Early January our distributor Vertal Inc in Canada installed and held a training of the composters at Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada. Participating at this training was Chef Tom Burrell, Perry Eldridge, Brian Slemming, Michelle Strain and Andrea Ward from Mount Allison.
Michelle Strain Director, Administrative Service at the Mount Allison university says: “The wait is finally over! Mount Allison is proud to announce the arrival of two Big Hanna composters in our dining hall operation. The compost generated will allow us to close the loop on food waste by using it on campus gardens and lawns and at the farm to supplement the soil used to grow food for the dining hall.
Mount Allison University www.mta.ca staff and students care deeply about food and about our impact on the environment. Students living in campus residences eat all meals in the award winning Jennings Dining Hall. Food is cooked fresh and customized to individual tastes at 14 stations set up marche style.
40% of food purchased is local coming from within a five hour circle of Sackville. Students scrape their own plates just like at home. The food waste is then pulped to remove moisture and weight. This is the waste that will feed the new Big Hanna composters now installed in a new purpose-built room.
We chose this technology for both the high quality compost end product and for the high level of commitment to reducing our impact on the environment demonstrated by Vertal Inc and Susteco AB. The annual food waste generated at Jennings Hall is 60,000 kgs/year. Between 3,000 and 3,500 meals are consumed per day by 1,200 students living on campus. Average daily waste during the September to April academic year is 220 to 240 kgs per day depending on menu options. The arrival of the Big Hannas has sparked a waste reduction initiative for both pre and post-consumer food waste. The University is saving $32,000 per year in food waste removal costs. We are looking forward to using the compost on the Mount Allison farm to grow vegetables for the dining hall this summer.”
Click here for a presentation on how the University serve local produced food and improved the food quality.