New food waste recovery facility in southern Ontario

StormFisher has built a $20-million resource recovery facility in Drumbo, Ontario. This project was built in partnership with Generate, a North American sustainable infrastructure company.

Located west of Kitchener along Highway 401, this facility provides food waste recycling services to handle packaged organics and divert waste from landfills.

StormFisher’s Drumbo facility will enable municipalities, restaurants, grocery stores, and food manufacturers to a reduce food waste while producing renewable energy and organic fertilizer. The facility will have the capacity to process over 100,000 tonnes of food waste per year.

“We are thrilled to expand operations so that our customers can broaden their environmental practices by diverting packaged food and green-bin materials sustainably. At the new, purpose-built facility, we separate food waste from non-organic material using best in class technologies,” said Brandon Moffatt, vice-president development at StormFisher.

“This facility initiates an important first step in organics processing by transforming residential and commercial organic waste into renewable energy and fertilizer.”

Recently, the City of Stratford partnered with StormFisher as part of their green bin program launch. “Working with StormFisher has allowed Stratford to ensure we achieve our environmental targets and to provide our residents with reliable recycling and waste disposal options,” said Taylor Crinklaw, director of infrastructure and development services for the City of Stratford.

Food processors

StormFisher also supports food processors like Maple Leaf Foods. “The food industry is often faced with the challenge of disposing packaged foods in a sustainable manner, and StormFisher’s resource recovery facility in Drumbo addresses this issue head on,” said Tim Faveri, vice-president, sustainability and shared value, Maple Leaf Foods.

The economic and environmental benefits of food waste recycling have been recognized by the Ontario Government. Recent regulatory changes help support the growth of food waste recycling by easing the process of developing on-farm biogas systems.

“By reducing regulatory burden for on-farm anaerobic digesters, we can provide economic solutions to divert more valuable food and organic waste from landfills, while maintaining environmental protections by encouraging the recycling of nutrients and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Lisa Thompson, minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs.

These farms can benefit from taking processed materials, like those at the new Drumbo facility, which is ready for digesters, potentially increasing farms’ renewable natural gas outputs.