Sustainability
Sustainable food comes from more than just compostable containers and recycling.
Big Wheel Burger was founded on the idea that FAST food didn’t have to mean JUNK food. We’ve put thought into every step, from what we serve our customers, to how we run our shops and how we impact the environment and local communities.
Carbon Neutral From the Start
Already a low carbon operation (producing only 67 tonnes of emissions in our first year), Big Wheel Burger is proud to be Canada’s first carbon neutral fast food restaurant, having chosen to offset our remaining emissions!
100% Compostable Packaging
Our customer area is 100% trash free since all of our packaging is completely compostable. We divert a minimum of 90% of our waste, recycling soft plastics, cartons, styrofoam and other items that are typically thrown out.
Composting keeps our landfills from piling up and prevents unnecessary methane, a greenhouse gas, from being released into our environment.
Soil to Feed our FED Garden
All of those wrappers, plates and food scraps are turned into high-quality compost for our FED garden. We partner with Food Eco District (FED), a non-profit organization that works with local restaurants that are committed to reducing their impact on their environment. With their help we have developed a FED Garden!
FED Gardens Growing Edible Plants
The compost created from diverting our restaurants’ waste is turned into high-quality compost for our community gardens. These gardens provide green space, offset carbon emissions and even get used in the kitchen!
Fryer Oil
Our kitchens are furnished with high-efficiency appliances, including our deep fryers which use Frylow technology, which reduces deep fryer oil use by half, saves energy in cooking, and lowers oil content in food. The used oil from our restaurants is converted into biodiesel.
Biodiesel Van
Catch our cargo van running errands all over Victoria, fuelled using our own homemade biodiesel.
Waste Management
- All packaging materials are 100% compostable
- Trash free customer area = No landfill waste
- Less than 10% of waste ends up in landfill
Emissions Management
- Canada’s first carbon neutral fast food restaurant
- Through composting and recycling programs we avoided 74 tonnes of carbon in our first year of operation alone!
- We offset any remaining carbon emissions by investing in sustainable technologies
Community Engagement
- Big Wheel Burger staff are trained about restaurant sustainability
- We work with Synergy to audit our practices
- We partner with FED Society, an initiative to increase food sustainability awareness
Restaurant Design
- We furnish our kitchen with Energy Star appliances and efficient fryers and dishwashers to keep energy consumption to a minimum
- We use recycled or salvaged materials wherever possible in our customer area
- From the heaters to lighting, sustainability and the environment are taken into consideration every step of the way