City of Sydney Council will launch a trial using maggots to convert residential food scraps into animal feed and fertiliser.

The trial, in partnership with waste management innovation company Goterra, is scheduled to get underway later this year. It is expected to process up to 600 tonnes of food waste over the 12-month trial period.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore says it’s the next step in the City’s war against waste.

“Using maggots is an innovative and sustainable solution for this growing problem,” Cr Moore said.

“This is a brilliant circular economy result as we regenerate what was once considered waste into sustainable commodities: insect protein for animal feed and a natural low-impact fertiliser, both essential for food production.”

The process works by collecting food scraps from Sydney residents and then feeding them to black soldier fly larvae housed inside shipping container-sized units.

The larvae can eat twice their own body weight every day. Their manure and the maggots then get processed into protein rich fertiliser and food that can be fed to fish and poultry or even used in pet food.

Unlike other insects, the black soldier fly isn’t a vector for disease and its larvae breaks down bacteria in the organic material it consumes.

Revolutionary approach

“We’re really excited about this project – it has the power to revolutionise food waste management for residential food waste and logistics in Australia’s largest city,” Goterra CEO Olympia Yarger said.

The processing trial will be evaluated with a view to expanding the service in the future.

Food scraps make up around one-third of the waste in general waste bins. Put into landfill, the organic material decomposes and produces methane.

More than 21,000 households are currently part of a City of Sydney food scraps recycling trial, which began in July 2019. The City hopes to extend the service to all residents in line with the state government’s mandate for councils to provide food and garden waste collections to every NSW household by 2030.