Firm buys system to
turn isle food waste
into compost

Star-Bulletin staff

A waste management company has purchased a $500,000-plus bioreactor plant to be part of a $2 million system to take food waste from supermarkets and restaurants on Oahu and turn it into compost for sale to farmers.

Organic Renewal Inc., a new Nevada-registered corporation, expects to install the plant during the first quarter of next year, said Rad Lepur, the Vancouver, Canada-based founder of the company.

He said the company has ordered the processing equipment from Environmental Products & Technology Corp., based in Westlake Village, Calif.

Organic Renewal has been working with local experts in waste management and is seeking a site for the plant, Lepur said today.

He added that the plant should employ about 12 workers.

The bioreactor feeds waste to bacteria which convert it into a high-nutrient compost free of pathogens and weed seeds. Lepur said the bioreactor should be a good match for Hawaii because it avoids the use of scarce and expensive landfills.

It will be able to process 25 tons of solid waste a day, he said.

EPTC said its process also produces methane which can be used to generate electricity for the business doing the processing.