food waste toronto

This might be Toronto's first zero waste restaurant

One Toronto restaurant is giving the term farm-to-table new meaning.

That's because every week, Maizal co-owner Ivan Wadgymar takes a trip up the 400 to the Cavaleiro eco-agro farm in Schomberg to drop off his restaurant's food waste and to pick up corn and other produce.

Maizal's not new, nor is its zero-waste policy. “We’re not good advertisers,” jokes Wadgymar, who posted about his eco-friendly initiative on Instagram yesterday.

Wadgymar took environmental studies at York University and likes to bring the concept of closing the food gap to life.

A post shared by maizal (@maizaltoronto) on

Food scraps and leftovers don't go in the garbage, or even the green bin, at Maizal. Instead, Wadgymar brings them to the farm where they're transformed into compost or fed to the animals on site.

Customers and staff have both responded well and in the summertime, some even join Wadgymar on his trips to Schomberg.

Other restaurants in Toronto also curb food waste, though this is a particularly noteworthy strategy deserving of kudos.

Lead photo by

@maizaltoronto


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