A trial plant that uses insect bioconversion and anaerobic digestion to break down organic waste is proposed for Blenheim’s Bluegums Landfill, if the funding can be sourced.

Building the plant would allow them to test if a commercially viable product could be produced, the centre’s chief executive John Patterson told the Marlborough District Council’s economics finance and community committee on July 29.

Insect bioconversion used insects such as black soldier flies to transform food waste into a mealy byproduct that could be used in animal feed, pet food or fertiliser.

Anaerobic digestion used micro-organisms to break down organic matter to produce heat and electricity, which Patterson said could be used to heat the bioconversion process, making it more efficient and eco-friendly.

“Insect bioconversion combined with anaerobic digestion provides the region with the best opportunity to upcycle the region’s post- and pre-consumer waste streams into new value-add products,” Patterson told Local Democracy Reporting.

The region’s strong agriculture and viticulture industries, producing organic waste such as grapes, made Marlborough “uniquely placed” to take advantage of such a plant, he said.

“The pilot facility is to provide proof of concept for a full-scale commercial facility processing 50,000 to 100,000 tonnes of pre- and post-consumer waste,” Patterson said.

The centre had allocated $30,000 of the council’s annual grant for the project, but they needed another $1.7m from the Ministry for the Environment’s waste minimisation fund.

While bioconversion and digestion plants already existed in other regions, Patterson said, if they successfully complemented each other, a combined commercial plant would be a first in Aotearoa.

“The value add and new business opportunities from such a facility will be a significant economic bost for the region,” he said.

“The pilot will be a case study which will inform all regions about the opportunities associated with insect bioconversion leading to Marlborough providing vital input into national initiatives and strategies for waste management.”

Patterson said that while the project was still in its early days, several companies had indicated interest in purchasing the plant’s final product.

“We have animal food, pet food companies, both national and international, fish feed companies [that] are interested in being involved in the trials,” Patterson told the council.

“There’s a lot of upside to this, a whole new business.”

Councillor Gerald Hope, who preceded Patterson as chief executive of the centre, said that bioconversion was already an essential part of food waste management overseas.

“It’s been tried elsewhere, it’s not new. In some parts of the world this conversion of food waste is essential in dealing with the value chain.”

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.