Aiming for zero waste: the adventure

Written by: Jacynthe

Published on: April 22, 2023

I offer my animals, who enjoy them, peels and scraps of vegetables that cannot be used for salads and other recipes in our kitchens.

Early April 2023 - The launch of the project ♥

This is the letter I wrote to the extended MJ family. As construction on our new site was completed, their container was leaving the premises and I had this revelation: what if we didn't have trash cans? What if, as a company, we could recycle or compost everything in our manufacturing, production, receiving, warehousing, shipping, distribution, and office areas? I asked a few people, it seemed possible, so I'm trying to reach everyone via this letter below, right down to the shops/beauty shops/bistros (our homes).

Well, afterwards, we encountered some problem items, but also, while searching, their solution! WOW! So, I am attaching our process, starting with my letter to ideally motivate other businesses. We may be the sinews of this war.

Special mention to Marie-Aimée (MJ Ste-Thérèse) who took my idea to heart and went straight to action, to Marie-Christine for the solutions found, to Alain who will follow up on each of our locations with the same convictions; I feel as much passion in him to transform waste into fertile soil (imitating nature while the waste of some becomes food for others) and then to all of you for your changes of habits and small efforts that make a huge difference.

Initiating letter:

Hello!

Can you each inform your team (lab, distribution/warehouse, offices) and Marie-Michèle, spread the word to all houses?

I had a moment of great revelation yesterday that ties in with a long-held dream: that MJ would be zero waste.

In the new neighborhoods of St-Bruno, we now have a recycling container (we pay to empty it 2/week and a compost container emptied every 2 weeks)

I would like everything to be recycled or composted.

If you have materials that don't belong in either universe, can we address it at the source?

For example, if you have a product that is packaged in a non-ecological material, would you advise the supplier if it is possible to change it?

If the team comes with a lunch with waste, I would like them to leave with it.

Marie Michèle, can we apply this principle to the houses, even if it means ordering more bins?

In two weeks, can you give me feedback on the viability of this project?

I would like to see the companies inspired, imagine if they all followed suit.

Please feel free to comment and get back to me privately if you see any drawbacks.

Jacynthe

Our steps, thoughts and efforts, in chronological order:

- I notify the teams

- I don't take garbage containers in our neighborhoods in St-Bruno (*see note below).

- Some cities don't take compost from businesses - we'll pay for it.

- I change the format of the lunches offered to bulk instead of bags (we always try to get to the source of the problem).

- I am advised that we need more bins - we are shopping, it should be easy and pleasant, we feel we are participating in a project together.

- I see for our bistro elements how we can also improve and the actions that this implies.

- Each of our houses shares with us the state of the situation regarding recycling, compost, and garbage (see pictures below). Some houses mention that they are missing items (notably bins) to move towards zero waste. We suggest to the teams in the houses to get what they need. Some points are raised and are to be validated with our suppliers to reduce waste. It is mainly at the level of the bistro and packaging when receiving products. We realize that we need to find an alternative for the collection of compost in some of our houses. An idea: put forward that we have in some of our houses vegetable scraps and peels to offer as a treat for your animals.

- A few women, perhaps embarrassed to put a stop to my enthusiasm, take advantage of Sylvain's visit (who would have preferred that it be said to me: ))))) to express their fears: once a month, they have to use disposable items - hey, ok! I understand, I don't want to stress anyone out, again, this whole process has to be pleasant; so yes ok, for that, we'll have - for now - a garbage bag; as long as we don't take advantage of it to throw away what can be composted or recycled. Let's proceed to the purchase of small garbage cans with lids placed in the appropriate places: during the round of the materials to be distributed, we will have a lot of compost (all the food leftovers, papers, cardboards, tissues even soiled, etc. it's fabulous to have a garbage can with fertile soil), clean recycling and this small bag.

- We are talking with the container supplier at our industrial site: recycling will be taken twice a week, compost every two weeks, we will adjust - we pay for this service.

