Montreal, January 15, 2026 2026 – Bel Group Canada, a major player in food offering healthier dairy, fruit or plant-based portions, is proud to announce that its Babybel® manufacturing plant in Sorel-Tracy has now achieved zero waste to landfill. All residual materials generated at the plant have no longer been sent to landfill since December 1, 2025.
This achievement—an important milestone in the agri-food sector—illustrates Bel’s commitment to the circular economy and responsible residual materials management, while strengthening the plant’s positive impact within the local community.
“At Bel, our mission is to enable everyone to access healthier and more sustainable food through a responsible and profitable food growth model. We are proud of the tangible measures we have implemented to reach our zero waste to landfill objective across our Canadian operations,” said Cristine Laforest, CEO, Bel Group Canada. “This important milestone aligns with the Bel Charter to fight food waste, as well as our commitments to reduce our environmental footprint.”
A five-year structured approach based on three levers
This result is the culmination of a five-year approach based on three pillars: reduce, valorize and recycle residual materials:
- Reduce at the source: the plant first focused on measurement, analysis and eliminating residual materials at the source, reducing in-process production losses from 17.5% in 2020 to 3.8% in 2025. In total, these efforts represent about 20 tonnes less residual materials per month.
- Valorize to create value: Bel then worked to transform certain residual materials into valuable products. For example, Babybel® cheeses that are out of specification are reused as a raw material to produce The Laughing Cow®, representing about 30 tonnes of residual materials. Whey remaining from Babybel® production is also reused and destined for animal nutrition—about 31,000 tonnes in 2025.
- Recycle locally, close to the plant: the remaining residual materials are sorted and then entrusted to processing specialists by category (metals, cardboard, plastics, compostables, etc.), located less than 100 km from the plant.
Once these steps have been maximized, the remaining fraction is now directed to incineration, generating renewable energy rather than going to landfill. This represents about 15 tonnes per month that are no longer sent to landfill.
“Since the plant was commissioned in 2020, we have worked continuously by integrating new processes and equipment to reach this important objective. We collaborated closely with our experts in France and our local partners to implement innovative solutions, and we are very proud,” added Christelle Maître, Plant Director. “Our goal is to continue these efforts, notably by pursuing valorization research and accelerating our work to reduce water consumption.”
Reducing waste across the value chain
In Canada, food waste remains a major issue. According to Second Harvest (2024 update), 46.5% of food produced is wasted, representing 21.18 million tonnes, a significant portion of which is still edible. In this context, Bel aims to contribute to practical solutions through initiatives such as its Zero Food Waste program—delivered in collaboration with its distributor and Food Banks Canada—which turns slightly damaged products into donations, its annual participation in the After the Bell program, and its support for Breakfast Club of Canada. Together, these commitments represent a value of more than $150,000, the equivalent of 531,700 meals for Food Banks Canada, and more than 500 children supported by Breakfast Club of Canada during the school year.