Waste management
Waste management
Organic waste diversion
The limited opportunities for organic waste diversion across the country make this aspect of our waste diversion program the most challenging. The existence of organics waste handling facilities in the Maritimes, Ontario and British Columbia has allowed Sobeys Atlantic, Sobeys Ontario and Thrifty Foods to develop robust organic waste diversion programs. Other regions of the country are challenged due to the lack of available handling facilities. To resolve the problem, we are reviewing technology that will enable us to handle organic waste in-house.
One technology being tested at the Sobeys Mumford Road store in Halifax, Nova Scotia, involves an automated organic material waste composter. The store daily produces approximately 300 kg of organic waste from the produce, seafood, meat, deli, bakery, and home meal replacement departments. Store staff fills the machine with the organic waste and 18 hours later, 300 kg of organic waste is turned into approximately 36 kg of compost.
While the technology has proven to be effective in reducing the volume of organic waste, the compost it produces has very high nitrogen content that requires it to be mixed with soil before it is suitable for agriculture or landscaping applications. We are reviewing options for addressing this issue. Also, the current cost of the units prohibits widespread use of the technology.
At the same time, we are also reviewing other organics waste diversion opportunities and technologies.
