Latest news with #zeroWaste
The Guardian
13-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
‘It really is possible to be zero waste': the restaurant with no bin
Hunched over the pass in the open restaurant kitchen, a team of chefs are dusting ceviche with a powder made from lime skins that would, in most cases, have been thrown away. The Mexico City restaurant where they work looks like most restaurant kitchens but it lacks one key element: there is no bin. Baldío was co-founded by brothers Lucio and Pablo Usobiaga and chef Doug McMaster, best known for his groundbreaking zero-waste spot Silo London. 'In my eyes, bins are coffins for things that have been badly designed,' says McMaster. 'If there was a trophy for negligence, it would be bin-shaped.' The food, which recently earned a Michelin green star, is creative but still quintessentially Mexican: squash tostada with guaca-broccoli, maguey flower, maguey worm, chinampa flower, or grassfed pork from Veracruz with tamarind mole, served with chinampa greens and house-made kimchi. Significant planning is needed from sourcing to preparation, and the founders are also behind Arca Tierra, a regenerative agriculture project that includes a network of 50 farmers in central Mexico as well as the organisation's own farm in the pre-Aztec canal system at Xochimilco, an ancient neighbourhood in the south of Mexico City. 'Restaurants can have a big environmental impact but they also have a big reach,' says Lucio Usobiaga. 'We want Baldío to be a model that shows it's possible to be both zero waste and to rely on farmers rather than supermarkets.' Although the food is finished off in the restaurant's open kitchen, most preparation happens at La Baldega, a workshop where the team operates a fermentation programme that helps preserve ingredients as well as upcycle byproducts such as peel and gristle. This includes pre-Hispanic Mexican drinks such as tepache and pulque, as well as koji fermentation – popular in Japan and China for thousands of years – to transform fish guts into sauce. Globally, one-fifth of food is lost or wasted, according to the UN, equivalent to 1bn meals a day, at a time when one in every nine people is malnourished. When food decomposes in landfill it releases methane, which has 25-times higher global warming potential than carbon dioxide. Silo, when it opened in 2014, became the first restaurant in the world not to have a bin, raising the bar on what zero waste means. Less than 1% of food is composted and no single-use materials are used. A dedicated pottery transforms glass into porcelain that is used for tableware, light fixtures and tiles. Baldío is part of a new wave of restaurants that are moving beyond vague claims of sustainability to embrace a regenerative ethos. In Lisbon, SEM, from the Silo alumni Lara Santo and George McLeod, serves invasive freshwater fish such as the zander, which was introduced to Portugal in the 1980s for sport. Flores, a family-run restaurant in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, dries offal in koji before shaving it over meat dishes. Helsinki's Nolla (meaning 'zero' in Finnish) gives compost to its suppliers and guests – a doggy bag with a difference. Baldío goes one step further through its symbiotic relationship with Xochimilco, the last remnant of the network of blue-green waterways that dazzled Spanish invaders when they arrived 500 years ago. The Unesco heritage site is a key stopover for migratory birds and the only place where axolotls still live in the wild. Although the unique ecosystem is severely threatened by urban sprawl, many Indigenous residents still farm chinampas (a pre-Aztec technique consisting of islands formed from willow trees, lilies and mud), gliding through the blue-green canals on wobbly canoes laden with lettuce, radish and verdolagas (Mexican parsley). 'In agriculture, how you go about production really determines how much carbon you emit,' says Melanie Kolb, a researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. As well as buying from five local families, Arca Tierra farms 18 chinampas using a three-row agroforestry system. The farming team led by Sonia Tapia Garcés combines ancestral techniques such as chapines – rich sediment cut into squares used for germinating seeds – with compost from Baldío's kitchen and a hi-tech wood shedder that allows them to create mulch, which contributes to the soil's potential for carbon sequestration. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion The result is a crop that is irrigated with bio-filtered canal water and can be harvested 365 days a year without depleting the soil's nutrients. It is enough to supply 50% of Baldío's needs. The restaurant's chefs, who visit every Monday to plan that week's menus, have a continuing dialogue with the growers and often help with harvesting. Ingredients are carried by boat to downtown Xochimilco and driven 8km to La Baldega. Reducing distance travelled and the need for refrigeration on longer journeys results in a fraction of the carbon emissions associated with typical restaurant supply chains. For 74-year-old Noy Coquis Saldedo, who rents land to Arca Tierra, the project offers an opportunity to preserve his identity at a time when just 2.5% of the chinampas are still used for traditional agriculture. 'It's very sad that young people don't want to farm any more,' he says. 'But now we are delivering food to the great city like my ancestors did.' A pod of young pelicans surf a warm gust between the verdant banks, practising for the journey they will soon make to California. For Lucio Usobiaga, closing the loop between the chinampas and Baldío could be a blueprint for the future. 'Ultimately, I hope the project shows people that a more just and better food system is possible.' And the food? When the Guardian tasted it, it was delicious: flame-licked, spiked with salsas and texturally balanced, it is distinctly Mexican – yet also something entirely its own.
