The Waste Transformers – Turning food waste into value on-site

Businesses wanting to tackle the issue of their organic waste had limited options. That was until Lara van Druten came up with an innovative solution: The Waste Transformers! The solution transforms organic (food)waste, inside an anaerobic digester called a Waste Transformer housed in 20ft shipping containers, into clean energy, water, high-grade fertiliser whilst also upcycling the waste into new raw materials for paper, textiles or soaps. They do this all on-site where the waste is produced. No transport, no CO2.

'Business in a box' Model

The Waste Transformers began transforming organic waste into value at an Amsterdam hotspot: the Westergasfabriek, located in a park at a former gas works. Local residents subscribe to the energy The Waste Transformer produces, and the fertiliser makes the park bloom even more. The company (and partners) guarantee that the energy consumed is 100% local and green. The solution can be applied on-site at any location which produces 600 to 3600 kilos of organic waste per day. Its ‘Business in a Box’ model even provides local employment in developing countries with support and training from The Waste Transformers.

Concept Transferral – Sierra Leone

The Waste Transformers, together with local partner Masada Waste Management is in the process of realising 40 Waste Transformers in and around Freetown in Sierra Leone. The Waste Transformers recently won first prize at the West African Forum for Climate & Clean Energy Financing (WAFCCEF-3) for its 26-million-dollar business plan, that advocates a smart, clean, high-impact approach to resource recovery and energy production.

Former prison Bijlmerbajes

The Waste Transformers teamed with OMA Architects and AM Project Developers to redevelop the defunct former Amsterdam prison Bijlmerbajes into a biowaste fueled neighbourhood. It proved a winning combination. A prison tower will become a green urban vertical park. The organic waste from the neighbourhood will be transformed into clean energy for the building. The vertical park will be fed by the fertiliser produced by the Waste Transformer.

Colombia

inspired a town in Colombia to transform their organic waste streams from a large daily city market into local clean energy. The energy powers the market and creates refrigeration whilst the fertiliser will be used by the farmers selling their produce on the food market to grow new food. A full circular economy around this town’s waste streams has been created.