Exhibition Place along with Centerplate has developed a new Waste Diversion Program and are passionate about our green initiatives. The program consists:
1. The replacement of all plastic food containers (beer/coffee cups, straws, plates, cutlery, and food wrappers/containers) with 100% compostable PLA (polylactic acid) alternatives. We are committed to reducing our own carbon footprint and encouraging our guests to embrace our green initiatives. Initially we had few options to choose from but, by working with different manufacturers and distributors, we have increased our compostable inventory to become almost 100% compliant. In addition, our food sub-contractors are required to follow our lead to be compliant.
2. A food waste program was also created to divert the massive amount of food waste into the composting stream. To improve this Exhibition Place & Centerplate developed an independent diversion plan and are currently implementing a one-of-a-kind composting program of Exhibition Place.
3. Everything in our kitchen is recycled. Food waste is stored for pick-up by Planet Earth for composting. Cans, plastics and cardboard are separated for shipment. Direct Energy Centre complemented the additional recycling efforts by rolling out a new 4-stream recycling bin which can accept; paper, plastic & cans, compostable food waste and litter.
4. In addition, we have installed a used oil retrieval tank in our loading bay. All used fryer oil, which has zero trans- fats and cooking oil is held in the tank until it’s removed through recycling. Prior to having this system, we used the pour- in tank outside, which had the risk of spills, overflow from rain water, and abuse by people seeing an opportunity to discard oil of suspicious origin.
Local foods
Centerplate is also developing relationships with local farmers to bring in locally grown foods in order to further support our environmental initiatives. As part of the sourcing process we barnstormed farms in Holland Marsh, met farmers and other producers at markets in Toronto & conferred with Local Foods Plus. These products will be used in our catered events and in our concessions as well.
Centerplate is introducing a new concession called “Bountiful Ontario” which will feature seasonal, locally grown product. We will be able to plan menus reliably weeks away from a show, because our new suppliers focus only on Ontario product, its availability and the best product for our ideas. Growers who are interested will be able to work directly with us on menus and promotion of their food. As the seasons change, so will our menus.