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Rethinking Plastics & Packaging
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Kathryn Kellogg’s Advice on “Going Zero Waste” Mediaplanet sat down with Kathryn Kellogg, zero waste influencer and author of “101 Ways to go Zero Waste” to learn her tips on leading a sustainable lifestyle.
What sparked your passion for a zerowaste lifestyle? It might be surprising but I didn't start going zero waste because I loved the planet: I suffered from a major hormonal imbalance in college which led to a lot of pain, doctor visits, full-blown cystic acne, mood swings and mental health issues. So, I started reducing my exposure to endocrine disruptors which are found in a lot of products we come into daily contact with. One of my favourite books on this topic is Estrogeneration which explores the link between synthetic estrogens with our bodies and nature. There’s not a lot of regulation or testing on many of the products we buy like plastic, beauty products, and cleaning products, so I started being very mindful of what I brought into my home by reducing plastic, eating more plant based, and DIY-ing a lot of my cleaning products etc. It all clicked for me when I moved to California, that the changes I was making to my personal health weren’t only better for me, they were also better for the planet.
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Q&A
I started my blog goingzerowaste.com because I wanted people to know they could save money, be healthier, and be more ecofriendly. It seemed like a no-brainer, and I wanted to help people make this transition easy and fun.
What are your top tips for getting started?
1.
Say no to straws. If you need straws or like them, try and opt for a reusable one. My personal favourite is glass.
What does zero waste or eco-friendly living mean to you?
2.
Ditch plastic water bottles. Did you know tap water is more regulated than bottled water? If you don't like the taste of your water, invest in a filter, you will save so much money in the long run. I prefer an insulated water bottle that keeps hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold.
3.
Bring your own bags to the store. If you tend to forget, get a couple that fold up real small and attach to your key ring so they’ll always be with you.
4.
Avoid coffee cups which are actually lined with plastic and unrecyclable in most places. The lids aren't recyclable either. If you have your handy-dandy insulated water bottle on you, you can grab your coffee, or ask for it in a real mug to stay.
To me, it’s just about wasting less and being a good steward of what I have. Buy fewer items. Use that last drop of shampoo. Upcycle your glass salsa jar to store leftovers. Reuse that promotional cotton tote until the straps fall off and then stitch them back on. Invest in products that will last a lifetime. Focus on timeless things that bring you joy rather than trends. Shop second hand. Eat fewer animal products, more plants, and remember, it's not about being perfect. We need to hold corporations and legislators accountable to ensure safe access to clean air, clean drinking water, and a safe environment for everyone.
I recommend that everyone start with the big four.
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Plastic Pollution is a Threat to Global Security The plastic pollution crisis meets the underlying criteria necessary to classify the issue as a threat to global security, yet it lacks a legally binding global treaty. Chloé Dubois, Co-founder and President of the Ocean Legacy Foundation
T Chloé Dubois Co-founder and President, Ocean Legacy Foundation
he potential long-term detrimental health effects of plastic pollution remain contentious while environmental implications are wide-ranging and globally devastating. Investigatory research demonstrates genuine cause for concern and evolving consequences when evaluating the effects of mismanaged plastic waste. When defining matters of global security using a plastic pollution lens, traditional definitions of security are widened to include matters of environment, health, and civil rights. These matters are increasingly being considered politically important and as matters of security as they take the center stage of many political agendas globally.
species loss, invasive species, ozone depletion, and persistent organic pollutants (POPs). These recognized threats have extensive binding global treaties which catalyze global action to minimize or eliminate their effect. What is alarming, however, with the issue of plastic pollution is that, although it meets all the same criteria, the world has not yet developed a globally binding treaty to curb the devastating effects and serious risk of this ubiquitous pollution. To make matters worse, plastic pollution contributes to many of the existing recognized ecological threats to global security, worsening their cumulative effects such as atmospheric carbon.
