Kroger Develops Food Waste to Energy System

Kroger Co. has developed a system to convert food waste to energy to power one of its facilities.

The Cincinnati-based food retailer said the anaerobic conversion system will process more than 55,000 tons of organic food waste into energy to help power its distribution center in Compton, Calif., according to a news release. The system will provide enough biogas to offset more than 20 percent of the distribution center’s energy demand.

The Kroger Recovery System uses a process to convert the carbon in the organics that can’t be sold or donated into a source of methane. The system will divert the equivalent of 150 tons per day of food waste.

 In addition, it will reduce truck trips by more than 500,000 miles each year.

The 650,000-sq.-ft.distribution center also will use more than 150 zero emission fuel cell fork lifts.