Energus, a unique conference and training venue in Cumbria, has chosen the Ecobot food waste dryer to improve sustainability by managing food waste on-site rather than paying for it to be collected for disposal.

Energus is a training and conference facility based in West Cumbria. The organisation provides an exceptional business-focused environment for large conferences, events and networking space. Energus has state of the art facilities along with high-quality in-house hospitality services that ensure all delegates attending events receive a first-class experience.

Energus manages the award-winning Graduate and Apprenticeship Programmes nationally on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and organisations within the wider nuclear industry. Energus has over 10 years’ experience managing Graduate and Apprenticeship Programmes across the UK, addressing skills shortages across the nuclear industry to ensure a continuous pipeline of talent into the industry.

“This investment in innovative technology for food waste processing is part of our on-going commitment to carbon reduction,” said General Manager, Shaun Stanger. “Energus is ahead of the game when it comes to sustainability, reducing our carbon footprint and achieving Net Zero, with recent initiatives including the installation of solar panels, a new solution that uses AI to enhance the operational efficiency of our building and a tree planting programme in the grounds.”

The in-house catering team has the capability to provide a full corporate hospitality service and can cater for meetings, conferences, training courses, seminars, exhibitions, evening dinners, award ceremonies and much more. With facilities available for up to 450 delegates, guests attending events are catered for with the highest quality local Cumbrian food and service.

“Our in-house catering team has an excellent reputation for providing tasty, affordable meals in the Café every day, and has focused on reducing avoidable food waste while removing single-use plastics,” continued Stanger. “The quantity of unavoidable food waste is 30 to 40Kg per day, with additional food waste generated by conferences and events, and the Ecobot will provide a more sustainable way of dealing with this.”

Following a site visit and an assessment of food waste processes, the Ecobot proposed by Tumblebug will shred and dry food waste on-site, reducing 50Kg of messy food waste to approximately 5Kg of sanitised soil conditioner that can be composted and used in the grounds. 

The Ecobot EB50 processes up to 50Kg of food waste every day, and will help Energus to:

• Reduce the environmental impact of food waste collection and treatment.
• Reduce the odours, pathogens, pests and handling inconveniences of food waste.
• Reduce the cost of food waste collection.
• Demonstrate compliance with forthcoming food waste legislation.

Preparing for the forthcoming 2021 Environment Act was a key factor in this decision. To comply with the Act and avoid penalties, organisations will have to segregate food waste and dispose of it separately, with on-site food waste drying identified as one of the more sustainable solutions.

“We were impressed by Tumblebug’s approach and their strategy where food waste processing is the first step to a truly circular economy,” said Stanger. “And in addition to the obvious environmental benefits, we had to make sure the Ecobot was a sound financial investment.”

“We’re very proud to be selected by an organisation that’s so committed to sustainability and is willing to innovate and demonstrate leadership,” said Andrew Rowney, Head of Sales & Marketing at Tumblebug. “In addition to training the catering team and helping Energus to demonstrate compliance with new legislation, we’re keen to explore how this innovative solution can encourage behaviour change throughout the sector."