The Town of Newmarket is piloting a program to reduce food waste by bringing new composters into residents’ homes.
The municipality is partnering with Food Cycle Science to establish a pilot program, with 100 of their Foodcycler machines available to be purchased by Newmarket residents at a discounted cost. The company offers a patented composter that can grind household food waste into a dry, odourless fertilizer.
The goal of the pilot will be to review the feasibility of the Foodcyclers, particularly for residents without space for backyard composting.
“Up to 50 per cent of household waste is composed of food waste. By participating in this program, you are helping the Town of Newmarket address food waste while supporting our community’s environmental goals and reducing your carbon footprint,” Mayor John Taylor said in a news release.
The company offers municipal pilot programs to get composters into the hands of residents to test.
Residents will be able to choose between a 3.5-litre capacity machine for $200 plus HST (regularly $599) ideal for one or two-person households or a 5-litre capacity for bigger households for $300 plus HST (regularly $799).
The Foodcycler is a closed-loop, indoor compost alternative that speeds up natural decomposition through aerobic digestion. The unit dries and grinds food waste, with the final product being free from bacteria and weed seeds. The company said the operation is quiet, compact and odourless, easy to clean and operate and reduces greenhouse gas versus throwing the waste into the garbage.
“Once complete, the FoodCycler byproduct can be used to fertilize your garden, added to your composter or donated to friends and family who garden or compost,” the company said in the news release.
In the pilot program, each household selected will be asked to track how many cycles they go through each week. This will allow Food Cycle Science and the municipality to estimate the total waste diversion achieved over the 12-week pilot program. Pilot participants will still be able to keep their machines afterwards.
Program registration will open Feb. 17. Registration is limited to Newmarket residents and only one entry per household is permitted. You can find more information and register at heyNewmarket.ca/foodcycler.
“Your participation and feedback will help the town collect waste diversion data that can be used for future waste programs,” Taylor said.