Finding solutions among the disparity Defining security and plastic pollution When defining matters of global security, research demonstrates that specific criteria must be met, which include: • Threat to preservation of international peace • Transboundary threat • Political action has been taken • The issue has “real-world” consequences • Drastically threatens or degrades the quality of life of state inhabitants over a brief timespan These underlying criteria are found in other significant environmental crises that are well established as threats to global security such as global climate change, biodiversity and
There are no proven formulas which provide one solution to ending the plastic pollution crisis. Solutions must be localized, diverse, accessible, and as equally complex as the issue of plastic pollution itself. Over the last decade, Ocean Legacy has been creating a plastic pollution emergency response program called EPIC, a strategic platform which integrates Education, Policy, Infrastructure, and Cleanup. This program was designed to educate a global population around the effects of plastic pollution, to build advocacy tools, and identify policy gaps that build effective practices which manage plastic wastes, to give plastic waste an economic value and stimulate the plastic circu-
lar economy with infrastructure development, to provide training to facilitate cleanups, and to develop immersive learnings and tools to steward the natural environment. The future of plastic is circular. Circularity is a founding ideology that I believe will become the accepted norm which sustains the very basis of humanity’s survival. Circularity is where humanity learns to harmonize its behaviour with nature and provides the opportunity to reevaluate and redesign our current state of affairs. To move forward into a life-supporting reality, establishing the following will be critical: • We need a coordinated globally binding treaty to catalyze world-wide action and to harmonize patch work policy • We must teach our children the importance of building a meaningful relationship with the natural planet and educate the general population on the threat of plastic pollution • The need for more long-term research on the human health effects of plastic pollution is urgent • Mandating recycled content standards in manufacturing and redesigning products with their full life cycle in mind must become common practice • Capital investment to build new systems which foster behaviour change and develop infrastructure are paramount
To read the full report Plastic Pollution is a Threat to Global Security and learn how you can get involved in Ocean Legacy’s work, visit oceanlegacy.ca. This article was sponsored by Ocean Legacy.
Publisher: Raman Walia Business Development Manager: Melanie Kosev Country Manager: Nina Theodorlis Content & Production Manager: Raymond Fan Designers: Kylie Armishaw, Giuliana Bandiera Content & Web Editor: Karthik Talwar All images are from Getty Images unless otherwise credited. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve The National Post or its editorial departments. Send all inquiries to ca.editorial@mediaplanet.com.
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Please recycle
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Solange Ackrill Vice President of Marketing & Corporate Strategy, Club Coffee
Dr. Sylvain Charlebois Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University
Kathlyne Ross Vice President of Product Development & Innovation, Loblaw Companies Limited
Making Your Coffee Habit More Sustainable Just Got Way Easier Club Coffee’s innovations and strong partnerships are helping Canadian coffee lovers make more conscious, sustainable choices. Tania Amardeil
C
offee is a beloved and welcome part of everyday life for millions of Canadians. Its inviting aroma and distinctive flavour start our mornings, end our dinners, and give us breaks in between. With more than 70 percent of Canadian adults enjoying a coffee on an average day, that calls for a lot of coffee beans — about 1,000 tonnes of them daily. Canadian coffee lovers increasingly expect more from that coffee — they want sustainable options like fair trade coffee and compostable or recyclable packaging. Club Coffee is helping top-selling North American brands and many of Canada’s leading retailers answer the call. Leveraging its long history and expertise, Club Coffee is leading the way in sustainable packaging innovations and helping Canadians make their coffee habit more sustainable.
A long history of innovation
grounded in our people and our talents,” says Ackrill. “We can see what consumers want and know what our customers need. We put all that together to get to results faster.”
Creating sustainable solutions Consumer demand for more premium and sustainable offerings is putting Club Coffee in the spotlight, as industry experts are seeing firsthand. “A growing number of Canadian consumers are expecting Canadian companies to do things differently,” says Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University. “They want to support brands that are great environmental stewards.” Club Coffee’s ability to translate environmental stewardship and other priorities into action makes it a great partner to major
Food costs are obviously influenced by agricultural commodities, which can drive prices higher. But the sector can also be impacted by higher material costs as well, and steel is a good example right now.
Club Coffee has a 100-plus-year history, having evolved from a roaster to a sustainable packaging innovator and long-term partner of choice for major names like Loblaw. “ We ’r e k n o w n for delivering coffee innovations,” says Solange Ackrill, Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Strategy at Club Coffee. “Many of our people have come to us from big retailers and consumer packaged goods companies. Their wealth of knowledge enables us to execute breakthroughs that really create points of differentiation that add value for our customers and their consumers.” Building an innovation-focused culture and agile team has helped Club Coffee drive industry-leading advances. “Our culture is
brands and retailers. Those strong links help it to drive innovation, value, and consistent supply.