- Some cities don't take compost from businesses, on the other side, that's a neglected resource; we'll pay for it for now until they wake up (but I'd like to see the vegetable peels fed to the animals rather than given directly to the land, that way you maximize their potential, the manure will serve it and fertilize the land).

*Anecdote: we had the opportunity to stay in a tourist center where there was no trash can, in fact, the "trash cans" were divided into three: compost, cardboard, plastic; I was able to buy the book that explains all the ecological steps of this center to see also the pictures of their composting and recycling center, being on an island, the trash and landfill represent toxic and dangerous problems, more in their "face" than for us who send them to another continent (where children risk their lives to classify these mountains) or in the sea; if we found ourselves each and every company to have to manage ourselves our waste in our backyard, we wouldn't wait.

- We ask our teams to analyze what goes into the trash (i.e. not recycled or composted). A list of items that end up in the trash is shared with us and we look for solutions/alternatives for each item to minimize. Everyone participates and gives their ideas. By working together, we have already reduced the number of items that end up in the garbage! We must find solutions: for example, our tights are not compostable; right away, we are taking steps to have our compostable bags printed. There are still items that end up in the trash, such as the gloves we use in the bistro and in the lab. Jump to April 20!

- The question of the containers for the bulk salads concerns me, we pay a lot of money for them while the composting centers do not want them. We won't recommend them, we'll change to compostable cardboard containers with recyclable lids. I propose to Dominique, our bistro manager, to validate me if we can propose, according to the MAPAQ laws, that you bring your clean reusable containers to come and get your salad. We are thinking about a procedure to follow in the bistros while making sure that this does not generate waste on our side. As the question of schedule is likely to pose problems (where to put the bulk while waiting for the dish, to give up the activity in progress to fill the customer's container, etc.), Sylvain proposes that we try the pilot project with the deposit of our own reusable containers. We are looking for glass containers large enough to start this solution. We could even quickly silk-screen our Maison Jacynthe containers, sober and chic, and customers would pay the initial deposit - and then not have to pay when they return them clean and filled; we would sterilize them in our dishwashers. We'll start by putting 3 in the fridge with the cardboard bulks next to them; maybe possibly we'll have only reusable dishes.

- April 20: Wow! Another solution is found to recover articles which were in the dustbin. Immediately we adhere, the box of the company Gozéro arrives the next day to recover the gloves of all the bistros (during our trips in the houses, we will recover them to accumulate them in the mother box) as well as of the lab to make the transformation of them into various objects! How happy we are! They even offer traceability in the process.

- Organisation Bleue: as I am trying to revive the foundation that I created with my father 12 years ago now, I have been able to gather a potential board of directors a few times since last summer; we have been thinking about the actions that we want to undertake; it seems wise in the beginning to give to organizations that are already working, that have been in place for a while and whose actions are evaluated. The goal, in addition to moving towards zero waste as a business, is to be able to clean and to plant the earth. Thus, last year we quickly identified the Organisation Bleue that takes care of the river banks. We take advantage of Earth Day to give them funds and thus contribute as much as we can to the urgency of having healthy aquatic environments as well as lush forests and gardens.

This series of initiatives (here to stay) adds to our important choices that make a difference:

· Use organic vegetables, fruits & nuts in our dishes and preparations.

· Use glass containers as much as possible and recycled cardboard as much as possible.

· Choose natural, pure, virgin and ethical materials prepared in a fair way.

· Manufacture here (except for make-up).

· Avoid packaging except when necessary.

· Use responsibly sourced paper for our books and guides and offer some of them in virtual form.

· Support and donate to women in need, also in hospital settings.

· We have opted for compostable bags (more expensive than glass bottles) so that we can reuse the bottles at home.

· With our new quarters, having everything under one roof, we avoid transporting materials, finished products and shipments.

· We take care and protect our heritage (our houses are ancestral) and we furnish ourselves with neat antiques.

Here, I tell you the adventure!