McCain Foods bolsters the war on waste

McCain Foods - Timaru

McCain partners with University of Canterbury and Venture Timaru on new waste recovery strategy McCain Foods’ Timaru plant has played an integral part in a new Sustainable is Attainable study undertaken by the University of Canterbury exploring avenues to repurpose bio-waste, including food waste.

As food waste continues to be a growing problem in New Zealand and around the world, food and beverage manufacturers are challenged to manage their waste streams and by-products and ultimately seek opportunities to convert what would go to landfill into value-adding uses.

The Sustainable is Attainable program is committed to “closing the loop” on food waste. The study is the first of its kind in New Zealand, representing the entire value chain from farmers and growers, to operators, processors and exporters. The relationship between the local companies and the University of Canterbury is coordinated by Venture Timaru. McCain has been working with students and supervisors operating out of the Biomolecular Interaction Centre (BIC) at the University, who have conducted analysis to appraise the plant’s key existing food waste streams.

This waste appraisal has enabled the University students to put forward potential opportunities to repurpose or reuse waste across the food and beverage industry in a holistic manner across the supply chain, with the priorities being bio-waste, plastics and effluent. McCain is one of the 22 local businesses contributing to the first-of-its-kind study, which marks a significant step forward in collaborating for a more sustainable future in the Timaru region. Ross Amato, ANZ Environment Manager at McCain Foods, and Barto Greeff, Plant Manager McCain Foods Timaru, have been proud to work with some of New Zealand’s brightest new minds in sustainable waste management.

“McCain always welcomes new ways to evolve our operations, and working with the students at University of Canterbury aligns with our Be Good. Do Good values,” Mr Amato said. “As new professionals make their way into the field, they bring new ideas that help us grow as a business and as an industry. Opportunities like this are so important in showcasing New Zealand’s environmental progress to a global audience.” Some early findings of the research have revealed exciting new potential for food waste management of relevance to McCain such as conversion to high value soil conditioners and stock food, starch waste conversion to edible/non-edible and biodegradable plastics, and polyphenol-rich extract uses for medicinal purposes. “One of the many opportunities identified was the ability to generate fuel from bio-waste. With businesses working together on this study, the students have been able to identify the potential of our combined waste streams,” Mr Amato said. The war on waste must be an industry-wide collaborative effort. McCain continues to demonstrate its commitment to Growing Green and Local, sustaining communities, local economies, farmers and jobs for generations to come. 9 September 2020

Chief Executive at Venture Timaru Nigel Davenport said that by collaborating, businesses in Timaru now have a much better understanding of the scale of our shared waste streams. “It’s great to see such great cooperation between a range of companies in the sector to tackle these issues. As a key employer in the region, McCain Foods’ involvement enables this program to operate at scale – working towards a greener Timaru,” Mr Davenport said.

The University of Canterbury students are now working with a wider group of universities and agencies across the country to facilitate the next stages of the research. The next steps for McCain will be to prioritize the opportunities and to start verifying the feasibility from a scientific and commercial perspective.

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