SOUTH GLENGARRY, Ontario – At their meeting on Monday, March 15, the Township of South Glengarry Council heard a presentation from FoodCycler, about how their product can help save the environment, and taxpayer money.
Alexander Hayman of FoodCycler explained how his company’s product, the FoodCycler reduces organic waste in landfills by turning that waste into odorless nutrient rich soil amendment that can be used for fertilizer, can be pelletized for home heating, and more.
The kitchen appliance, which is about the size of a bread machine, can breakdown organic waste in a matter of hours.
“At FoodCycler we’ve proposed a different way to deal with our food waste which really focuses on the food waste really easy to deal with,” Hayman said.
Hayman explained that the FoodCycler reduced the space taken up by organic waste by 90 per cent and reduced the amount of methane that organic waste emits by 95 per cent. Methane gas is a major contributor to the greenhouse effect and global warming. According to NASA, methane gas is 28-times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.
“We believe the best way to deal with waste is to not create it in the first place, or to deal with it in the home,” Hayman said.
He went on to explain how diverting or reducing the footprint of organic waste in landfills could also save municipalities money in the order of approximately $100 per tonne of waste.
FoodCycler has already conducted a pilot program with the municipality of Nelson, BC, where FoodCyclers were given to some residents to try out.
They found that the program had great effect in reducing waste being sent to the municipality’s landfill.
“Results were overwhelmingly positive. We saw a great reduction in food waste,” said Hayman, who suggested that the cost of a FoodCycler would be offset by savings in waste collection.
Hayman suggested a pilot program for the Township of South Glengarry, with costs for a FoodCycler offset by a municipally funded subsidy.
“We thought this would be a concept that South Glengarry should consider for many reasons,” said Councillor Stephanie Jaworski, who first heard Hayman’s presentation when it was brought to the Environment Committee. “Running the landfill is expensive. If you can reduce how much you send to the landfill, particularly at its source, that could translate into savings.”
Deputy Mayor Lyle Warden also saw the potential in the pilot program, and made a suggestion for how the cost of a FoodCycler might be offset by the municipality.
“I would definitely support a pilot project. If we spent $10,000 out of the dump reserve we could definitely see returns on the investment,” Warden said. “We have to be proactive. Every tonne that we can divert is a real savings.”
South Glengarry is not the only township in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry that is considering a FoodCycler pilot program, South Dundas is as well.
FoodCycler is a company that was founded in Cornwall in 2011 and has since expanded to Ottawa.
