CHICAGO, IL – Champion® Industries, manufacturer of a full line of premier commercial warewashing systems for over 100 years, is proud to report the continued success of its new and innovative EnviroPure Solution System in big business and corporations across the country, including the Hyatt Hotel at the McCormick Place in Chicago.
In an effort to continue their commitment to provide sustainable and effective products to the foodservice equipment industry, Champion Industries recently introduced a complete series of food waste decomposition equipment to eliminate food waste at the source through a sustainable and money-saving system. According to Environmental Protection Agency’s Municipal Solid Waste Data in 2009, 70 billion pounds of food is wasted per year. 97% goes into landfills and the waste not only produces damaging methane gas and pick-up and hauling emissions, but also attracts pests, vermin and insects. When it comes to foodservice, food waste poses workplace safety concerns and causes expensive operational and productivity issues.
The solution is EnviroPure – a hyper-accelerated food waste decomposition system that breaks down up to 800 lbs. of food waste a day through physical and biological processes in submersed environments into water and CO2. EnviroPure’s on-site elimination of food waste in 24 hours produces a gray water bi-product safe for sewer disposal with no odors, sludge build-up and no system clean-outs required.
The implications of this revolutionary system are monumental. Already, the EnviroPure System has helped businesses across the country meet environmental standards faster than ever, including the Hyatt Hotel at McCormick Place in Chicago.
The existing manually operated composting system at the Hyatt McCormick Place presented workplace and operational challenges on several fronts and was not handling the proteins in the waste stream properly. “The composting systems we were using at the time required additional separation of meat proteins from the food waste which was labor intensive, inefficient and costly,” said Roger Martin, Director of Engineering at Hyatt McCormick Place.
EnviroPure was brought in to provide an alternative to the manual composting system because it could handle the entire food waste stream without any additional separation. “We really liked the fact that the EnviroPure system could handle all types of food waste and the fact that it fit easily into our operational flow,” explains Martin.
EnviroPure recommended an EPD-2200 “Dry” System capable of handling up to 1.3 metric tons per day. The system provides a 1000:1 ration of compression of the food waste by weight and reduces compost as a bi-product of the process.
“We were amazed at how little compost was left after the system processed the food waste. We took about 600 lbs. of mulch out of the system after 8 months and processing almost ½ million pounds of food waste,” said Martin.
The EnviroPure system easily installed into existing dock space outside the garbage room at the Hyatt, with the loading door on the system custom configured to provide easy loading without the need for lifting of the heavy food waste in bins and totes.
The system has proven as simple to operate as it was to install, with a single on/off button function. Automatic cycling and processing of food waste occurs as it is added with continue batch and feed modes. An auto shut-off timer is included for remote grinder motor and water supply and an auto-disconnect system even shuts off the system in the event that the hatch door opens.
EnviroPure handles virtually any kind of food waste including: vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, bones, shells and pits. Just like composting, EnviroPure uses natural biological decomposition processes that are accelerated through a combined action of the system itself and the use of BioMix, an all-natural, non-toxic, biodegradable additive. Food waste is broken down into water and BioMix facilitates the biological conversion by grinding all remaining materials into CO2, water and other organic materials. An insulated chamber retains heat to accelerate the breakdown.
As a result of the EnviroPure system, the Hyatt noticed an immediate and significant reduction in their overall disposal costs through the removal of the heavy food waste component from their waste stream. Martin estimates that the Hyatt has “realized monthly savings of between $1,500 to $2,000 and expects to achieve overall annual savings of approximately to $20,000 representing a 15% reduction in hauling and disposal costs year-over-year.”
With $1 billion per year spent on disposal of food waste and $90-$200 cost per ton to dispose, operational and productivity costs are high in this industry. However, EnviroPure offers an immediate savings with consistent disposal costs and solid long-term return of investment. Offering an immediate positive impact on the environment, it removes food from landfills and decreased truck emissions due to fewer hauls.
The EnviroPure system has helped to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the Hyatt McCormick Place through not only diverting their food waste from landfill, but also through a 50% reduction in the number of pick-ups and hauling of food waste to the disposal sites. In the first eight months of operation, the Hyatt McCormick diverted over 500,000 lbs. of food waste from landfill by processing it on site with the EnviroPure EPD-2200.
Logistical and financial benefits aside, the EnviroPure system also provides its customers with one incentive other competitors simply cannot – a opportunity to save and restore the environment for all of its inhabitants.
“Aside from not having to deal with the odor issues, our staff has really come to identify the EnviroPure system as a tangible representation for all of our environmental initiatives,” said Martin. “The staff uses the system every day and genuinely feels that they personally are making a real contribution to the Hyatt's efforts to preserve our environment for future generations.”
ABOUT CHAMPION INDUSTRIES
Champion Industries is a division of the Ali Group based in Winston-Salem, NC. Champion manufactures an array of versatile commercial dishwashing equipment ranging from under counter machines to single-rack door machines, rack conveyor machines and upright conveyor/flight machines. Other products include powered soak sinks and pot and pan washing systems. The Company’s ability to customize products makes Champion the preferred brand for food service operations of all sizes – from coffee houses and restaurants to hospitals, schools and other institutions.
In the past 12 months Champion’s innovative products have saved over 145 million gallons of water, 38 million kilowatts of energy and over $5 million in utility savings. With over 100 years of experience in designing and building standard and custom dishwashers, Champion and its employees are dedicated to excellence in engineering, manufacturing and customer service, and are proud to say their products are 100% built in North America.
ABOUT HYATT MCCORMICK PLACE
The Hyatt Regency McCormick Place is situated in the South Loop district of Chicago and is connected with the Chicago McCormick Place Convention Center. With 800 guestrooms, four restaurants and bars and over 50,000 square feet of function and pre-function space the hotel caters to a large number of meetings, conferences, weddings and other special events on an annual basis.
In 2007, Hyatt Hotels formally announced their commitment to achieving a 25% reduction in emissions and waste generated across their hotels worldwide by 2015. When the announcement was made, the Hyatt McCormick Place was already well under way in their efforts to meet these goals with multiple initiatives in the works, including source separation of organic waste and diversion to an on-site composting system.
Source: Champion Industries