Installing shared boxes for unsold food or distributing compost bags in grocery stores are examples of measures suggested on Thursday to reduce food waste and waste produced in Montreal.
These were mentioned during the public consultation on the 2020-2025 residual materials management plan for the City of Montreal, the hearings of which have just started at City Hall.
Atlantide Desrochers from the organization Partage et Solidarité, for example, proposed that unsold food sharing boxes be installed in the city, much like book sharing boxes.
In a video, Ms. Desrochers showed skips containing food that could still be edible. "In the back, the trash cans are full of food because the traders have no solutions," she said. Boxes for disposing of unsold items, "it prevents people who want to eat from rummaging among the garbage".
However, some unsold items cannot be redistributed for sanitary reasons, said the Retail Council of Canada. Food waste is the most at the household level, according to the organization.
Facilitate composting
According to the City, the production of residual materials per inhabitant went from 534 kg / year to 465 kg / year between 2010 and 2018. If almost half of the residual materials are recovered, the recovery rate is 26% for materials organic, or below the target 60%.
The STOP environmental group suggests making composting simpler, in particular by encouraging grocery stores to distribute compostable bags. Traceability also helps ensure that materials get to their destination and that people's efforts are not wasted, the organization suggests.
Plastic packaging
While plastic packaging is often pointed at, it remains effective in preserving food, said Sophie Perreault, president of the Association québécoise de la distribution des fruits et vegetables.
"Price is still the determining factor in the purchasing decisions of many consumers. Consumers expect the fresh fruit and vegetable sector to adopt sustainable packaging without negatively impacting prices. It’s quite a challenge. ”
Removing packaging without alternatives would result in food and financial loss, she warns.
Hearings continue on Friday and four more sessions are scheduled for January.
In addition to this consultation, the City will have to specifically address the end of food waste, since a petition has collected 15,848 signatures, more than the minimum required to require a consultation.
SOURCE : Le journal de Montréal
