Food Scrap Recycler Mill Releases Data from Pilot with City of Tacoma, Wash.

San Bruno, Calif.-based Mill has completed a year-long study with the city of Tacoma, Wash. 
The data analyzed food scrap separation behavior of those using Mill's food-recycling technology in the municipality. 
In a statement, Lewis Griffith, Solid Waste Division Manager, City of Tacoma, commented: "The diversion numbers for the Mill pilot are impressive, and the technology has been generally effective in addressing the ick factor for residential customers who want to divert food waste, and have a willingness to pay for the service. We are interested in exploring ways that this type of technology can fit into our overall menu of solid waste services."The pilot, which began in February 2023, was implemented to determine of Mill's food recycling technology can increase resident participation in food scraps separation, reduce contamination and provide a new avenue for waste diversion.

The technology was developed by Apple and Google engineers, with the help of Cofounders Matt Rogers and Harry Tannenbaum. According to Mill, food scraps are processed into clean, dry grounds that can feed farms or gardens.
The recycler is "sensitive to food scrap inputs as small as 15 grams—the equivalent of a single strawberry," Mill stated.
Tacoma residents in the pilot separated ten times more food scraps than an average household.A post-pilot survey revealed that 84 percent of participating households threw zero food scraps in normal trash bins after the pilot. 

While the municipality had a food scrap collection service in place prior to the pilot, more than half of Tacoma's residents did not participate in it.

Further results revealed that:

"Participation and contamination are the Achilles' heel of organics collection programs. This data demonstrates the type of breakthrough in overcoming the ick factor that this industry has been waiting for," said Scott Smithline, policy at Mill and former director of CalRecycle, in a statement.

Source: Mill