Lower Mainland restaurants and hotels are teaming up on an organic waste-recycling program designed to protect the environment and curb waste-management costs.

The BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association and BC and Yukon Hotels' Association are co-ordinating organic waste-recycling services for their members through Smithrite Disposal Ltd. The aim is to reduce the 1.1 million tonnes of organic waste now sent to landfills.

"The amount of organic waste would fill up BC Place (Stadium) three times, so that's huge," says Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the restaurant association.

He estimates companies can reduce waste-management costs by 20 to 25 per cent per month, or $50 to $300, depending on the size of the operation. Participants would be required to pay the restaurant or hotel association's annual membership fee, plus fees to Smithrite.

Bayne Stanley, Business Edge
Fairmont Waterfront Hotel director of operations Michael Pye is a strong supporter of the organic waste recycling program.

Restaurants or hotels separate organic materials such as as soiled paper, waxed cardboard, flowers, fruits, vegetables, food scraps, bakery discards, meat and bones and they are taken by Smithrite to a composting facility in Squamish operated by Carney's Waste Systems. The composted matter can then be used as a soil additive.

Organic waste poses hazards at landfill sites because it may mix with micro-organisms and contaminants that pose a risk to groundwater or waterways, and it can give off carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases.

It also tends to be more expensive to dump, because landfill charges are based on weight and organic matter tends to be heavier than other garbage because it contains more water.

Tostenson says his group came up with the idea to avoid organic waste recycling regulations being "imposed" in Greater Vancouver after the Nanaimo Regional District enacted an organic waste bylaw last year.

As a result, the hotels and restaurants hooked up with Smithrite.

The program is only available to restaurant and hotel association members in the Lower Mainland because Smithrite does not operate outside the Lower Mainland. Tostenson says his group is looking to set up similar programs in Victoria, the Okanagan and Prince George areas with other disposal companies.

"Governments would rather see the industry taking the (initiative) as opposed to having to nail the industry with more red tape," he says.

About 100 companies have joined the program so far, and Tostenson hopes to get 500 to 600 involved by the end of 2006.

"We have put this out to our members, but there has been no sense of urgency," says Tostenson, whose group numbers 4,000 members across the province. "We're starting to get phone calls and people are starting to pick up on it."

He expects more firms to sign on after they finish dealing with the Christmas rush.

Companies that have also implemented the organic recycling program include Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Capilano Suspension Bridge, The Keg, Boston Pizza, Capers and Granville Island Merchants.

"I feel quite strongly about (organic-waste recycling)," says Michael Pye, director of operations for the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel, who is helping to promote the program. "It's something we've been doing since 1998. It makes good business sense."

Pye says he recognizes the service may not work for everybody, but it works for Fairmont Waterfront. Prior to implementing its program, says Pye, the hotel had to pay penalties for its waste being over the weight limit at the landfill. Fairmont Waterfront has also saved $200 to $300 per month in waste-management costs.

Pye says he hopes the program will help create more awareness about the need to recycle organic waste. He also believes it will provide more options when it comes to recycling and, possibly, avoid the need for specific regulations on organic-waste management.

Mike Stringer, a senior engineer in the Greater Vancouver Regional District's policy and planning department, says the authority strongly supports the industry's initiative, which was done without GVRD involvement.

He adds it's a good opportunity to develop environmental-protection measures and reduce the impact on the environment.

Stringer says the GVRD is looking at banning a number of materials from its landfills because recycling facilities are widely available. For instance, the GVRD already bans newspapers.

"The key factor is: Is there a readily available option for recycling these materials?" says Stringer. "At the moment, I wouldn't say that's the case for food waste."

Stringer says the GVRD will be watching the program with a great deal of interest to see if it succeeds. So far, he says, a number of companies have tried to launch organic-waste recycling businesses without success.

"I hope that (restaurant and hotel associations program) will be sustainable and it's going to work to the advantage of all of the parties," says Stringer.

The GVRD is also interested in working with the restaurant and hotel associations to help develop the program further.

(Monte Stewart can be reached at monte@businessedge.ca)