Imagine transforming yesterday’s leftovers and kitchen scraps into valuable resources like fertilizer, compost, fuel, and more—that’s the power of food waste recyclers. These innovative machines are revolutionizing how we manage both pre-and post-consumer food waste by processing everything from food prep trimmings to discarded meals. They help businesses work toward zero-waste goals by converting organic waste into valuable byproducts and significantly reducing landfill contributions. In a world prioritizing sustainability, food waste recyclers are becoming essential tools for eco-conscious waste management.
How Does a Food Waste Recycler Work?
Food waste recyclers use biological and mechanical processes to decompose organic material. While there are a variety of food waste recyclers, each with their own unique method of breaking down the organic matter, overall, the process of food waste recycling is similar:
1. Commercial food waste is collected from sources like hospitals, large facilities and campuses, restaurants, cafeterias, or food manufacturing and distributing companies. This waste can include everything from scraps like vegetable peels to leftovers and even spoiled food, carefully sorted to remove contaminants like packaging, eating utensils, produce stickers, and other non-organic materials.
2. The food waste is loaded into the recycler. Some machines require food waste to be pre-shredded, so more dense items, like bones and shells, are uniform in size for easier breaking down.
3. Decomposition then takes place within the machine. Depending on the type of food waste recycler, this occurs aerobically (with oxygen) or anaerobically (without oxygen). Different machines also require different amounts of time, temperatures, and sometimes enzymes or water additives to effectively decompose food waste.
4. Byproduct collection takes place after food waste is fully decomposed. Food waste recyclers produce either natural biofertilizer, which can be incorporated into compost or used in landscaping, or biogas (mainly methane and carbon dioxide), which can be used as a renewable energy source.
Different Types of Food Waste Recyclers
There are a variety of types of food waste recyclers. Choosing the right kind of food waste recycler depends on a business’s specific needs, as there are several types, each suited to different applications:
Aerobic Food Waste Recyclers use oxygen to break down organic waste, producing natural biofertilizer as the end product. These systems are particularly effective for facilities that want to repurpose waste as a lighter and less voluminous product as quickly as possible because the aerobic recycling process takes less time than other food waste recycling processes. One of the key benefits of these recyclers is that water is not needed to complete the material conversion process.
Anaerobic Food Waste Recyclers operate without oxygen, creating biogas as a byproduct. This gas can be used to generate energy, offering a valuable resource for facilities aiming to reduce their carbon footprint, as the energy produced can offset operational costs.
Wet food waste recyclers (often known as biodigesters) process food waste by breaking down fats and proteins into a liquid slurry, which can be used in agriculture or flushed into wastewater systems. However, they are water-intensive, and the slurry produces a not-so-lovely odor.
Dehydrators remove moisture from food waste, reducing its weight and volume without decomposing it. This compact solution minimizes waste size but requires further disposal, as the dried material isn’t suitable for composting or landscaping.
Both Home and Commercial Food Waste Recyclers exist. Home recyclers are smaller and suited to personal use; commercial food waste recyclers, such as Viably’s aerobic Harp Renewables CX models, are designed to process large volumes of waste from commercial kitchens, hospitals, universities, and food processing facilities.
What Materials Can Food Waste Recyclers Process?
Not all food waste is the same, and not all food waste recyclers are the same. Some are more optimized for certain types of organic waste than others. However, there are general guidelines for feedstock materials:
Suitable Materials: Most food waste recyclers can process a wide range of organic waste, including fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, meat, and some oils. These items break down easily and don’t require pre-treatment.
Unsuitable Items: Non-organic items, like plastics, glass, and metals, cannot be processed and should be removed before waste enters the recycler.
Challenging Materials: Some organic materials, such as bones and shells, are more challenging to process. While not impossible, they may require pre-shredding or additional treatment for efficient breakdown. Although organic, green waste can be challenging for certain food waste recyclers, as it may be fibrous or have a high-water content that may not accommodate all food waste recycling systems.
