A joint municipal pilot project to divert food waste from local landfills has produced remarkable results according to a report submitted to Saugeen Shores Town Council on Monday, October 23rd.
Initiated by Councillor Cheryl Grace, following a lead from Southampton resident Stewart Nutt, the program began with a sign-up for limited subsidized units. “We were hoping that 100 households would sign up and were surprised when some 300 embraced the idea.”
The Municipal Innovation Council (MIC) reported that its FoodCycler pilot has reduced food waste from participating households by almost 22 garbage bags per year per household. That’s about 277 kilograms (611 pounds) less food waste from each home making its way to Bruce County landfills.
MIC representatives released their findings during a presentation to Saugeen Shores Town Council on Monday night (Oct. 23). It is the first in a series of presentations to all participating municipalities.
The study found that:
- Residents reported generating an average of 0.42 fewer standard garbage bags per week or 21.8 garbage bags per household per year.
- The 880 FoodCycler units in the Bruce County project diverted 317 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalents. That’s the equivalent of taking 70.5 cars off the road each year.
- 71% of residents reported that knowing more about household food waste motivated them to waste less in the first place.
- 97% of participants will continue using the FoodCycler to manage their food waste.
“Our family has used the Food Cycler,” said Vice-deputy Mayor Mike Myatt, “and we have reduced our garbage from approximately 40 bags for the year to 15. We are extremely happy with this composter.”
“I am thrilled to see how many Bruce Country residents embraced the program, and how big of an impact the project has made for our communities,” said MIC Chair Kara Van Myall. “This pilot proves that, if our municipalities provide effective ways to protect our environment, our residents will embrace those innovations.”
The program offered subsidized FoodCycler units in two sizes to Bruce County residents. The units are closed-loop indoor food waste recyclers that transform food waste into a nutrient-rich soil amendment within hours.
The program offered units to residents at a discounted cost through support from Bruce Power’s Environment and Sustainability Fund.
“At Bruce Power, we were thrilled to hear of the positive response to the FoodCycler program,” said Lyndsay Reid, Bruce Power’s Director of Environment and Sustainability. “We are extremely proud to support local initiatives like this through our Environment and Sustainability Fund and are committed to helping promote waste diversion and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
“I want to thank Bruce Power for their generous support,” added Van Myall. “They continue to demonstrate their commitment to initiatives that move us closer to a Net-Zero future.”
The MIC is set to receive a report in November outlining options and next steps in the Food Cycler program.
