In many cases they simply get thrown in the bin. But now a Jersey hotel is embracing technology to turn that waste into compost so rich in nutrients it is known as ‘rocket fuel’.
Last week Longueville Manor took delivery of a Garbage Guzzler, which is capable of turning all types of food waste – including meat and bones – into compost in just 24 hours.
The device – the second of its kind in Jersey and the first in a hotel or restaurant – has a capacity of 1,000 litres per week and uses aerobic digestion, in which micro-organisms break down organic material in the presence of oxygen. The use of enzymes and heat rapidly consumes waste food, releasing the water contained inside it.
The hotel estimates it creates around the capacity of 1,000 litres of food waste a week and is aiming to turn it all into compost which it will then use on its 18-acre estate, including on the kitchen garden.
And Longueville Manor owner Malcolm Lewis said he hopes their use of the technology could inspire other organisations, including parishes, to consider something similar in the future. ‘We saw the Garbage Guzzler being demonstrated at the Boat Show in May by Glyn Mitchell and we thought it was amazing,’ he said.
‘The machine’s capacity is around 1,000 litres a week and we reckon we are probably about that. It seems a lot but if you think of preparing a cauliflower, for example, you remove all the leaves, if you prepare fresh orange juice as we do it creates waste.
‘Bread is also a big issue, the amount of bread that gets served at tables that doesn’t get used.’
The compost created by the machine is so rich that it needs to be mixed with that created in the estate’s six other composters before it can be used. It will then be used around the estate by head gardener David Lewis.
As Longueville will be composting only food waste produced on site and then only using the compost on its land no licence is required. However, if it were to take waste from elsewhere or distribute the compost a licence would be required.
However, Mr Lewis believes there is scope for other such machines around the Island as Jersey looks to become carbon neutral by 2030. Reducing food waste means sending less to landfill and reducing vehicle movements for waste collections while carbon-rich compost is returned to the soil.
‘It would be great to see this sort of thing rolled out across the Island,’ he said.
