Food Cycler Eco5 In Councils: Canada’s Success Is Coming To Australia
.png)
The Eco5 is a food waste dehydrating appliance that grinds and dehydrates food scraps, reducing them by up to 90% in less than eight hours. What remains is a dry, sterile and nutrient-rich soil amendment which can be used as an organic fertiliser. This device helps to reduce contributions to landfills, which generate greenhouse gases, while also offering an odourless alternative to composting.
The Food Cycle Science Corporation has been working with 44 townships across Canada to trial the Eco5 in residential environments. The pilot programs involve a number of residents using the device in their home for three months and recording their usage for seven days in each month. Food Cycle Science then collates the data and provides it to each council area to decide if they will expand the program to more residents.
Already, Canada’s city of Nelson has seen excellent results in its initial trial. Their program, which commenced in 2020, saw 151 residents participate and record an average daily usage of 1.1 buckets per household (one bucket is equal to one kilogram of food waste). Over the course of the trial, this equated to an incredible 15 tonnes of food waste being processed and diverted from landfill.
Not only did the Eco5 units prevent the emission of greenhouse gases from the food waste itself, but they eliminated 187 garbage bags and reduced waste collection requirements - which also contribute to greenhouse emissions. Impressively, all this was achieved for only about $2 per month, thanks to the low energy-consumption of the units.
Following Nelson’s initial trial, the city has committed to purchasing a further 1,600 units to provide to households at no cost. If successful, this trial will then lead to all local residents of Nelson owning an Eco5 by 2024.
So, how can we see the same success from the Eco5 here, in Australia?
The results for the Eco5 speak for themselves, all we have to do is use them!
It is estimated that food scraps make up 40% of every household’s waste in Australia. And, according to the EPA Food Waste Baseline (March 2019), Australian households waste 5.3 million tonnes of food each year on average, which is the equivalent to one kilogram or 5.46 litres per person per week. Therefore, the Eco5 has the potential to drastically reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill each year by Australians.
To learn more or pre-order your Eco5, head to:
Let’s make better choices together.
