Council announced the approval of round two of an innovative food composting solution to its residents to test in their homes.
In partnership with Food Cycle Science Corporation, residents of Kenora will have the opportunity to pilot an on-site food waste diversion solution that will reduce the amount of organics headed to the landfill.
The City of Kenora will be offering 250 FoodCycler™ machines at a subsidized price for residents to use in their homes for a 12-week period. Participants will be expected to track the amount of food waste they have diverted throughout the pilot duration to estimate the total impact of the pilot program.
The City of Kenora offered the initial pilot program in the fall of 2021, and is excited to offer this program again to reach residents who were not able to partake the first time.
The initial pilot program was extremely well received and the FoodCycler Units sold out in six days! Food Cycle Science Corporation received additional funding from Impact Canada and the City of Kenora was provided an opportunity to expand on the 2021 program. Both City Staff and Council felt this project was an opportunity to engage additional residents on the topic of composting, and gather additional data to help inform potential future funding opportunities.
This time the City of Kenora will be offering two unit sizes, the ‘FC-30’ (unit issued in the pilot program) and the double capacity ‘Maestro’. The ‘FC-30’ typically sells for approximately $500, but through this pilot program, residents will only pay $150 plus HST, while the ‘Maestro’ sells for approximately $750 retail, residents will only pay $300 plus HST to obtain their unit. Council has also approved a budget towards replacement filters and additional storage buckets for those who participated last year, as well as for the participants in this round, at a subsidized rate.
Residents will need to register online, on a first-come, first served basis with only one unit per household allowed. Registration will open on February 6, 2023 for the program which starts in the spring. Please watch for further communications from the City of Kenora on registration details.
Priority for new FoodCycler purchases will be given to City of Kenora residents who did not participate in the original pilot program; however, if units are leftover, those living in the unincorporated areas may sign up to participate. Successful registered participants will be contacted about purchase and pick up, along with program details in the coming weeks.
About Food Cycle Science Corporation
Food Cycle Science Corporation is a Canadian company based out of Ottawa, Ontario and was founded in 2011. They are also semi-finalists in the Government of Canada’s Food Waste Reduction Challenge run by Impact Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for their project titled: “Residential On-Site Food Waste Diversion for Northern, Rural, and Remote Communities.”