Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1037828
38 FEDA News & Views in 2016 after California began requiring businesses that gener- ate 8 cubic yards of organic waste per week to recycle their waste. That equates to about 120 13-gal- lon trash bags. Northgate uses six cases of avocados per day, in just one location, to prepare guacamole and other freshly-prepared items. Prior to implementing Grind2Energy, the grocer would place those peels and other scraps in boxes, stack them on pallets, and then transport them to its distribution center for composting. Now, what used to take several hours is done in 90 minutes. Workers take the scraps to the Grind2Energy processing table, where they're dumped into a 10 HP grinder. The industrial-strength grinder is equipped with dry-grind technology and IoT sensors to mini- mize water use and can grind pro- duce, bones, grains, fats and oils. After the scraps are ground into slurry, it's pumped into an onsite holding tank (sized to meet the needs of each customer). The one that demolishes the leftover cheese- burgers, fries and cooking oil in FirstEnergy Stadium is a 3,000-gal- lon tank and stretches roughly 10 feet. According to an Aramark exec- utive chef, more than 119 tons of food has been siphoned through the unit and recycled since the Browns started using the system in 2013. Commercial kitchen operators continue to demand technology that helps them improve operational efficiency while minimizing costs. "For InSinkErator," says Severson, "this means offering easier to use equipment that draws less power, uses less water and minimizes food waste management costs. We are responding with our IoT, PLC [Programmable Logic Controller] and HMI [Human Machine Interface] technologies to improve our cus- tomer's experience and meet their demands." In need of a way to closely moni- tor slurry tanks, better schedule pre- ventative maintenance and provide customers with performance data and analytics, Emerson partnered with AT&T in 2017, adding to its Grind2Energy system a new suite of data-driven capabilities. Via IoT connectivity, and the manufacturer's online interface, customers can access their data, gauge day-to-day operational activities, and measure the impact of their sustainability practices on the environment. The technology also helps Emerson keep a close eye on the equipment, aiding in predictive maintenance, and alerts local tank service providers when it's time to drain the slurry and transfer it to an anaerobic digester. There, bacte- ria and other microbes feed on the decomposing food and naturally converts it into water, fertilizer and methane that is captured to produce renewable energy. "Grinding food waste is an envi- ronmentally responsible option ver- sus putting it in a landfill," Severson says. "As more commercial opera- tors become familiar with the bene- fits of grinding food waste, we have the potential to reduce landfill waste and establish a source of renewable energy at the same time." Aside from a slew of testimonials from Grind2Energy converts, praise for the manufacturer's innovation has come in the form of recognition from Whole Foods Market, which selected Grind2Energy as its Green Supplier of the Year in 2015. More recently, it received another nod in 2017 from Connected World when Grind2Energy was named one of the magazine's IoT Innovations Award recipients "for its advancements in using IoT to help businesses reduce avoidable waste while maximizing the efficiency of Grind2Energy's process for recycling unavoidable waste." "Grind2Energy is a perfect exam- ple of how IoT-enabled solutions will help transform the way humans live," said Peggy Smedley, edito- rial director at Connected World, in announcing the award. "By creat- ing something valuable like clean water and renewable energy from discarded waste, and by using the IoT to manage these processes, we're creating a better world for our grandchildren." ■ USING A GRINDER, STORAGE TANK, IOT CONNECTIVITY, AND AN ANAEROBIC DIGESTER, INSINKERATOR'S GRIND2ENERGY PROGRAM HELPS GROCERS AND OTHER LARGE GENERATORS OF FOOD WASTE REDUCE THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT BY CONVERTING THEIR SCRAPS TO RENEWABLE ENERGY.