Composting is beginning to spread throughout Salmon Arm’s fast food outlets.
It started with McDonald’s restaurant in April of this year.
Frank Popien, franchise owner, explains the Mitchell brothers from Spa Hills Farm asked him some time ago if his restaurant would be interested in participating in a composting trial.
“We got involved really early in the get go. It’s certainly reducing the amount we put in the landfill… As it progresses we will be able to go further and further.”
He said McDonald’s composts a variety of items which fill anywhere from half to three-quarters of a bin weekly.
“Coffee grounds, wasted food,” he says, explaining foods such as those that have expired are composted. “There’s a whole list of what we can put in there. We try to use it as much as we can.”
As for other McDonald’s franchises, Popien said he knows others are considering it but he’s not sure how many.
“I wouldn’t say we’re the only ones, but certainly we’re one of the few to get on board early on in the game… It’s a good thing for us to do as corporate citizens in Salmon Arm and sets a good example for other businesses who have that product that can be composted… It’s a good alternative and we didn’t have that a few months ago.”
Tim Hortons has joined McDonald’s.
Owner of both the uptown and downtown franchises as well as one in Sicamous, Kelly Moores says his restaurants began composting in August.
“It makes a whole lot of sense for us. Coffee grounds are 70 per cent of our waste; it works out well for us.”
He says the restaurant can also compost a lot of its paper, such as liners for baking and sheets for some of the prepared food.
Each week the restaurants are filling their bins, which he estimates are eight cubic yards.
“It’s a significant amount, particularly in terms of weight. The coffee grounds are heavy.”
Why is he doing it?
“Because it’s the right thing to do, we’ll continue to do more. We will look at more ways to alleviate the amount of waste that comes out of any of our businesses. It’s an initiative of the CSRD (Columbia Shuswap Regional District) and we take that seriously.”
He adds that Spa Hills, the composting company, is great to work with. As more people sign on, the cost comes down, he notes.
Jake Mitchell of Spa Hills Farm says the business composting in Salmon Arm has been going really well since it began in April.
It started with McDonald’s, the Shuswap Pie Company, Chiang Mai Orchard Thai Restaurant and the support of developer Bill Laird, he says. Current composters also include Table 24, Okanagan College, Askew’s, Tim Hortons, Shuswap Chefs and the Village Grocer in Blind Bay.
“We’re hoping to have more, but that’s doing good.”
Businesses are given guidelines on what can be composted, such as coffee grounds, food waste and paper products, he says, noting that every paper product composts.
Mitchell is pleased with how much is being composted.
“There’s a tremendous amount of volume that’s coming in, just from kitchen waste from the fast-food restaurants.”
He compliments Popien’s willingness to try composting when Spa Hills first proposed the idea.
“You would think a fast-food restaurant like that wouldn’t have the time or support – and we’ve had a lot of overwhelming support.”