Recipient: Food Cycle Science
Region: Ottawa
Total funding allocated: $225,000
As the world increasingly seeks out more sustainable and renewable sources of energy, and new clean technologies, Canadian companies are stepping up to the challenge. Driven by a dynamic, diverse and talented workforce, innovative solutions are transitioning Canadians towards a low-carbon, low-pollution and resource efficient economy. The Government of Canada is supporting that transition by committing $1 billion to support large-scale, transformative clean technology projects through Budget 2021 – boosting the overall growth of Canada’s clean technology space.
With its environmentally responsible technology, Food Cycle Science is diverting food waste from landfills and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to a healthier environment for Canadians now and in the future.
Similar to a composter, the FoodCycler FC-30 is a state-of-the-art food waste recycler that processes kitchen waste and food scraps into fertilizer for lawns, plants and gardens in hours instead of months. This compact unit uses less electricity than a desktop computer, and offers an odourless, easy-to-use alternative to traditional composters. With FedDev Ontario’s $225,000 investment in 2019, Food Cycle Science was able to further scale and commercialize the FoodCycler.
Food Cycle Science’s technology for reducing and reusing waste could not come at a better time, as the average Canadian household currently produces nearly 475 lbs of food waste per year.
“Less than five percent of food waste in North America is currently being recycled. With our technology, we are able to effectively divert 100 percent of a household’s food waste without generating any methane gas emissions in the process. The residual that is created is a nutrient rich soil amendment that you can then take and put back into the earth,” says Bradley Crepeau, Food Cycle Science’s CEO.
Food Cycle Science is the result of two visionary entrepreneurs who decided to introduce green technology to the growing problem of methane emissions caused by the abundance of food waste going to landfills.
Due to the many cost and environmental impacts of food waste, Canadians are working to adopt greener alternatives. In 2020, the City of Nelson, British Columbia, launched the FoodCycler Pilot Program where 151 homes received rebates on the FoodCycler and were asked to rate the experience of processing their household organic waste over a two-month period. With 83 percent approval ratings and a reduction of 15 tonnes of household food waste, Nelson City Council approved expanding the program to additional households and businesses city-wide as the primary solution for food waste reduction.
In late 2020, Food Cycle Science also announced its partnership with three industry leaders in the home and kitchen appliance sector, Vitamix Corporation, Sage Appliances and Breville Corporation. As all three companies sought a sophisticated and user-friendly solution to food waste reduction, Food Cycle Science’s technology was the perfect match. Vitamix launched the updated Vitamix FoodCycler FC-50, specifically for North American markets, and both Sage and Breville launched the FoodCycler SWR550 for the European, Australian and New Zealand markets respectively.
The global demand for clean technology continues to grow, and Canada is one of the many countries leading the way to a greener future.
We have expanded our team internally to now have 12 full-time employees working on further product development initiatives and a strong international market expansion strategy. The support from FedDev Ontario and the angel network allowed us to accelerate our business expansion at speeds that wouldn’t have otherwise been possible.Bradley Crepeau, Food Cycle Science CEO
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