This is part of our Summit Sponsor Series, which features articles written by sponsors of the ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit about the food waste work they are doing. All views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of ReFED.

1. What is the name of your organization and what do you do?

Northstar Recycling delivers comprehensive waste and recycling management services tailored for large-scale food & beverage, CPG, and other manufacturing companies across North America. Our service model is centralized, data-driven, and sustainability-focused, designed to reduce landfill waste, enhance material recovery, and cut operational costs.

2. Why is addressing food waste important to your organization?

At Northstar Recycling, addressing food waste is not just an operational focus—it’s a central pillar of our mission to "help businesses recycle more and landfill less." Tackling food waste enables us to drive impactful results for our clients while advancing environmental and economic sustainability at scale.

3. What are some ways that your organization works to reduce food waste? Any examples that you’d like to highlight?

We strive to not only reduce waste but also reduce environmental impacts of wasted food by following best practices such as the EPA Wasted Food Scale. We intersect with many parts of the food waste system to ensure our clients are receiving the best solutions!

Northstar’s multi-pronged approach to food waste reduction includes:

• Customized audits and right-sizing

• Technological and operational innovations (depackaging, soldier-fly farming)

• National vendor network and logistics optimization

• Transparent tracking and continuous improvement

Our mission is simple: turn food waste into a resource—for clients, communities, and the planet. Examples to highlight include:

• We diverted 3 million lbs. of waste in six months for a client’s Canadian division through our food waste programs.

• We diverted over 1,500 tons/year of sludge for one client facility by putting dewatering equipment and better end-use vendors in place.

• We diverted over 1.2 million gallons of bulk liquid waste for another client facility by shifting from costly landfill disposal to anaerobic digestion.

4. Why is your organization sponsoring the 2025 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit?

We have been a long-time supporter of ReFED and have appreciated the opportunity to support innovation, connection, and information facilitated by the Summit.

5. What’s one thing you’re most looking forward to at the 2025 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit?

We always look forward to seeing our current partners in person, and we are eager to make new connections at the Summit!

6. What is a fun fact about your organization?

Working with a multi-billion dollar manufacturer of candy, pet food, and other food products, Northstar achieved zero waste to landfill at all 17 manufacturing facilities in less than one year while saving this client over $1.1 million in waste costs.