Sparwood’s 12-week FoodCycler Pilot has come to an end, accompanied by some positive results.
Account Executive with Food Cycler programs, Maddy From, provided a presentation to council on October 6, highlighting statistics that emerged from the pilot program.
A few of the high points of the pilot are that participating households cut their garbage by 38 per cent, and almost everyone surveyed wants to keep using the machines.
The pilot consisted of 100 households receiving free FoodCyclers to use for 12 weeks, which cost the District roughly $30,000.
The FoodCycler machines offered an alternative to backyard composting. Before the pilot, 68 per cent of survey respondents put food scraps in the garbage year-round, with the biggest concerns preventing backyard composting being animals and pests, followed by smells and the work involved.
Support for the pilot was very strong, with 98 per cent of those surveyed saying they would recommend a FoodCycler and 98 per cent saying they planned to continue using it
The FoodCycler machines were used regularly by participating residents. The machines averaged about 3.6 runs per week, with use staying steady throughout the entire pilot.
Participating households put out nearly one less bag of garbage a week. The average dropped from 2.42 bags to 1.51 bags weekly.
Most participants reused the processed scraps, with 76 per cent using the material for gardening. Other uses of the processed scraps included composting or donating it.
The results show the pilot encouraged people to waste less food. 92 per cent said the machine made them more aware of their food waste and motivated them to reduce it.
Annual projections based on the 12-week results include that reduction in yearly waste is estimated at nearly 19 tonnes across the 100 machines, which works out to about 189 kilograms of food scraps per household, and an estimated 4,680 fewer garbage bags annually.
If Sparwood funded a food-waste program, the FoodCycler was the preferred future option, with 81 per cent of respondents choosing it over curbside green bins or backyard composters.
Along with the positive results some improvements are needed.
Based on the feedback of respondents, 77 per cent identified free replacement carbon filters as the most important factor for long-term success. Some wanted clearer instructions and more guidance for using the processed scraps, along with drop-off locations for extra material.
The machine’s size worked for most households, with 80 per cent finding the machine’s capacity sufficient, but some larger households needed more capacity as they produced more scraps than it could handle.
Feedback also found some residents would like collaboration with 43 per cent supporting partnerships with local farms or community gardens.
The presentation proposed expanding the program, at an estimated cost of $250,000 to $300,000, with suggested additions including free filter refill stations, animal-proof community drop-off bins, information sessions and ongoing help for residents.
Expanding the program was just a proposal and was not approved at the meeting. If future approval is secured the presentation outlines expansion beginning in 2027, with further stages through 2029 and beyond.
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