Miami University turns food waste into water

In an effort not to waste money, Miami University is using its waste to save money.

The university has invested in multiple green energy initiatives, including a $30,000 to $50,000 machine that turns the food waste from the Garden Commons dining hall into wastewater that won’t clog up landfills.

Called EnviroPure, the eco-friendly waste disposal system is a large machine that looks like a freezer. But instead of ice on the inside, there’s a special mixture that breaks down the food waste, said Tina Rotundo, an executive manager of dining.

“In every food service operation, you always have waste. We try our best to reduce that waste at Miami University … that waste has to go somewhere,” she said.

Previously, Miami had used dehydrators. Food waste, including dishes and food remnants was turned into pulp, and that was transferred into a box that heated up the waste into a more compact form by removing the water. But that system used a lot of electricity, and it required the university to have it hauled off more than 100 miles from campus. It proved to be labor-intensive and inefficient, she said.

Therefore, Miami did research and found out about EnviroPure, which the Ohio State University had been using, said Matt Frericks, the director of auxiliary planning and facilities. According to the EnviroPure website, the machine can “digest” bones, meat, poultry, fish, fruit, vegetables, rice, pasta, baked goods, coffee grinds, eggshells and dairy products.

With EnviroPure, the food waste and trash goes down a garbage disposal and into the machine. It has a 600-gallon tank of water on one side and a drum of special bio-mix on the other side. That mix dissolves the waste into water sent to Oxford’s wastewater treatment plant.

According to EnviroPure, for every 100 pounds of food waste digested, the system will generate approximately 10 gallons of water.

“There’s no handling it, there’s no smell, there’s no issues with it whatsoever,” Rotundo said. “We’re reducing what we send to the landfill. That’s one thing we’re always looking at the university, how we can reduce waste. It saves labor and utilities. There’s a lot of savings to that.”

If the EnviroPure machine proves to be successful long-term, it will also be installed at Armstrong Student Center, and into the dining facilities in the North Quad, which are undergoing the same renovations the East Quad just completed, Frericks said.