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Teachers Night at the Biogas Plant

Join us on Tuesday, September 26 for an exclusive tour of Canada’s first zoo-based biogas plant.

Biogas Plant march 2021

You teach all about renewable energy…. now come see what it looks like – and smells like – in person!

Located next to the Toronto Zoo, the ZooShare Biogas Plant processes “zoo poo” and other food waste to produce clean electricity. Starting this fall, tours of this unique facility will be available for school groups, grades 1-12.

Come learn how the biogas process works while enjoying barrier-free access to the site. Peek inside the two-million-liter digester, and then climb to the roof for a bird’s-eye view. Witness renewable electricity, sustainability, and STEM brought to life in this one-of-a-kind tour!

Date: Tuesday September 26, 2023

Tour Times: Drop-in between 4:30 and 6:30pm

Each tour lasts approximately 30 minutes

Location: ZooShare Biogas Plant

1749a Meadowvale Road

Scarborough, Ontario

Located on the east side of Meadowvale Road, across from the Toronto Zoo parking lot

Parking: free (in the large lot just outside the gate of the biogas plant)

This event is for teachers, teacher candidates and other educators only
Limit of 1 entry per teacher
Does not include access to the Toronto Zoo
All visitors will be required to sign a waiver before beginning the tour
Sturdy shoes and weather-appropriate clothing are recommended

For questions or additional information, please contact education@zooshare.ca

Summer 2023 Plant Tours are HERE

Please note we are no longer offering tours for the general public for 2023.

If you are a member of a group or organization you think would be interested in attending a tour please reach out to info@zooshare.ca. We are able to offer private tours to groups of 15 or more.

Whilst our tours are relatively low risk we do ask that you are aware that this is a working plant.

Prior to your tour please sign and return the following waiver.

http://forms.gle/AYwrQrPerQgtksPg7

Weekday Plant Tour

We have been having a great time over the past few months showing people around our plant and we still have a few weeks of tours left.

If you haven’t been able to come by on a weekend, good news, we are running a tour on Monday August 22nd so book your tickets now and come along.

http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/376853788827

Plant Tours are Running!

We have had some fantastic participation in our tours so far. Thank you to everyone who has come along for your wonderful questions and insight.

If you haven’t made it out for one of our tours yet there is still plenty of time so don’t forget to book. They are running on Saturdays and Sundays at 1pm. Take a break from your day at Toronto Zoo or the Rouge Urban National Park to come and see how we turn manure and food waste to renewable energy.

Please visit the following link to get your tickets: http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/376853788827

Jessica Markland Partnership Award

On October 14, 2021, the Jessica Markland Partnership Award was presented to Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation for their collaboration with the ZooShare Biogas Co-operative for their supportive efforts to enhance the environment by building partnerships with public, community and private interests.

Established in 2003, the award categories recognize and acknowledge environmental achievements of individuals and organizations in the public, private and non-profit sectors within Durham Region.

ZooShare is very honoured to have been a part of this collaboration and would like to extend our congratulations to Oshawa Power, EnerFORGE and all of the individuals and organizations recognized by the Region of Durham for their hard work and dedication to creating a more sustainable future.

ZooShare Plant Tours

On October 2, 2021, we held the first-ever ZooShare Biogas Plant Tours! We were so excited to finally get the chance to invite visitors to the plant and are so thrilled with the turnout.

Attendees spent the tour exploring the biogas plant, taking a first-hand look at the various steps involved in the creation of biogas, asking questions and learning from experienced ZooShare team members. Thank you to everyone who attended the tours, your interest and enthusiasm meant the world to us. The event ran very smoothly and our team had a blast putting it together. We can’t wait to host the rest of the ZooShare membership at the plant in the near future.

ZooShare has also hosted many community leaders over the past few months.

We would like to thank MP Gary Anandasangaree, MPP Raymond Cho, MPP – Minister of Energy Todd Smith and MPP Vijay Thanigasalam for visiting the ZooShare Biogas Plant. We look forward to continuing to work together with our community and our representatives to create a more sustainable future.

September Update

Take a Virtual Tour of the ZooShare Biogas Project!

Our virtual tour was released alongside a press release in partnership with the Toronto Zoo, Loblaw Companies Ltd. (Loblaw) and EnerFORGE. This tour offers viewers an opportunity to see how our unique site functions and hear comments from our partners.