Globe and Mail
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Globe and Mail
Will Canada's World Cup Set a Zero-Waste Standard, or Leave a Legacy of Trash?
TORONTO, the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnaabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat Peoples, June 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In one year, millions of fans will take part in global festivities around Toronto's BMO Field and Vancouver's BC Place as Canada co-hosts the FIFA World Cup 26 TM. What they leave behind could be just as monumental: a legacy of trash, or a breakthrough in sustainable sport. Today, Oceana Canada launched #ReuseForTheWin, a campaign urging Toronto and Vancouver to eliminate single-use food and beverage containers during the tournament. The campaign calls on stadium operators to eliminate single-use cups for beer, pop, and coffee during the World Cup. The stadium operator in Toronto is Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (BMO Field) and in Vancouver, it is BC Pavilion Corporation (BC Place, which already operates a reusable cup program in select sections and is exploring expansion). The solution is simple: ditch single-use cups bound for the trash and replace them with ones that will be collected, cleaned, re-stocked, and reused for the next game, creating a zero-waste standard in global sport. 'Every match of the World Cup could generate over 100,000 single-use items — and that's just from drinks,' said Anthony Merante, Senior Plastics Campaigner at Oceana Canada. 'We have one shot to get this right. If stadiums make the switch to reuse, Canada can leave behind a legacy of sustainable leadership, not litter.' The Problem: Single-Use Waste on a Global Stage Governments are investing nearly $1 billion to host the FIFA World Cup 26™ in Toronto and Vancouver. Unless major venues stop serving single-use items, millions of cups, trays, bottles, and wrappers could end up in landfill, incinerators, or polluting waterways. This isn't just a waste issue — it's an ocean crisis. Major sports stadiums across Canada routinely serve single-use items, many of them made from or lined with plastic. In Canada, half of all plastic waste is single-use like the products served in the stands. Yet only eight per cent of plastics are recycled, with more than 90 per cent going to landfill, incineration, or directly into lakes, rivers, and oceans. Canadians want better. An Oceana Canada-commissioned poll by Abacus Data found that 88 per cent of Canadians would choose a reusable option over single-use one if available. Right now, fans at BMO Field and BC Place lack choice. It's time to make single use history. #ReuseForTheWin. The Solution: Reuse is a Win for Everyone If BMO Field and BC Place fully switch to reuse, up to 2.3 million single-use items could be avoided during the tournament. Reuse creates local green jobs in collection, cleaning, and delivery, while cutting waste management costs. All fans would get a guilt-free, zero-waste experience at every match. Toronto and Vancouver could create a sustainability legacy for their stadiums and cities. Each year, more than $7.8 billion worth of plastic is lost to landfills in Canada. Reusables offer a long-term, sustainable investment, eliminating the need to repurchase items that become trash after a single use. Reuse isn't just good for the environment, it's good economics. The Call to Action: One Year to Get it Right The opportunity for change is now. Oceana Canada is calling on: Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (BMO Field) and the BC Pavillion Corporation (BC Place) to ditch single use and switch to reuse ahead of the FIFA World Cup 26™. Toronto and Vancouver to pass reuse bylaws ahead of FIFA World Cup 26™, requiring refillable and reusable food and beverage service at stadiums, restaurants, festivals and other large venues. (Read and sign the petition at The Coca-Cola Company, one of the largest 2026 World Cup sponsors, to invest in the transition to reuse at World Cup venues. 'Hosting the World Cup will leave a legacy on our cities. Let's make it one of sustainability — not waste,' said Merante. 