Partner Spotlight: City of Ottawa
What inspired the City of Ottawa to take action against food waste? How does food waste reduction fit into your broader goals for sustainability?
Two years ago, in June 2024, City Council approved the Solid Waste Master Plan (SWMP) – a comprehensive framework outlining how Ottawa will safely, efficiently and sustainably manage its waste over the next 30 years. The Plan consists of five Objectives and 25 Action Suites. Action Suite 2 under Objective 1 (“Maximize the Reduction and Reuse of Waste”) focuses specifically on food waste and behaviour change through education.
Providing residents with tools and information to reduce avoidable food waste helps keep organic matter out of the garbage. When household food waste isn’t placed in the green bin but in the garbage, it ends up in the landfill, where it generates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Reducing food waste reduces greenhouse gas emissions from waste collection and processing and helps delay the need for a new landfill site. It also supports a culture shift towards more sustainable living, helps residents save money, and brings us closer to the SWMP’s vision of a Zero Waste Ottawa.
How does the LoveFoodHateWaste campaign help?
Love Food Hate Waste brings extensive experience working with Canadian municipalities on food waste reduction, along with unique promotion and education expertise in this sector. The campaign delivers turn-key, research-based and visually appealing communication materials that we can use as-is or adapt as needed. The partnership also ensures a consistent, ongoing national message that continuously educates residents on how to best plan, store and use their food.
What approaches have been most effective in engaging your community and encouraging behaviour change around food waste?
We decided to try a comprehensive mix of channels and tactics, all complementing each other: web content, feature stories, social media posts, weekly collection reminders to subscribed curbside homes, ad campaigns, truck panels, various educational materials for display and distribution at outreach events as well as food waste reduction workshops. It’s hard to tell which one of these has the greatest impact, but since repetition is key to behaviour change, we strongly believe in a the-more-the-merrier approach. That said, one of the outreach materials geared to children has proven to be extremely popular: the lunchbox love notes. Love Food Hate Waste created them for us fairly recently, and we already have had to reprint them. They’ve been a huge hit!!
Personally, what’s the #1 tip you would share with families or individuals looking to waste less food – maybe a food-saving tip you’ve adopted in your own kitchen.
Start your food shop in your kitchen. Before heading to the grocery store, check what’s in your fridge, freezer and pantry – you’ll be surprised! Plan your meals around what you already have and/or what should be eaten soon.
Looking ahead, what’s one goal you’re excited to achieve for your community on the topic of food waste?
I would be very excited if our work helped residents on a tight budget get the most out of their food, especially during a time of high food prices. Reducing avoidable food waste is a win-win for both people and the environment.