“For ZooShare and the Toronto Zoo, the project represents a chance to raise their game in the fight against climate change. Reducing GHG emissions, through the diversion of food waste and generation of renewable energy, is just one of the things the Zoo is doing to fight extinction, as climate change negatively impacts ecosystems critical for species survival. The two organizations are also working together to educate students and the general public on the value of biogas and the importance of properly managing organic waste.

The project is also a natural fit for Loblaw, Canada’s largest food retailer and industry leader in the fight to eliminate food waste. Keenly aware of the role the Canadian grocery industry plays in the issue, the company has reduced the amount of food waste sent to landfill from its corporate retail operations by more than eighty per cent since 2016. Loblaw credits innovative thinking and strategic partnerships, such as these, with their success to date.

For EnerFORGE, the project’s critical energy infrastructure partner, the ZooShare biogas plant will add to their strategic portfolio of low carbon energy projects and allow them to build new value propositions in 2 the production of renewable natural gas, hydrogen fuel cells and carbon offset projects. Growing these types of projects will be critical to Canada’s goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

This project was also made possible by a Low Carbon Economy Fund grant from the Government of Canada, and support from other contributing organizations including Bullfrog Power, Octaform and Walker Industries.”

Click here to continue reading the press release.

We are producing power! ⚡

We began to generate and export power to the Ontario grid on April 1st and reached our 500 kW capacity for the first time on April 12th. We are now generating revenues from processing food waste into biogas and then generating power. With COVID-19 restrictions still in place, we are now planning to hold a virtual ribbon cutting ceremony in the summer. For now, here’s a sneak peak:

Inside the biogas plant digester, about 1,900 cubic meters of organic “waste” is being digested! The bubbles are the biogas coming up from the slurry.

ZooShare Bonds are Back!

– Earn 5% for 5 years or 5.5% for 15 years

This is our first bond offering since 2016. These bonds will be used to redeem and refinance maturing community bonds.
So far, we have sold $2.1M worth of bonds to current investors and people who signed up for our waiting list. Only 50% of bonds remain!
The Offering Statement will expire on June 30, 2021.

CLCK HERE TO INVEST NOW

You can also read our Investment FAQs here.

Welcome Rob, our new General Manager!

While our Founder and Executive Director, Daniel Bida, continues to be involved at a project level, our new Co-operative General Manager, Rob Grand, is taking over all of Daniel’s co-op related responsibilities: Rob will work with the Board to lead the co-op as we enter this next phase of operations.

About Rob: Rob Grand is an experienced entrepreneur and business manager with expertise creating, developing, and consulting with successful businesses, social enterprises, and non-profits in the Environmental and Renewable Energy sectors. Rob has served as a Director and Advisor to more than a dozen organizations including the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, Green Enterprise Toronto, The Coalition for a Green Economy, and the LFP Foundation. Outside of the office, Rob coaches hockey, teaches skiing, paddles whitewater, hikes trails, climbs rocks, and can often be found with camping gear strapped to his touring bike.

If you would like to introduce yourself to Rob and welcome him to the team, or if you have any questions, please send Rob an email: rob@zooshare.ca

Take a hike!

(Literally, in Rouge National Urban Park.)

Want to see the biogas plant in-person, from a safe distance? Check out the trail next to the Rouge Valley Conservation Centre (AKA Pearse House) at 1749 Meadowvale Road: There are 3 trails in Rouge National Urban Park, ranging from 1.5km to 3.5km, and the best view of the biogas plant is just a couple of minutes from the trail head! Please note that while we plan to offer supervised tours in the future, the biogas plant is an industrial site and members of the public are not allowed. Please stay on the trail. Click here for directions and parking information.

Above: Sights from the Rouge National Urban Park. Please share your photos of the trail and snaps of the biogas plant: #ZooShare and #rougeNUP.

Construction is Complete!

2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, everywhere. With a province-wide lockdown announced this week, we are grateful to have a more uplifting announcement of our own to share:

This month, we completed construction of the biogas plant! The site is currently undergoing final inspections, after which we expect to generate power and export it to the grid in late February. We are tentatively planning a ribbon cutting ceremony for the summer, and will keep you posted as the new year progresses.
Current ZooShare investors have continued to demonstrate strong support and loyalty to our project: we have sold over $1.5 million of new bonds. If you would like to get on the waiting list for new bonds (that earn 5% or 5.5% depending on the term), please sign up here.

With potentially fewer guests around the table for the holidays this year, we encourage you to plan your meals and leftovers: click here for some tips from Love Food Hate Waste. One small silver lining of continued stay-at-home measures is that Canadians are planning more and wasting less food.