Framework, the province considered a number of key guiding principles, including:

• Enhancing existing partnerships with stakeholders and building new relationships
• Building on progress made in Ontario and learning from other leading jurisdictions
• Collaborating across all levels of government to avoid duplication
• Supporting an outcome-based approach
• Using evidence to guide decision making
• Using regulatory and non-regulatory tools
• Creating conditions that support sustainable end-markets
• Increasing the use of innovative technologies
• Enabling efficient and effective recovery systems
• Recognizing the administrative impacts and costs to recover resources from organic materials

The proposed Framework strives towards the achievement of the following objectives:

• Reduce food and organic waste: Preventing food from becoming waste is a critical first step and has the greatest positive impact on the environment, the economy and society. Rescuing surplus food further reduces food waste and ensures that edible food does not end up as waste.
• Recover resources from food waste and organic waste: Increasing resource recovery, in particular, from multi-unit residential buildings and the IC&I sector will help the province reach its zero waste and zero greenhouse gas emission goals.
• Support resource recovery infrastructure: Turning food and organic waste into valuable products recognizes the economic benefits of a circular economy. It is important that Ontario has sufficient infrastructure capacity and innovative technologies to process food and organic waste into valuable resources, such as nutrients, and renewable natural gas.
• Promote beneficial uses of recovered resources: Supporting beneficial end-products and sustainable markets for organic materials is critical. This includes making beneficial uses of recovered resources to support healthy soils which promote crop growth and enhance carbon storage, as well as end-products like renewable natural gas, electricity and biofuels which replace carbon-intensive fossil fuels.

The proposed Framework includes actions and policies which support Ontarians as they prevent food and organic waste, rescue surplus food, recover resources from food and organic waste, and find sustainable end-uses for products made from organic materials.

Purpose of policy

The Ministry has developed a proposed Food and Organic Waste Framework as part of its commitments in the Strategy for a Waste-Free Ontario: Building a Circular Economy. The Framework consists of two complementary components:

• Part A: Proposed Food and Organic Waste Action Plan which outlines strategic commitments to be taken by the province to address food and organic waste; and,
• Part B: Proposed Food and Organic Waste Policy Statement under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016, which provides direction to the province, municipalities, producers, IC&I sector, waste management sector, and others to further the provincial interest in waste reduction and resource recovery as it relates to food and organic waste.

The intent of the posting of the Framework is to seek Ontarians feedback on the proposed Framework. All comments received will be considered during the finalization of the proposed Framework.

Public consultation

This proposal was posted for a 60 day public review and comment period starting November 16, 2017. Comments were to be received by January 15, 2018.

All comments received during the comment period are being considered as part of the decision-making process by the Ministry.

Please Note: All comments and submissions received have become part of the public record.

Other public consultation opportunities

The development of the proposed Framework was informed by a stakeholder working group. The ministry invited key representatives from municipalities, the waste management industry, producers, non-governmental organizations, the agri-food industry (e.g. farmers, food processors) and generators of organic waste in the IC&I sector (e.g., food retailers, restaurants, offices, hospitals) to participate in the stakeholder working group. The ministry conducted six stakeholder working group meetings; two broad workshops that included additional organizations to discuss food waste reduction, surplus food rescue and food waste recovery as well as the development of processing infrastructure and supporting end-markets for food and organic waste.

The ministry also undertook sector specific meetings with waste management organizations, industry and municipalities.

To ensure engagement across provincial ministries and to receive feedback on the Framework, an Internal Working Group was also established and included the following participating ministries: Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Advanced Education and Skills Development; Community and Social Services – Poverty Reduction Office; Economic Development and Growth; Education; Energy; Government and Consumer Services; Health and Long-Term Care; Housing; Municipal Affairs; Natural Resources and Forestry; Northern Development and Mines and Treasury Board Secretariat.

Public and stakeholder feedback was received through the posting of a discussion paper, Addressing Food and Organic Waste in Ontario, May 31, 2017 to July 30, 2017. Comments received on the discussion paper informed the development of the proposed Framework.