A new step forward in sustainable packaging “We’re always looking for ways to bring innovation to the food industry and in doing so, develop partnerships with companies that share our passion,” says Kathlyne Ross, Vice
Canadians love coffee and drink quite a lot of it, so when we work with partners on packaging that’s recyclable, our work together starts to make a big impact. President of Product Development and Innovation at Loblaw Companies Limited. “Our partnership with Club Coffee began several years ago, and in 2016 we launched our PC® 100% Certified Compostable Single Serve Coffee Pods, kicking off our journey together on developing sustainable packaging in the coffee category.” Supported by Loblaw’s leadership and commitment to sustainability, Club Coffee is now helping the retailer meet consumer needs and its ESG commitments through the latest world-class innovation with the launch of the new AromaPak™ coffee packaging. AromaPak™ featuring Boardio® paperbased technology is recyclable packaging for bagged and can coffee. This sustainable packaging solution significantly reduces plastic use and is made using fibre from sustainably-managed forests, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. “We want to offer our customers choice in the grocery aisle and that includes innovative packaging solutions that reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills,” says Ross. “Canadians love coffee and drink quite a lot of it, so when we work with partners on packaging that’s recyclable, our work together starts to make a big impact.” Making your coffee habit more sustainable has never been easier.
To learn more about sustainable coffee solutions, visit clubcoffee.ca.
This article was sponsored by Club Coffee.
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KFC's Bold Sustainability Strides Are Setting an Industry Example KFC’s commitment to sustainable packaging is setting an example for the industry and helping to protect our planet. Tania Amardeil
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rotecting the planet is one of KFC's core values, and over the last several years the company has made great strides in lessening its environmental footprint. A big part of this initiative has been the restaurant’s commitment to evolving its food packaging. Today, you won’t find a plastic straw in sight at a KFC restaurant, and the company has launched some truly innovative new products, like bamboo buckets and fibre based cutlery along with other sustainability-minded initiatives, including their recent commitment to move to 100 percent home compostable packaging by 2025.
A long history based on unique values KFC’s leadership in making its food packaging more environmentally-friendly and sustainable has a big impact, especially as it’s one of the largest global restaurant chains. Founded by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952 down in Kentucky, KFC is now the world's most popular chain of chicken restaurants. Today, KFC has more than 25,000 restaurants across 145 countries and territories around the world, including more than 600 locations right here in Canada. To this day, the Colonel's proprietary blend of 11 herbs and spices is still used to season KFC’s world-famous chicken, and it remains a closely-guarded secret. Colonel Sanders, the visionary behind Kentucky Fried Chicken, is still an important part of KFC’s brand and values. Throughout everything the Colonel did, he espoused his own unique brand of values, famously saying, “A man’s life is written by the way he lives it.” Here in Canada, the team at KFC has been writing its own unique chapter in the KFC story — and embodying the Colonel’s integrity and spirit of hard work remains at the core.
Sustainability that's grounded in a sense of responsibility
This page was sponsored by KFC.
Reducing plastic packaging and waste is essential for conserving resources and energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and decreasing pollution. KFC understands this imperative and is at the forefront of sustainable packaging and practices in the fast food industry. KFC has been leading the industry in sustainable packaging since 2019, when it removed all plastic straws and bags from its restaurants, eliminating 50 million plastic straws and 10 million plastic bags across the country and replacing them with fibrebased alternatives. KFC also now sources
100 percent of its fibre-based packaging from recycled sources. “We’re on a continuous journey to lessen our environmental footprint and believe that, as one of the largest global restaurant brands, we can make a tremendous impact not only in our local communities but our global footprint as well,” says Nivera Wallani, President and General Manager of KFC Canada.
A commitment to reusable, recyclable, and compostable packaging The KFC bucket is an iconic part of the brand’s heritage, and evolving it into a bamboo version was a major step forward in achieving their goal to eliminate non-recoverable or non-reusable plastic-based packaging by 2025. Bamboo is fast-growing, anti-bacterial, and 100 percent biodegradable — the perfect solution. KFC has removed 12 million plastic poutine containers from its operations by transitioning to bamboo. “We want KFC's packaging to be forward-thinking and inspiring, and to champion functionality, food safety, and ecofriendly solutions,” says Armando Carrillo, Innovation Manager at KFC Canada. “We’ve continued to accelerate our efforts and push the boundaries to bring more environmentally-sustainable packaging solutions to market, including our move to bamboo poutine buckets.”
