The Best Commercial Composting Practice in Canada for Your Food Businesses

Commercial composting is a type of composting that is used to reduce waste and pollution in the environment. However, there is still a lot of confusion regarding these composting methods. Is your company prepared to make the move to sustainability? Discover all about composting and how to locate a composter location in the article below.

What is commercial composting?

Commercial Composting Definition

Commercial composting, also known as industrial composting, is the large-scale conversion of organic waste into compost. The process usually takes place in controlled settings, such as composting facilities, and follows strict rules to guarantee appropriate decomposition and reduce environmental effects.

Composting at Restaurant Overview

Commercial composting systems may handle a wide range of organic materials, including food scraps, yard clippings, animal manure, and biosolids.

How are composting benefits for environment?

What is the difference between home composting and commercial composting?

Both home composting and commercial composting turn organic waste into nutrient-rich compost. However, there are some differences between these two methods, as the table below indicates:

Selecting the appropriate composting method is important. Home composting is appropriate for households with little space and little food waste, still. For restaurants and foodservice businesses that need high-quality compost and produce a lot of organic waste, commercial composting is the answer.

What Are Benefits of Commercial Composting?

Commercial composting brings numerous advantages for environments, business and society.

Environmental Benefits

• Lowers greenhouse gas emissions: By keeping organic waste out of landfills, commercial composting helps reduce climate change by lowering methane emissions.
• Boost soil health: Compost is an organic amendment high in nutrients that improves soil nutrition, water retention, and structure. It enhances the general health of the soil, encourages stronger plant growth, and lessens the need for chemical fertilizers.
• Minimize landfill use: Commercial composting activities help to preserve important resources and lessen the environmental effect of waste disposal by lowering the demand for new landfill space.

Business Benefits

• Reduce waste disposal expenses: Businesses can reduce trash disposal expenses by converting to compost.
• Creates income: Composting facilities can make money by selling compost to farmers, landscapers, and gardeners as a valuable product.
• Strengthen public perception and draw eco-aware customers: Businesses that make use of commercial composting services stand out from other businesses and draw in customers who value sustainable practices.

Social Benefits

• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and turning waste into a valuable resource is achieved through commercial composting, which is a sustainable waste management practice.
• Job Creation: Facilities operations, garbage collection, compost marketing, and waste management are among the fields where the composting business creates jobs.

How Does Commercial Composting Work?

Commercial composting works by generating the ideal conditions for biodegradable materials to decompose. This process involves a number of variables, including ventilation, humidity, temperature, and microorganisms. The following steps are used in the processing of commercial composting:

• Gathering organic waste: The first step in the commercial composting process is gathering organic waste from various sources, including farms, restaurants, landscaping companies, and yard trash collection services.
• Composting methods: Commercial composting employs a variety of methods for turning organic waste into compost after they have been collected. There are four popular methods: vermicomposting, windrow composting, static pile composting, and in-vessel composting.
• Quality control and monitoring: This stage aids in guaranteeing that the compost generated is of the highest caliber, complies with laws and regulations, and can be used for a range of purposes, including soil amendment, landscaping, and farming.

4 Different Types of Commercial Composting

It's important to understand all the different kinds of commercial composting. Due to the fact that every technique has unique benefits and varying effects on composting costs.

Here is what you should know about these 4 types:

Vermicomposting

Vermicomposting, commonly known as worm composting, uses worms to break down organic waste into compost.

This approach is frequently used for smaller-scale composting operations, such as those at homes or schools. Vermicomposting is a long process that creates high-quality compost with a fine texture.

Windrow Composting

Windrow composting is the most frequent commercial composting process. The process entails creating windrows, or lengthy rows of organic trash. Occasionally, compost gets oxygenated and consistent decomposition is encouraged by turning the rows.

Windrow composting is a low-cost approach for dealing with vast amounts of organic waste.

Static Pile Composting

Static pile composting involves piling organic waste and regularly aerating it by turning or moving the pile. Although this technique is less popular than windrow composting, smaller-scale companies may find success with it.

Composting in static piles can be less expensive than windrow composting, although it does need more labor.

In-vessel Composting (IVC)

Enclosed vessels with temperature, moisture, and aeration control systems are used in in-vessel composting (IVC). Compared to windrow or static pile composting, this technique enables faster and more reliable composting. IVC is a more costly technique, but it works well in cities with limited room.

Which type of foodservice products can go with commercial composting?

The following is a list of food service items that are suitable with commercial composting:

• Food scraps: This category covers eggshells, coffee grounds, tea bags, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, meat, and seafood.
• Products made of bioplastics: Items like cornstarch are made of ingredients derived from plants. Straws and bioplastic plates, utensils, and cups are a few examples.

What is bio plastic?

• Compostable Paper Products: There are different paper products that can break down in commercial composting facilities, for example compostable paper cups, paper bowls, plates, …

See more about Compostable Take Out Food Containers

See more about Paper To Go Cup

Commercial Composting for Foodservice Business in Canada

Is commercial Composting expensive?

Commercial composting costs can differ significantly based on a number of factors, such as:

• Business sizes: A company's expenditure on commercial composting increases with the amount of food waste it produces.
• Material type: Composting certain materials is more costly than composting others.
• Business Location: Companies in urban regions would normally pay more for commercial composting services than companies in rural regions.

There is also the difference of cost of commercial composting in every province and region in Canada. So, Businesses can receive exact pricing for commercial composting by contacting the composting centers in your area directly.

Implement Commercial Composting Step by Step for Your Foodservice Business

Following the classification of commercial compostable products, the following are the critical steps to assist your food service business in implementing commercial composting:

1. Assess your food waste: Determine the types and quantities of food waste produced by your business.
2. Pick a composting technique: Choose a technique that will work best for your waste volume, available space, and desired results.
3. Choose a composting facility: Determine which facility can manage the kinds of food waste you have and which will satisfy your needs.
4. Create a collection system: Put in place a mechanism for effectively gathering and classifying food leftovers.
5. Prepare food scraps for composting: Make sure food scraps are thoroughly washed, sized, and separated from non-compostable materials before composting.
6. Deliver food waste to the facility: Plan out the time and means of delivering food waste to the composting facility.
7. Monitor and evaluate: Keep a close eye on the composting process and assess how well your practices

How to find a composter near you in Canada?

There are several ways to find a composter for commercial composting near you in Canada, which includes:

• Use online directors: Your food business can use online directories that connect businesses with composting providers. Some of online directories are Compost Canada, Find a Composter, Green Pages, Waste Diversion Ontario.
• Use local resources: Make contact with the municipality or waste management firm in your area! In Canada, a lot of communities provide composting programs or can tell you about local composting sites.
• Industry Associations: To obtain recommendations for commercial composting suppliers in your area, speak with industry associations that are involved in waste management or food service. For example, the Ontario Waste Management Association, the Canadian Restaurant Association.

To put it briefly, a wide range of items, including packaging materials and organic food waste, can be composted commercially. Composting for commercial use has several advantages for society, the environment, and businesses.