Food Rescue and Organic Waste Diversion Pilot
Businesses and industry generating food and food waste are invited to participate in a food rescue and organic waste pilot, beginning in January 2024.
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Planning for the next 10 years of waste management
Strathcona County has recently completed residential engagement for developing a Waste Management Roadmap; Thank you to residents for sharing their priorities and practices with current waste management programs, and thoughts on how to reduce the amount of waste produced and the amount being sent to landfill.
The roadmap outlines a collective, community-wide commitment to rethinking waste and diverting more from landfill. It prioritizes an expanded waste hierarchy: rethink, reduce, reuse, recycle, recover and residual, which moves the community towards a circular economy and leading practices in waste management.
Food rescue and organic waste pilot
Businesses and industry generating food and food waste are invited to participate in a food rescue and organic waste pilot, beginning in January 2024. Led by the Circular Innovation Council, this short-term pilot hosted in Strathcona County will explore keeping what was once considered waste as a valued resource.
How it will work:
- Waste collection will mimic the residential waste collection model. This enables businesses to work together for consolidated collection, reducing costs.
- Surplus edible food will be directed to local social agencies – kept at highest value rather than going to waste.
- Organic waste will be collected to be turned into compost for local farms.
- The pilot will determine waste management barriers, motivations and cost considerations.
During recent engagement on Strathcona County’s Waste Management Roadmap, the County heard from businesses that they have different waste management needs that come with different challenges. Piloting a food waste program will allow us to identify those and assist with solutions on a small scale.
For more information visit the project webpage.
Pay as you throw
Guided by our Waste Management Roadmap, Strathcona County is starting a journey to change how we think about and manage our waste.
The Waste Management Roadmap identified a need to update to a more equitable, flexible waste system, providing incentive for reducing waste. ‘Pay as you throw’ is a system where households pay based on the amount of waste they throw away, similar to how other utilities are charged.
Watch this short video for an explanation of how a 'pay as you throw' system works:
In February and March of 2022, Strathcona County used a survey to gauge public feedback and perspectives towards a ‘pay as you throw’ model for waste removal.
Pay as you throw survey report (789.7 KB)
Thank you to everyone who participated in our engagement activities.
Residential engagement
The first series of public engagement, “Talking out the Trash”, focused on the residential sector.
Survey and discussion panels
A review of Strathcona County’s community waste management strategy kicked off in June 2020 with a survey and online discussion panels. Over 2,000 residents participated, and over 300 signed up to be notified about focus group opportunities.
Online focused discussion groups
Online focus groups in September and October explored topics identified during June 2020 engagement: what kinds of targets should be set for Strathcona County’s waste management program; impacts of community waste strategies; and possibilities for a pay as you throw waste management model, similar to the consumption-based models used with gas, electricity and water utilities.
Waste management roadmap survey report (1.2 MB)
Waste management roadmap discussion boards report (425.9 KB)
Waste management roadmap youth engagement report (725.7 KB)
Waste management roadmap online focus groups report (1.2 MB)
Thank you to everyone who participated in our public engagement.
Commercial engagement
Strathcona County also intended on including the commercial sector and other community organizations in the 2020 public engagement, however the COVID-19 pandemic meant this had to be postponed. In 2022 Strathcona County is undertook engagement with the commercial sector through online focus groups and a survey.
Thank you to everyone who participated in our engagement activities.
Utilities
Phone: 780-449-5514
greenroutine@strathcona.ca
