The Capital Regional District is having another go at establishing a local facility to compost kitchen scraps. That would be a significant improvement over trucking the waste out of the region.
But the best way to handle food waste is not to create it in the first place. Individual efforts by the region鈥檚 residents could go a long way in reducing the amount of kitchen scraps the CRD must collect and process. By doing so, they would save tax dollars, trim their own budgets and help the environment.
In 2013, the region contracted with Foundation Organics to compost kitchen scraps on a Central Saanich farm. But the CRD pulled the operating licence in less than a year after neighbours complained about strong odours.
Since then, Greater Victoria鈥檚 kitchen scraps have been either hauled from Hartland to a recycling plant in Cobble Hill or taken to the Lower Mainland for processing.
A recent study says 91原创s waste an average of nearly 400 kilograms per person per year. That鈥檚 outrageous and unnecessary. While some of that waste happens before the food reaches the consumer, better menu planning and more careful shopping could drastically reduce the amount of waste, not to mention cutting down on the grocery budget.
Home composting efforts could reduce it even more. Almost every person can do composting to one degree or another. The result is enriched soil, reduced greenhouse gases from rotting food and less fossil fuel burned to transport the waste.
Perhaps we will never achieve the zero-waste standard espoused by various organizations, but a modest effort by each household and business could bring us much closer to that goal.
