University of Rochester
IL-65: Innovation A

During a major dining hall renovation in 2016, University of Rochester Dining Services introduced a biodigester as a new way to divert food waste from the landfill. In addition to the University’s program to collect food waste for an off-site compost program, the biodigester offers a hyper-accelerated, on-site food waste elimination system. The Enviro Pure Systems biodigester takes organic pre-consumer and post-consumer food waste and converts it into water. The technology uses a combination of mechanical processing, heat, oxygen and all-natural additives to accelerate the natural aerobic decomposition process. Food waste is converted into gray water that can be safely disposed of using existing municipal wastewater systems. The biodigester can handle many types of food waste including vegetables, fruits, meat, fish and poultry, dairy products, bones, shells, pits, and compostable food-ware. Food waste is broken down in the biodigester using a solution called Biomix. Biomix is a combination of liquid micronutrients, natural ingredients, plant extracts, and water based liquids, all of which are non-toxic and completely biodegradable. The Biomix solution provides organic decomposition enhancement and suppresses the odor of the food waste. While the biodigester offers new technology, food waste collection is not a new initiative at the University. Since 2011, pre-consumer food waste (i.e. kitchen scraps) have been collected in all University of Rochester dining locations. In Danforth Dining Center post-consumer food waste (i.e. plate scraps) is also collected, where food waste is captured off the dish line and processed in a pulper. Waste Management picks up the material and transports it to their local compost operation. In 2016, 160.84 tons of food waste was collected and diverted from landfills via this collection systems. The system is still active today.