Town forking out $35K for food waste pilot project
Within the first three weeks of a public survey to gauge interest in an alternative food waste program, the town had 14 orders for the indoor household units and dozens more have been placed since.
Kirkland Lake residents didn’t waste any time to show support for a pilot project.
Within the first three weeks of a public survey to gauge interest in an alternative food waste program, the town had 14 orders for the indoor household units and dozens more have been placed since.
This week, Kirkland Lake council agreed to partner with Food Cycle Science Corporation (FCS) _ an Ottawa-based company with 73 Canadian municipal partnerships across seven provinces and one territory _ for 109 household units. It will initially cost the municipality $34,100, though if all of the units are sold the cost will only be $11,500.
The idea of the pilot program was first brought to council’s attention in March.
On Sept. 19, public works staff was directed to create a survey and preregistration to gauge the local interest.
At the town’s council meeting on Tuesday (Nov. 7), Brian Springer, manager of operations and environmental services, said the survey indicated that there was plenty of interest from the public, with 14 units ordered in the first three weeks of the survey being live.
“We modified the Facebook advertisement so residents could access the survey easier and the following 10 days preorders jumped to 56, resulting in a ratio of 60 small units and 40 large units were determined by extrapolating the survey results,” Springer said.
For the program, residents buy the FoodCycler from the municipality at a subsidized rate. Participants then use it for a 12-week period, with the number of cycles being tracked to estimate the total diversion achieved. At the end of the program, participants fill out an exit survey providing their review of the program and any other feedback.
The smaller version (FC-30) can take 2.5 litres of food waste and turn it into 100 grams of sterile, odourless and nutrient-rich by-product with the process taking between four to eight hours. It retails for $500 and is $150 through the program.
The larger option (MAESTRO), which can take five litres of food waste and turn it into 200 grams with the process taking six to eight hours, costs $800 retail and $300 through the program.
The company’s report notes that 63 per cent of food waste is avoidable and each year food waste in Canada is responsible for 56.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent of GHG.
At the Nov. 7 meeting, council agreed to use $35,000 from the working capital reserve to start the project. Any unspent portion or refund received by the town surrounding the funding of the project be returned to the working capital reserve.
The money transferred includes the $34,1000 for the household units and $900 for nine units for school use.
If units remain unsold, FCS has identified a buyback guarantee that lasts for a year from the delivery date. The cost is a $25 restocking fee per unit, plus shipping.
Since 2016, Kirkland Lake has offered outdoor composters. Twelve units have been bought in that time.
Coun. Casey Owens said the alternative food waste project is awesome and is comparable to the town’s change in blue boxes.
“At first you would see one or two here and there and then people said, well, it’s so much easier to put my recycling in the big bins, so they started selling more and more,” he said.
“So, I think it would probably be the same thing here. Once people start finding out about them and people are using them they’ll transition.”
Coun. Rick Owen said anything they can do to decrease what’s going into the landfill is crucial.
“And to create a very inexpensive product that people can use to beautify their homes, it’s a double win for Kirkland Lake, so I want to thank you worship for bringing this to council after going to a convention because that’s the only way we would have probably known about it,” he said.
