Many people are working on the problem of how to best convert food waste to the highest value product. River Road Research is one of those companies, and it came to an early realization that preserving and stabilizing food waste was a critical aspect of that eventual transformation. By employing an EcoVIM, the food waste could be dehydrated which allows it to be stored indefinitely and transported at a much lower cost. River Road Research was able to demonstrate the value of this technology in the pilot project at the Wrigley Institute of Marine Science on Catalina Island in California. By processing the waste produced by the cafeteria staff in the EcoVIM, the Institute staff were able to safely and effortlessly raise black soldier fly larvae without odors or attracting vermin or vectors for disease. The fly larvae were fed to fish and other species in aquariums at the Institute, and shared with Island staff who kept backyard laying hens to attenuate the high cost of groceries on the Island. This demonstrated the viability of a regional, circular economy and the power of the EcoVIM-River Road Research technology combination application.

Scott Ernst / Managing Director - River Road Research