"When you put good things out into the world, leave the world a little better than how you found it, and have your work make a difference — you can live a fulfilled life."
 
-  Scott and Kristina | ChopValue Toronto East Team

Toronto is Canada's largest city — the fourth largest in North America — and home to a diverse multicultural population. Its vibrant neighborhoods and innovative thinking make Toronto the perfect fit for ChopValue to urban harvest for a greener future. The city is also aggressive in its waste management strategy, having the goal to make Toronto the first municipality in Ontario with a circular economy. ChopValue Toronto East plans to support and materialize the city’s strategic plan to divert 70% of waste from the landfill by 2026. Both hailing from Ontario, Scott Anderson and Kristina Garrels will be leading ChopValue Toronto East. Having spent time in the Pacific Northwest and the American Midwest growing their family along the way, they are now back where it all started in the Toronto region and couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead for them with ChopValue.

“I’ve been doing woodworking as a hobby for many years but always found it hard to source sustainable wood,” says Anderson, who has a background in business development both in the for profit and nonprofit world. “It was surprisingly difficult to find a solution that combined sustainability within the wood industry, and when I came across ChopValue, it married the two perfectly. Coming from the franchising industry, I truly feel the collaborative effort from the ChopValue team to support us every step of the way, making it an easy choice for us to open our own Microfactory and make a difference in our community.”

“As a parent, you learn what is important in life,” adds Garrels, who is a Doctor of Urology working in the field of clinical informatics. “It’s really important to both Scott and I that we set an example for our kids. We have both built our careers around it. When you put good things out into the world, leave the world a little better than how you found it, and having your work make a difference — you can live a fulfilled life. That is what ChopValue represents to us.”

Toronto East will be opening in early 2022 and is looking forward to collaborating with local businesses for the city to build back better for a zero waste future. To make a positive difference and recycle chopsticks or learn about opportunities on how to close the loop together, please reach out to torontoeast@chopvalue.com and follow their journey on social media.