In 2018, Ontario unveiled an ambitious plan to drastically reduce food waste by 2025. The province’s framework was full of smart ideas, from rescuing surplus food to enhancing waste data collection. But two months after the plan was introduced, the Liberals were ousted and Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives took power. Efforts stalled. 

Now, nearly six years later, experts say the provincial government has not done enough to achieve its own targets. “They have done very little since and, if anything, appear to be backtracking,” Peter Hargreave, president of the environment consultancy Policy Integrity, said.

Over 60 per cent of the province’s food waste still ends up in landfills. This growing pile of decomposing food has serious environmental consequences: it contributes to six per cent of Ontario’s methane emissions, a greenhouse gas more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over 20 years. 

But efforts in Ontario to stop food from ending up in landfills are patchy at best. Cities that can afford the multimillion-dollar start-up costs of green bin programs are leading the way, while businesses lag behind. Meanwhile, the amount of waste being thrown out is steadily rising alongside record levels of population growth, jumping six per cent between 2017 and 2022.

During its five-year reign, efforts by the Ontario Progressive Conservatives to reduce food waste have amounted to a single $5-million donation toward food-rescue organizations during the pandemic, according to the province’s own progress report. The Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this story.

Experts say it’s too late for the province to achieve the targets set out in 2018. But food waste can be significantly — and quickly — reduced if governments, businesses and people get on board. Here’s how to get there. 

Ontario towns and cities diverted 1.2 million tonnes of organic waste from landfills in 2021, nearly triple the amount diverted in 2002. Most organic waste is food, but it can also include other biodegradable products like yard waste, paper towels or unfinished wood. Processing can transform it into renewable energy, compost or fertilizer.

Where green bin programs exist, they’ve been overwhelmingly successful. The Regional Municipality of York — which represents 1.2 million people in nine municipalities — diverts 97 per cent of its organic waste, processing almost 10 per cent of the province’s total diverted organic waste in 2021. 

The problem is green bin programs are only feasible when costs are spread out over a large tax base. That leaves small municipalities at a disadvantage. “Cost is a huge deal,” Huda Oda, the waste, recycling and climate change manager at the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, said. Though her jurisdiction spans an area four times the size of the city of Toronto, it holds only 3.6 per cent of the comparable tax base. 

In the city of London, $15 million has been invested into launching a green bin program in 2024, after years of delays. “We hoped to implement it sooner but the budget wasn’t available,” Jay Stanford, director of environment, fleet and solid waste at the city, said. Once up and running, it will set the city back $4 million a year.

Green bins work. But not all municipalities can afford to run programs as expenses soar and budgets tighten. Ontario hasn’t provided funding to help, either. Meanwhile, Quebec committed to investing $1.2 billion into organic waste reduction by 2030, with the provincial government also helping establish local compost collection services and processing facilities.

(DeepL translated)