Dive Brief:

• A division of InSinkErator, a garbage disposal company with headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin, has developed Grind2Energy, a system developed to keep restaurant food waste from entering landfills as waste.
• The system is comprised of a grinding station and holding tank. Chefs dispose of organics into bins, which is transformed into slurry. The pulverized materials are fed through pipes to a 2,000 gallon tank. The organics are then fed into a biodigester located near the kitchen, which generates electricity.
• The impetus for the development of the system is the increasing number of food bans under consideration across the country. Demand for systems like this seems likely to increase as more legislation is put in place.

Dive Insight:

InSinkErator launched Grind2Energy in October, and has systems installed at a casino in Racine and a stadium and a university in Ohio. While InSinkErator garbage disposals are mass-produced, each unit created for Grind2Energy is custom-designed. Grind2Energy does not charge for its product, but instead collects a monthly fee from its clients.

David Krems, business development manager for DGrind2Energy, said "Landfill bans of food waste are going to become a major trend, and new facilities are going to have to open up so that the food waste is diverted."