Whole Foods Market Bellevue and WISErg Corporation, a bio-clean technology company that converts food scraps into organic fertilizer for sale to farmers and consumers, announced an agreement to deploy the WISErg Harvester unit at Whole Foods Market Bellevue. The installation will be completed in May.
The Harvester unit will enable Whole Foods Market Bellevue to reduce food waste in a sustainable way, and provide data reports to better manage perishable inventory and improve their bottom line.
The Harvester deployment aligns with Whole Foods Market's core mission to advance environmental stewardship and is part of a larger organic and sustainability initiative. In addition to recycling food scraps, reducing waste and decreasing shrinkage, Whole Foods Market Bellevue will sell WISErganic organic liquid fertilizer.
"Our partnership with WISErg is another example of our commitment to the community and the environment," said Dena Hastings, Regional Green Mission Specialist for Whole Foods Market. "We can help to create a virtuous circle of food consumption and production, with nearby growers using organic fertilizer made from food scraps that originate in our store."
By identifying the sources of waste, the Harvester not only gives Whole Foods Market a more sustainable solution for dealing with their food scraps but also a community-friendly solution that minimizes odor and noise commonly associated with compost removal services.
The Harvester captures data about the sources of food scraps and environmental conditions that grocers analyze to make more informed inventory management decisions. Stores receive regular usage and analytical reports -- providing key insights used to reduce unnecessary inventory loss. The highly secure reporting system can also include multi-store reporting capability.
For servicing, the Harvester units are capable of real-time reporting and automatic transmission of diagnostic information, allowing WISErg to dynamically schedule servicing based on usage, while also providing remote monitoring to ensure healthy system operations.
The Harvester offers a uniquely scalable solution that can cost-effectively address the food scrap volumes of grocers of all sizes, from small independents to national brands. In addition to Whole Foods Market, the Harvester is currently deployed at a number of regional independent grocers in Washington State.
