Photo courtesy of Denali and Ecoverse LLC
Denali, a nationwide organics processing and landfill diversion firm based in Russellville, Arkansas, has introduced a mobile depackaging system designed to address diverting unsalable food in critical retail operation situations, such as natural disasters.
Denali says the system can address a problem created by millions of tons of surplus food wasted each year due to spoilage from logistical disruptions, recalls or natural disasters.
The company says its new offering can be deployed within 24 hours to locations such as grocery stores and food distributors without needing existing depackaging infrastructure.
Denali has partnered with Avon, Ohio-based equipment provider Ecoverse LLC, which offers the Tiger Depack System product line, on the design of its new mobile depackaging unit.
“Ecoverse and Tiger Depack are excited to be working together with Denali to help fulfill their food waste management goals by depackaging, separating and diverting massive amounts of food waste from landfills,” Ecoverse President Hugh Fagan says. “Our Tiger Depack System allows Denali to capture, repurpose and recycle valuable materials for the betterment of the environment through compost, anaerobic digestion and animal feed.”
“When it comes to unexpected disruptions or natural disasters resulting in unsalable food, it’s important to act quickly and efficiently,” adds Eric Speiser, Denali’s chief revenue officer. “Our mobile depackaging unit can be deployed within a day or less and can be up and running within an hour to process food waste into a clean organic stream that can be repurposed into usable products rather than filling landfills.”
Denali says the mobile depackaging unit is able to quickly separate food from its packaging and turn it into sustainable products including compost, natural fertilizer, animal feed and renewable energy.
“Paper, plastic, cardboard, aluminum or metal packaging fractions are also separated, cleaned and made recycle-ready to create additional value," Ecoverse says of its Tiger Depack equipment line.
The Denali system is mounted on a trailer and capable of operating independently of existing infrastructure, including electrical power. The company says the unit can be quickly deployed to a variety of locations facing a situation involving imminent unsalable food, including retailers, grocers, food manufacturers and distribution centers.
Denali already has a nationwide presence providing depackaging services to grocers, food manufacturers, distributors and municipalities nationwide. Its existing network of depackaging machines can process up to 20 tons of food waste per hour and separate 97 percent of all food packaging from unconsumed food, including expired food products, recalled items, beverages, dairy products, food scraps, deli and bakery items and produce.
“Innovation is in our DNA at Denali, and our mobile de-packaging machine expands our capabilities to support partners in their time of need to repurpose unsalable food,” Speiser says. “We partnered with our manufacturer to refine the unit’s design, elevating its efficiencies across maintenance, cleaning and freeze-proofing it to build a unit that is agile, easy to set up and effective.”
Denali estimates that in 2023, it diverted 7 million tons of organic materials from landfill, including 850,000 tons of food waste.
