The Limestone District School Board is launching a new pilot project to reduce food waste in five to seven elementary schools across Kingston, Ontario. This initiative uses specialized indoor technology to turn leftover lunch and snack scraps into a dry, soil-like material that stays out of local landfills.
The project is funded through the Kingston Community Climate Action Fund and is supported by the City of Kingston and Sustainable Kingston. By processing food waste on-site, the schools aim to lower methane emissions while giving students a chance to see how waste can be repurposed.
Students will participate in hands-on activities to learn about the circular economy, which is a system where materials are reused rather than thrown away as trash. The new machines will be built into existing food programs to help make environmental lessons a regular part of the school day.
While the program is starting in a small number of buildings in 2026, officials hope to expand the reach of the technology in the coming years. The long-term goal for the partnership is to eventually provide one of these recycling units to every elementary school in the city.
