Food Recycle is turning your waste into high quality animal feed

Food Recycle has spent years researching and developing its idea, and was now looking to licence the technology both domestically and overseas according to Nathan Boyle, chief operations officer.

"The idea spans a long way but we really stared working on it six/seven years ago," said Mr Boyle.

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Co-founding the company with his father Norm Boyle, the duo were looking to "transform food waste into a cleaner, greener profitable product - and ideal foreign aid", and trials have brought about some early success for the technology-based company.

"We need to understand what the waste is and how we can best use it. At the moment, the majority of all food waste ends up in landfill," Nathan Boyle said.

Food Recycle has patented and patent pending technology that efficiently processes food waste from a variety of sources such as restaurants, abattoirs, farms and processors, into feeds suitable for poultry, pigs, and aquaculture.

With the technology being implemented in Australia and New Zealand, the company's focus was now on licensing opportunities in the international market.

According to Food Recycle, 50 per cent of the waste it processed can be turned into feed, going back into the food chain.

"We haven't found a waste that we haven't been able to process and haven't been able to use at some level in our feed," Mr Nathan Boyle said.

Through trials conducted by Western Sydney University, University of New England and the CSIRO, Food Recycle have been able to demonstrate the viability of its feeds as safe and beneficial.

One trial conducted by scientist Dr Ha Truong at the CSIRO saw size increases of barramundi across a six week period, when fed a Food Recycle food waste diet.

"Significant growth improvements were observed when food waste ingredients were incorporated in diets at 67 per cent, partially replacing traditional ingredients," Dr Ha said.

By extracting each food waste stream individually and then storing them separately as ingredients, the Food Recycle team were able to analyse the make up of certain waste and work out which waste worked best in which feed.

"We then measure the nutritional and amino acid profile of each ingredient and then mix them together to make complete feeds," said CEO Norm Boyle.

One of the main goals of Food Recycle was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from food waste, something scientists were able to confirm Food Recycle was doing during its research and development.

"They [scientists] are unanimous that it is highly effective both in reducing greenhouse gases and as a super food for vital food staples," Norm Boyle said.

"It makes such good practical environmental and development sense not only for adoption throughout Australia - but also as a component of our foreign aid budget of more than four billion dollars."

CEO at Australian Research Centre 'Fight Food Waste', Dr Steve Lapidge said food waste rotting in landfill emits "nearly six times the amount of greenhouse gases as the global aviation industry".

Looking to take the tech global, Norm Boyle believed it could be at the forefront in the fight against climate change, particularly for neighbouring islands at the greatest risk.

"Two of the biggest issues facing island nations, for example, are climate change raising ocean levels, and developing sustainable cleaner, greener agriculture to sustain growing populations. Our scientifically validated concept targets both.

"We have tested this thoroughly and independently through some of the best scientific minds in Australia and believe it can make an outstanding contribution to both our local industries and to a better kind of foreign aid the truly fosters lasting benefits to our neighbours," he said.

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