FreshPoint Central Florida will send vegetative waste to anaerobic digester.
Harvest Power, Waltham, Mass., has teamed up with FreshPoint Central Florida, an Orlando-based fresh produce distributor and part of the national food distributor company Sysco, to recycle 100 percent of the company’s local organic residuals at Harvest Power’s Energy Garden in central Florida.
The vegetative overs are now diverted from landfills and converted into renewable biogas and natural fertilizers. FreshPoint Central Florida contributes to the approximate 6 megawatts (MW) of combined heat and power that the Energy Garden produces.
FreshPoint Central Florida is the latest local business to join Harvest Power’s “Orlando or Landfill? Responsible Food Recovery” campaign. Harvest Power is challenging businesses and consumers in Florida to join the campaign.
“Working with Harvest Power was an easy decision for us, as we do our part to help sustain the environment,” says John Kovalik, executive vice president, FreshPoint Central Florida. “With Harvest Power’s program, we reduce our hauling fees, keep our waste out of the landfill and ensure the organic waste we produce is creating clean, renewable energy for our community.”
The facility’s anaerobic digester uses naturally occurring bacteria to turn organic waste into renewable biogas. The final products are renewable electricity and natural fertilizers used to boost local agriculture production.
“We’re excited to partner with FreshPoint Central Florida, especially since nearly 100 percent of their waste is organic matter,” says Chris Peters, Harvest Power’s regional vice president in Florida. “We’re building a local sustainability movement that gives businesses an alternative to traditional landfill disposal for their organic waste. That matters because now FreshPoint Central Florida and other businesses can put waste to good use. Our partnership shows what’s possible for other food processors across the country.”
