Maggots Find New Home in Albury Waste Management Centre

... and are ready to feast on food waste

Keeping food waste out of landfill by using the organic power of maggots is now reality thanks to new Modular Infrastructure for Biological Services (MIBS) at the Albury Waste Management Centre.

Albury Mayor Kylie King will be launching and officially naming Goterra’s newest MIBS on Friday 11 February 2022.

Goterra, the first company in the world to deploy and commercialise a modular solution that uses robots to collaborate with insects to redefine waste management, have announced their system installed at the Albury Waste Management Centre is now in operation.

The MIBS system has been made possible thanks to an innovative partnership between Canberra-based waste management company Goterra, Veolia, AlburyCity and Woolworths, aimed at eliminating the food waste that goes into landfill by 2025.

The new system uses black soldier fly larvae to consume food waste, slashing the amount that would otherwise need to be buried, processing up to five tonnes of food waste per day, and reducing greenhouse gas emission by 97%. Waste can be processed from all industries including restaurants, supermarkets, manufacturing and other retail and hospitality.

For Goterra founder and CEO Olympia Yarger, the new site represents an opportunity to continue delivering on Goterra’s mission to change the way waste is managed

“The new MIBS in Albury is going to revolutionise the way Albury-Wodonga handles its food waste.”

“Locating MIBS near the site of production for food waste ends the logistics challenge of food waste for regional towns and cities. MIBS are more versatile and mobile than traditional landfill or compost heaps - and even better for the planet.”

“This partnership in Albury is leading the way in food waste management, and we expect many other regional centres to follow on this landmark journey towards a more sustainable future.”

“This site is everything the team at Goterra is working for. A regional infrastructure solution that has created jobs, delivers a much-needed service and supports a circular economy… right here in beautiful regional NSW.”

Mayor Kylie King said AlburyCity is proud to be the first council in Australia to host one of these systems, riding the technological wave in reducing food waste.

“Our community is already leading the way in looking after our precious environment, and this partnership is another major breakthrough in continuing to work towards halving the waste we send to landfill,” said Mayor King.

This innovative method of recycling food not only reduces emissions and pressure on landfill, it also produces sustainable protein for animal feed, and a high-quality soil conditioner for agricultural uses. This means the system offers the additional advantage of helping Australian farmers, while creating a cleaner, more sustainable community.

NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Executive Director, Engagement, Education and Programs Liesbet Spanjaard said supporting imaginative ideas like Goterra’s was part of the NSW Government’s commitment to helping industry and local communities develop innovative and sustainable solutions to their waste challenges.

“The exciting example of Goterra’s new system in Albury has been supported by a NSW EPA Circulate Industrial Ecology grant of $89,400, and a rebate of $12,500 for depackager equipment enabling the conversion of local commercial food waste into high value, low impact protein and soil conditioner,”  Ms Spanjaard said.

Developed in partnership with Woolworths, Veolia and Albury City Council, Goterra received the grant for their innovative, commercially oriented industrial ecology project that significantly reduces the amount of local commercial food waste sent to landfill.

This project is supported by a Circulate Industrial Ecology grant from the NSW Environment Protection Authority https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/working-together/grants/business-recycling/circulate-grant