Gaia Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GaiaRecycle?
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It is a system for dehydrating organic waste – in particular food waste – at source, preventing the waste going to landfill where it would rot, producing methane (21 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas) and leachate which poisons water tables.
Using GaiaRecycle allows greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced by up to 90%
- How Does it Work?
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The waste is placed inside a drum through which hot air is circulated while a rotating paddle helps breakdown the physical structure of the waste.
Over a period of up to nine hours the moisture content is driven off and condensed for (optional) recovery for use as grey water.
The solid mass in the machine is reduced in weight and volume by 85 – 90% and is rendered fully sterile by the process.
- Is This The Same as Composting?
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No. Composting is a microbial process that takes many weeks to complete. GaiaRecyle takes only a few hours yet still produces a biomass that can be used as a soil amendment.
- Does it Run Continuously?
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GaiaRecycle is a batch process so, once the unit is started, it runs continuously through its pre-set cycle. We recommend that the process should not be stopped to add more waste as this may give an inconsistent result. After one process is finished, another can be started immediately.
- Do You Have to Add Anything to The Waste to Make The Process Work?
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Absolutely not. Unlike other methods, GaiaRecycle requires NO sawdust, NO microbes or enzymes, NO water. You simply load, press “Start” and walk away.
- Does it Have to be Full to Start up?
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No it doesn’t as the machine automatically senses when the added product has dried enough. We recommend using it full however to reduce your energy consumption. An added benefit is that you can store waste in the machine until ready to run and it won’t smell or attract vermin.
- What Happens if The Waste is Contaminated?
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The process is not affected in any way if paper, plastic packaging or inorganics such as knives, forks and even glass are present. It is desirable to reduce the amount of contamination as much as possible depending on what the intended use of the biomass is.
- Can Any Kind of Organic Material go Into The Process?
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Yes, but this process is particularly suited to food waste which is a category that is not easily treated by other methods.
- How Much Waste Can be Processed?
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Capacities range from 30 kg per day up to 60 tonnes per day!
- How do You Know The Greenhouse Gases Are Reduced by up to 90%?
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The calculations are based on the Australian Government National Greenhouse Accounts (NGA) Factors Report dated July 2010.
You can view it online here
- What Uses Are There For The Dried Biomass?
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There are several. It can go to landfill but there are better environmental possibilities, including:
- use as a soil amendment. It is classified as a “High Nitrogen, slow release soil conditioner”
- it can be compressed into pellets or briquettes and used as fuel for boilers and stoves. Because the biomass is high in nitrogen and low in carbon, its emissions are much less than those of coal and coke. Further, the carbon in the biomass is considered as being already in the Carbon Cycle whereas the emissions from coal that has been sequestered for centuries are net additions to the carbon load in the cycle.
- Can I See One in Action?
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You can see a video on our YouTube channel here
Trucks carrying green waste around our cities and suburbs are generating carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas of all. After the waste has been dumped in landfill sites it rots and gives off methane which is an even more potent greenhouse gas. If you care about the environment, it’s not a good solution, is it?
Seen here is a Gaia G-100H operating in Melbournes' Town Hall
Gaia Featured In
How Big a Problem Is Organic Waste?
- Each Australian household throws away an average of 585 kg of food per year
- Australian businesses generate 2.5 million tonnes of organic waste annually
- A supermarket discards 200 - 300 kg per day of vegetable trimmings and expired food products
- A hospital survey showed that food waste can be in of the order of 2kg per in-patient per day
- In a mining camp, organic waste is up to 0.5 kg per inhabitant per day
- Restaurants create up to 2.5 kg of food waste per cover per week
Whichever way you look at it, it is huge. And, on one point, there is unanimous agreement - these organics MUST be diverted from landfill. Organic waste in landfill rots anaerobically and gives off methane gas which is 21 to 25 times more damaging as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
Some countries have already banned organic waste from landfill or, at least, made the cost of dumping it exorbitant. Australia and New Zealand are following this trend - for example, the State of Victoria increased its Landfill Levy by 100% on 01 July 2010 and will increase by a further 33% in 2011. Such cost escalations are a significant burden on industry, running into tens of thousands of dollars and many businesses are acting now to avoid reaching crisis point. The latest state to get serious about this is NSW who have targetted zero to landfill after 2019.
The good news is that with GaiaRecycle, we can treat that organic waste at source and break it down into two re-usable resources. By heating and shredding the waste we cause an accelerated fermentation process and we drive off the water which is then condensed and can be used for irrigation, cleaning or other grey-water applications. Left behind is a dry biomass that is only 10 – 15% of the original volume and is rich in concentrated nutrients. It is sterile and free from weeds, seeds and pathogens so that in all ways it is an ideal soil amendment. Laboratory tests have confirmed this. GaiaRecycle handles all types organics, requires no other additives such as enzymes and is easily programmable according to the consistency of the raw materials being treated.
GaiaRecycle modular equipment processes from 30kgs to 3 tonnes per day of organic waste. Larger industrial systems are also available – even some that create biogas or biofuels from the treatment process.
Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Choose GaiaRecycle
- Addition of food scraps during processing
- Volume & Weight Reduced Up to 90%
- Recycling capacity 220lbs - 100+ tons/day
- Recycling processing time: 8 - 11 hours
- Patented shredder & blade design
- Proprietary 6-step deodorizer process
- No microorganisms, enzymes, water or additives required
- Simple, push-button operation
- Animal oil extraction system
- Reduces transportation costs Proven Technology
How Does it Work?
How Do I Know What Model I Need?
Eco Guardians are ready to work with you to solve your organic waste issues. We will assist you with a foodwaste audit to determine exactly how much you produce and then we will put together a complete proposal for the treatment of that waste and the usages for the by-products of the process. You will receive a detailed process-description and an economic pay-back statement so that you have everything you need to make an informed decision on your specific options.
There is a wide range of modular solutions available in both electirc and gas configurations, just call us for more detail.