A Municipal Program Coordinator with Food Cycle Science recently made a presentation to South Huron Council about their program for dealing with household food waste.
Jacob Hanlon says in many larger, urban centres with larger populations, a curb side green box program picks up food waste. But he says that's not always possible in smaller rural communities.
“We work with the municipal governments and we put our in-home counter top food recycler into the homes of residents and it allows residents to divert their food waste from the waste stream and we partner with municipalities to use our program as their food waste diversion," Hanlon said.
Hanlon says you'll have a reduced weight and volume of about ninety per cent, so if you put in a kilogram of food waste you'll get back about one hundred grams of fertilizer.
“When you put your food into the food cycler in less than eight hours, so typically an overnight cycle, it turns your food scraps into a nutrient rich soil amendment, essentially a fertilizer alternative that you can put right into your garden, mix in with the soil and it'll help your plant growth," shared Hanlon.
Food Cycle Science is currently working with almost one hundred Canadian municipalities to be their source for food waste diversion and that number is continuing to grow. Hanlon also suggests the Green Bin program is a somewhat older solution to a problem that is still very relevant today, and he believes any kind of waste diversion solution shouldn't require putting more trucks on the road.
Their program, as Hanlon notes, empowers residents to manage their own food waste in their own home and have something they can use as a result. Hanlon says people can get more information about the program by going to the Food Cycle Science web site and he says they would also be happy to come to any council meetings and explain their program.