'Stadiums across the world have already been upgraded to reuse and found success. This is Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and the BC Pavillion Corporation's moment to lead.' Oceana Canada's recommendations follow a workshop with stadium operators, policy experts, reuse providers, and government representatives from across Canada and the United States exploring practical approaches to zero-waste operations in sport. Visit to learn more and add your voice to the call for zero-waste World Cup cities. Oceana Canada was established as an independent charity in 2015 and is part of the largest international advocacy group dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Oceana Canada has successfully campaigned to ban single-use plastics, end the shark fin trade, make rebuilding depleted fish populations the law, improve the way fisheries are managed and protect marine habitat. We work with civil society, academics, fishers, Indigenous Peoples and the federal government to return Canada's formerly vibrant oceans to health and abundance. By restoring Canada's oceans, we can strengthen our communities, reap greater economic and nutritional benefits and protect our future. Find out more at
South China Morning Post
29-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- South China Morning Post
Dish in Focus: Farmhouse Productions tomatoes at Roganic
Roganic restaurant is one of the leading lights on Hong Kong's sustainable dining scene: its farm-to-fork approach has earned it numerous awards, including a Michelin Green Star. Since opening in 2019, the restaurant has prioritised locally sourced ingredients and zero-waste menus. In February, Roganic moved to its new, upcycled premises at Lee Garden One in Causeway Bay. The decor has changed, the menu has changed, but one constant is head chef Adam Catterall , who has been in the kitchen since day one. From sous chef to head chef, over the last six years he has worked alongside founder Simon Rogan to push the boundaries of sustainable gastronomy in our city. Roganic's new location at Lee Gardens in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay. Photo: Jocelyn Tam One way the restaurant does this is through maintaining strong relationships with local suppliers – working closely with growers and producers who farm regeneratively and are environmentally conscious. Catterall says, 'A lot of guests are shocked to find out that such amazing produce can actually grow in Hong Kong. It's always great to see how our diners react … when we explain where all the ingredients come from.' The menu at Roganic changes according to seasonal availability of produce, and the names of dishes highlight local suppliers. The Farmhouse Productions tomatoes in perilla and coal with fermented pistachio, for example, uses cherry tomatoes from the eponymous farming collective based mainly in the New Territories. 'We were inspired by the outstanding quality of the cherry tomatoes here in Hong Kong, which enjoy a relatively short season,' explains Catterall. 'The idea of including other ingredients from the farm expanded into incorporating farm herbs and flowers, and vinegars made from purple perilla, also from Farmhouse Productions.' Adam Catterall, head chef of Roganic in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout One of Catterall's favourite dishes, this appetiser is entirely vegan – something he describes as 'a happy accident'. As the chef explains, 'The balance of the dish works really well without … animal fats or protein.'
CBC
28-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Majority of Montrealers against less frequent garbage pickup, poll finds
A new Leger poll commissioned by the City of Montreal suggests more than half of residents aren't on board with cutting back on curbside trash collection. As part of its push to become a zero-waste city by 2030, Montreal is considering reducing trash collection to once every two weeks, but 54 per cent of respondents said they're against the idea. We spoke to Marie-Andrée Mauger, Montreal's executive committee member in charge of ecological transition.
