Recycle, Re-Use, Re-Gift

Photo by Sarah Wiggins
Dihan Chandra, top left, founder of The Spent Goods Company, shown slicing bread, calls himself a food transformer and is constantly on the lookout for businesses to partner with to repurpose their byproduct into edible goods.
Spent barley grain from the beer-making process at Henderson Brewing (top right) is used by The Spent Goods Company and the Drake Commissary to make beer crisps and sourdough bread. Together, the partners hope to lessen the amount of spent grain that ends up in Ontario landfills each year.
James Brooks, an artisan based in Chelsea, Que., uses leather from the Enright Cattle Company to create high-quality bags sold at high-end retailers across the province. The fourth-generation farmers insist on ensuring nothing goes to waste on the farm by also making soap from the tallow and gourmet dog food and treats from the offal.