Inspiring change and constantly innovating KFC has also been testing fibre-based cutlery. In November 2020, select restaurants began testing a new fibre-based spork made from bamboo, corn, and sugarcane. The new cutlery naturally decomposes at room temperature and requires no additional treatment, nor does it leave any toxic by-products. The process of decomposition takes approximately 18 months. Once fully introduced into the KFC restaurant system, the compostable cutlery will eliminate 40 million pieces of plastic cutlery annually. KFC also recently announced that by 2025, all consumer-facing packaging will be fully home compostable, and the first home compostable bucket will begin piloting this year. KFC’s new eco-friendly sandwich bag, currently rolling out across all restaurants nationally, is an excellent new addition to the company’s home compostable initiatives. It’s made with 100 percent sustainably-sourced paper and coated with a plant-based, certified home compostable, marine-degradable coating. This bold commitment will divert nearly 200 million pieces of packaging from Canadian landfills each year. “We hope it encourages our peers in the industry to follow suit,” says Wallani. “One of our leading principles at KFC Canada is feeding people, not landfills. The move to 100 percent home compostable consumer
packaging is a bold and ambitious step we’re taking to inspire positive change in the communities we operate in.”
Giving back with the Harvest program Alongside its packaging, KFC also takes food waste extremely seriously and donates its surplus chicken to charities within its local communities through its Harvest program. The team at KFC was inspired to create its prepared food donation program when it learned that there’s enough wasted food in the world to feed two billion people, as estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. KFC works with suppliers to purchase only as much fresh food as it expects to sell to customers based on its projections, and any surplus food is donated to food banks, soup kitchens, and other non-profits across Canada through Harvest. The restaurant donates an average of 85,000 pounds of food annually. Since 2016, KFC restaurants have donated over 260,000 pounds of food to 241 unique charities across the country. “KFC Canada is committed to fighting food waste through our Harvest program while helping nourish those in need of high-quality protein — one of the most in-demand foods at relief shelters and food banks across the country,” says Wallani. “Colonel Sanders famously said, ‘I’m proud that I’ve helped bring good chicken to the tables of millions of people.’ Through Harvest, we’re building on that achievement beyond our restaurants while also ensuring it doesn’t end up in landfills.”
Nivera Wallani President & General Manager, KFC Canada
Armando Carrillo Food Innovation Manager, KFC Canada
Fostering a sustainability culture There’s no doubt that KFC is a major player in sustainability. The company’s strong voice and stance on sustainability demonstrates to its team members and franchisees that it has a stake in the game and that it cares. The KFC team lives and breathes a heart-led culture, giving its teams the permissibility to live Protecting the these values every day. KFC also works hard to ensure planet is one of KFC's that its in-store initiatives make core values and living this approach easy. For example, it’s on a mission to digit- over the last several ize all back-of-house operations, years the company meaning no more paper and waste, has made great and doing everything electronically (which also helps with supply chain strides in lessening management), allowing its team its environmental members to focus on delivering the footprint. best possible customer experience. KFC has also removed all financial barriers for its franchisees by paying the up-front To learn more about costs for their restaurants to onboard onto KFC Canada’s the Harvest program. approach to environKFC is working hard to inspire its indusmental sustainability, try peers and make a tremendous impact. visit kfc.ca/ environment. And it’s working.
KFC’s Key Sustainability Milestones Over the Years: A Timeline KFC has hit many impressive milestones on its sustainability journey. Here are some of the company’s key successes in recent years:
2019 — Plastic straws and plastic bags completely removed from KFC restaurants
2020
— Achieved goal of sourcing 100% certified or recycled fibre-based packaging from sustainable sources — Introduction and rollout of bamboo buckets for poutine and chicken containers — All styrofoam packaging replaced with fibre solutions
2021
2025
— Testing of bamboo and cane sugar spork to replace single-use plastic cutlery from KFC restaurants
— All consumer packaging is home compostable
— Development and testing of bio-plastic solutions for KFC’s famous chicken buckets — Move to home compostable, marine-safe degradable sandwich bags by end of year — Commitment made to move to 100% home compostable consumer packaging by 2025