Is Food Waste Management the Next Tech & Sustainability Trend?

Colliers Talks

As one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gas and one of the largest contributors to our growing landfill capacity problem, food waste is a global issue; with many countries on the verge of running out of landfill space in the next 10 years, action needs to be taken to combat and manage food waste.

In this episode of Colliers Talks’ Tech Watch Series, Jamieson Jackson and Bradley Crepeau discuss the growing issue of food waste, how FoodCycler has disrupted the food waste management space and whether food waste is the next hot topic in tech and sustainability.

FoodCycler was born out of a simple idea: at the time of its inception, less than 5% of food waste in North America was being recycled and Bradley thought that there must be a better way to divert food waste from the landfill. While it was originally a commercial endeavour, catering to hospitals, hotels, casinos and restaurants, FoodCycler now provides an accessible option to manage and reduce food waste for all consumer types across 20 countries.

With the push of a button, your food waste is turned into fertilizer and reduced to 90% of its original size and volume – coined as the yuck to yum transformation. Using advanced technology, FoodCycler provides a white-glove, full-circle solution that is environmentally friendly, easy to use for the everyday consumer, and economically viable because it allows businesses and consumers alike to eliminate a large portion of costs related to the recycling process and contribute to their respective sustainability goals – making it a true win-win-win.

“I think technology will play a huge part in how we combat this food waste problem,” says Bradley. “Food waste is everywhere; it’s not something that’s going away, and we think that if we can offer solutions that are easy to use, we have the greatest chance at seeing higher adoption of food waste recycling.”

Bradley and Jamieson go on to discuss how important it is to attract and retain top talent when developing a business in a newer industry. And, while office space and food waste management may seem like distant concepts, Bradley firmly believes that to foster the collaboration and creativity required to be successful in this niche industry, a great office space is required where people are excited to work and collaborate.

While food waste management is a large, global issue and will require action across all fronts, FoodCycler proves that tech and sustainability go hand-in-hand and that food waste management can be an accessible, a la carte option as technology continues to advance and be applied to innovative business models.