Food Cycle Science is proud to announce that we have been selected as a semi-finalist for Impact Canada's Food Waste Reduction Challenge.
What's the Challenge?
The Impact Canada Waste Reduction Challenge is a three-part initiative from the Government of Canada to incentivize the reduction of the country's food waste. Food waste is one of the most pressing social and environmental issues facing Canada today:
We are looking for solutions that are high impact, innovative and transformative. That are ready to scale up, that are good for our environment and beneficial to our communities.
- Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture
Did you know?
- Food waste accounts for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions
- Over 50% of Canada's food supply is wasted every year
- The value of wasted food is approximately $50 billion annually
Source: Impact Canada
The Challenge is composed of four "streams" deployed in two phases. The first phase (stream A and B) consists of discovering and supporting existing technologies and/or business models ready for commercialization which prevent or divert food waste. The second phase (stream C and D) will focus on investments in technology at the prototyping and testing levels.
Source: Nelson Star
FoodCycler: Challenge Accepted
Food Cycle Science applied to the challenge in early 2021 with the goal of winning funding to invest directly into pilot projects in partnership with municipalities in Canada.
"We believe our municipal solutions can address food waste in markets which have historically been underserved with regards to waste management – in this challenge we are focused on Northern, Rural, and Remote communities. Our team is proud to be partnering with Impact Canada to bring food waste diversion solutions to municipalities across Canada.”
Alex Hayman, Director of Strategic Solutions at Food Cycle Science
Food Cycle Science (creators of the FoodCycler food recycling machine) are committed to diverting food waste at the source. Our line of food recyclers process residential and commercial food waste aerobically, transforming organic material into a dry, sterile and odourless biomass. This process reduces food waste volume by up to 90%, and the greenhouse gas emissions attributed to that waste by up to 95%.
Why We Won
The project submitted to Impact Canada Challenge comprises a plan to offer Canadian municipalities the opportunity to test our food waste diversion technology directly in their communities at a highly subsidized cost. By using Impact Canada funding to reduce the financial barrier to municipalities, FoodCycler is hoping to gain additional data and learnings to help us refine and scale our municipal offerings.
Food Cycle Science has already successfully established pilot partnerships with two Canadian municipalities and has purchase agreements with several others.
Source: Hay River Hub
The City of Nelson in British Columbia has successfully run two Pilot programs, each with 4.5/5 star ratings from users. The City of Nelson is in the process of mapping out a full organics program that combines the benefits of on-site diversion with the convenience of curbside service. Stay tuned for more details about this project.
The Town of Hay River in the Northwest Territories is currently running their first FoodCycler pilot and has already received enthusiastic buy-in from residents.
Learnings from these projects are being used to further refine the offerings for our municipal partners.
Source: Nelson Star
The FoodCycler Food Waste Diversion Project
Food Cycle Science's Impact Canada Semi-Finalist prize winnings will allow us to offer select Canadian municipalities the opportunity to test FoodCycler technology at the residential level at a heavily subsidized price.
Hundreds of FoodCycler food recycling units will be made available to municipality participants to demonstrate how this incredible technology can help cities achieve their climate change and waste diversion goals.
Interested In Partnering with Us?
Take advantage of this opportunity to test FoodCycler waste diversion in your community!
Do you think your municipality would be a good fit for this? We are in the process of identifying partnerships for this stage of the challenge. Please contact us at municipal@foodcycler.com to learn more and stay tuned for a further post about partners for this project.
FoodCycler acknowledges the support through the Government of Canada’s Food Waste Reduction Challenge in making this study possible.