Tero is set to ship across Canada – FoodIndustryNetwork

Entirely designed and manufactured in Canada, Tero turns almost all food waste into natural fertilizer for plants, gardens, and lawns in as little as three hours. The drying and grinding technology reduces food waste volume by 90 per cent, including leftovers like cheese and dairy, chicken bones, meat, poultry and fish into a natural and nutrient-rich fertilizer. At a time when all municipalities and provinces want to reduce their organic waste, Tero is providing a product to aid in that effort.“Our vision is to give every environmentally conscious citizen the power to make an impact on the planet by simplifying their daily kitchen routine and transforming their food leftovers into natural fertilizer,” said Elizabeth Coulombe, Tero Co-Founder and President.

Tero’s approach, design and technology were also recently recognized by the 14th Grands Prix du Design Awards, where it won in three industrial design categories. “We’ve been gaining notable momentum already and to be recognized by the design industry is a huge honour,” said Coulombe.

National Survey on food waste habits: nearly half of households do not compost

A national survey of 1500 conducted for Tero, showed 45 per cent of Canadian households do not compost at all. For many, it is due to the time, complexity or odors of composting.

People were also asked what they feel are the biggest challenges to recycling their food waste? Here were the standout responses.

Nearly half of Canadians (47%) fear that it attracts bugs and animals
Three-in-10 people (31%) feel their kitchen lacks the space, while virtually the same number (29%) feel the smell is unbearable
One-in-five (20%) lack the knowledge/understanding to compost and 15 per cent feel it takes too much time

When it comes to managing food waste, seven-in-10 Canadians feel the responsibility should rest on the shoulders of municipal government. Meanwhile, one-in-10 feel their own efforts would make no difference in the grand scheme of things.

Tero is the brainchild of founders, Elizabeth Coulombe and Valérie Laliberté, who developed the product while at Université Laval studying product design. They wanted to make consumer food waste manageable, as they had firsthand experience of the lack of options available to many Canadians.