SEATTLE – At Fremont Brewing on the packaging room floor, they can churn out lots of beer daily. But Quality Control Manager, Robert Fulwiler, saw one way to improve.
"A good amount of it ends up going down the drain. Right now we have to pay fees for that kind of thing," said Fulwiler in reference to the spent yeast and grains.
The problem created a new opportunity on the edge of the company’s parking lot in Ballard. Fremont Brewing agreed to be join a pilot project, and Impact Bioenergy, a Seattle startup, delivered a container with a machine inside.
"It is the high solids organic waste recycling system with electric output," said Srirup Kumar with Impact Bioenergy.
High solids organic waste recycling system is called HORSE for short. The idea is to feed HORSE food waste and in about 30 days it will produce renewable energy and fertilizer.
"Billions of microbes are converting those organic residuals into gas and liquids," Kumar explains.
From fertilizer to providing power, the end result is attracting attention.
Next month, local food banks plan to start using HORSE. Next week, Harbour Public House on Bainbridge Island will begin using its own HORSE machine.
Learn more about the effort at impactbioenergy.com.
