Environment

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Reduction for a Cleaner Future

BCBusiness + West Coast Reduction Ltd. Take a moment and imagine what would happen if Metro Vancouver's organic waste stream increased by 59%. Given the city's current system is already struggling to manage its waste, how would it handle an increase of that magnitude? For more than 50 years, West Coast Reduction...

 

BCBusiness West Coast Reduction Ltd.

Credit: WCRL

West Coast Reduction Ltd. contributes to cleaner communities and lower food costs with a triple bottom line approach.

Take a moment and imagine what would happen if Metro Vancouver’s organic waste stream increased by 59%. Given the city’s current system is already struggling to manage its waste, how would it handle an increase of that magnitude?

For more than 50 years, West Coast Reduction Ltd. (WCRL) has been chipping away at reducing the environmental intensity of the meat industry, reducing GHGs and keeping the organic waste stream under control. The company’s safe, sustainable recycling solutions for the agrifood industry help balance the impact of that industry in several ways, while at the same time creating valuable ingredients for everyday products and contributing to cleaner, more sustainable communities.

Rendering services in the meat industry add considerably to the sustainability of the West Coast agriculture industry, says Jared Girman, Director of Government Relations and Strategic Initiatives at WCRL. “Sustainability in its truest form addresses a triple bottom line: environmental, economic, and social.”

Every year in Western Canada, WCRL recycles one billion pounds of raw material. Rendering these materials has the same effect on greenhouse gas emissions as removing 150,000 cars from the road each year. 

“This is the best possible use of these byproducts in terms of reducing GHGs and keeping that energy in the circular economy system,” Girman says.

Economically speaking, the company pays producers for the raw materials, which means the suppliers do not have to pay to remove those materials. This affects Canadian businesses in farms, feedlots, restaurants, butcher shops and processors.

“This keeps food costs low and helps maintain a sustainable local food supply,” Girman says. This last point is also part of WCRL’s social bottom line.

“Keeping food prices low helps the community and it helps keep the environment clean,” he adds. “It leads to high paying jobs, and we are proud to offer our time and resources to a number of worthy organizations in the Lower Mainland.”

The organic material that West Coast Reduction collects represents 59% of all organics collected in Metro Vancouver, which helps relieve pressure on that system and supports the community.

Canada and British Columbia have ambitious carbon reduction goals to which every industry must contribute to see success. “We are a big part of that with the way we process byproducts from the meat industry, creating feed stocks for biofuels,” Girman says. “And, companies like Parkland (Burnaby’s Chevron refinery) use our organics and products to reduce the carbon intensity of the fuel products they create.”

Companywide, WCRL saves 320 000 MT of GHG emissions each year.

Learn more about West Coast Reduction Ltd and hear from its team at wcrl.com/audiovideo

Created by BCBusiness in partnership with West Coast Reduction Ltd.