Benefits of Food Waste Recyclers
Food waste recyclers offer a range of benefits that make them an ideal solution for large-scale operations looking to reduce waste and improve sustainability:
Cost Savings: Food waste recyclers help significantly reduce waste hauling and disposal fees by processing waste on-site, eliminating the need for costly landfill transportation. This can lead to substantial savings over time for facilities with high waste volumes.
Efficiency in Waste Processing: Designed to handle large quantities of food waste with minimal energy usage, commercial food waste recyclers efficiently break down organic materials, enabling faster processing and reducing overall waste volume. Plus, the food waste being processed avoids landfills, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Sustainability and Resource Generation: Food waste recyclers help facilities achieve sustainability goals by diverting organic waste from landfills. Byproducts, such as natural biofertilizer or biogas, can be reused to benefit the facility, whether for landscaping, agriculture, or energy generation—further contributing to a circular waste management system.
Potential Disadvantages of Food Waste Recyclers
While food waste recyclers offer numerous benefits, there are also some challenges to consider:
Initial Investment and Maintenance Costs: The upfront cost of purchasing a food waste recycler can be significant, especially for larger industrial models. These models also require considerable space for installation and operation, which may be challenging for facilities with limited space. Additionally, ongoing maintenance and potential repairs may add to the long-term expense.
Contaminants and Material Restrictions: For optimal performance, food waste recyclers require proper sorting to remove contaminants like plastics, metals, or non-organic materials, as these can damage the system or disrupt the decomposition process. Additionally, certain food materials like oils, dairy, or highly acidic waste can pose challenges, clogging the system or hindering efficiency.
Waste Volume and Output Management: Food waste recyclers need a consistent volume of material to operate efficiently. Too little waste can lead to underutilization, while excess waste may overwhelm the system. Additionally, byproducts created, such as natural biofertilizer or biogas, can accumulate, and without proper outlets or systems to manage this output, they can become another logistical challenge.
Who Uses Commercial Food Waste Recyclers?
Commercial food waste recyclers are ideal for businesses and industries that handle large quantities of organic waste and are committed to sustainability and reducing disposal costs. Ideal candidates may include:
Large-Scale Facilities and Campuses: Universities, corporate campuses, hospitals, and sporting and events venues often produce large amounts of food waste. These organizations can implement food waste recyclers to minimize waste and support their sustainability goals.
Waste Management and Recycling Facilities: Businesses that manage waste for municipalities or other large facilities can utilize industrial food waste recyclers to handle organic waste efficiently and support waste diversion efforts in their communities.
Hospitality: Restaurants, hotels, and catering services generate significant amounts of food waste daily. Food waste recyclers help these businesses reduce disposal fees and contribute to sustainability by diverting waste from landfills.
Food Manufacturing and Distribution: Supermarkets, grocery stores, food distributors, and manufacturers generate large amounts of organic waste, including unsold, spoiled, or cosmetically damaged produce and production byproducts. Food waste recyclers help process this waste efficiently, reducing disposal costs and supporting sustainability goals.
Why Choose Viably’s Food Waste Recyclers?
Viably’s Harp Renewables CX Series food waste recyclers are redefining efficiency in waste management. They process 200 to over 10,000 pounds of food waste per day (depending on the model) into nutrient-rich natural biofertilizer within just 24 hours. By reducing waste volume and weight by 75%—and doing it all without using water—these systems offer a streamlined, eco-friendly solution for high-demand facilities. Designed with a sleek, compact footprint, Harp CX food waste recyclers fit comfortably in various spaces, bringing top-tier efficiency to food waste processing.
This innovative machine not only simplifies food waste processing but also supports sustainability goals with built-in tracking features that monitor and report on waste reduction metrics. Operating with a low carbon footprint, it is electric-powered and releases only minimal water vapor during processing, making it an environmentally conscious choice. For businesses and large-scale facilities committed to sustainability, the Harp Renewables CX Series food waste recycler provides an innovative way to manage organic waste efficiently and have a positive environmental impact.
To learn more about food waste recyclers, please contact Christy Hurlburt, Director of Product – Food Waste Recycling Solutions, at churlburt@thinkviably.com.
