P.E.I. bakery goes zero waste with help from Island beekeeper

The Bryson family knew that they wanted their new bakery in Iona, P.E.I., to be as zero waste as possible, but there have been some challenges along the way.

"When we started doing our business plan, we did a lot of soul searching, coming up with our core values for the business," said Katherine Bryson, who runs the bakery along with her husband Matthew.

"Certainly after we had kids, like with a lot of people, your life changes and a lot of it was what we wanted our kids' lives to be."

For the Brysons, that meant reducing single-use plastics and switching over to solar panels, to reduce their impact on the environment.

 One of the biggest changes they've made has been the kind of packaging they use.

The cookies are displayed in a cookie jar and there is a large display case with all the individual items laid out.

"I put the product out and then I package it in a paper bag or a paper box," Bryson said. 

"That's the biggest challenge with clear plastic versus a paper bag or paper boxes, that the people can't see it as easily."

Not everyone has liked the changes.

Bryson was disappointed this summer when they tried to switch from plastic to paper bags for their bread. 

"We've been selling into a few little shops, seasonal shops mostly during the summer, and we tried selling our bread out of paper bags and they just were not selling," Bryson said.

"It wasn't until you put them in the plastic that they would sell. That was discouraging."

'People take notice'

She has had positive response to the transition away from plastic wrap to beeswax wrap for her cinnamon buns.

They are are stacked in pans, with the top one left exposed for customers to see.

"People certainly take notice at the markets when they see the beeswax wraps," Bryson said. 

"It gets them asking questions: 'How do you make them? Where do you buy them? Are they as good as people say they are?'"

But even making the switch away to beeswax hit a few bumps.

"When we started looking for beeswax, it was out of season for the beekeepers," Bryson said.

"So it was difficult to source directly from them."

Buzz over beeswax

Bryson found bulk beeswax close by, at the Island Gold Honey store in Wood Islands.

Shop keeper Celie O'Neill said there has been a lot of buzz over beeswax this season.

"There's a lot of requests for it this summer, people coming in looking for it," O'Neill said. "They wanted to know how they could buy, in large quantities or small quantities and stuff like that."

She said some are starting to make the wraps, others are already doing it

O'Neill expects the shop will carry even more of the bulk beeswax next summer.

'Every step counts'

The Brysons have now found a local beekeeper who will provide them with a regular supply of beeswax. 

"It's certainly not as convenient as just picking a piece of cling wrap and throwing it in the garbage," Bryson said. "You have to take the time to wash it and dry it and put it away. So those are the two biggest things: the cost and the time."

Even so, she says she and her husband are determined to keep moving the bakery along the path to zero waste.

"I read a really good quote that was you don't need one person to do zero waste perfectly, you need 100 people doing it very imperfectly," Bryson said.

"There's certainly still many ways that we can improve but every baby step certainly counts, every little piece adds up."

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