ST. ALBANS, Vt. (WCAX) – Turning ice cream into renewable energy is the goal behind a new partnership with Ben & Jerry’s.
“It was astounding to me when I first started just how much waste food and beverage manufacturing makes,” said Hasper Kuno with Purpose Energy, a partner with Ben & Jerry’s, in a new energy facility in St. Albans’ Industrial Park.
“It really is a passion project for Ben & Jerry’s, and we’re really excited that it’s here,” said Jenna Evans with Ben & Jerry’s.
Construction on the anaerobic digester began in May 2023, and the facility came online in December. Ice cream waste is pumped from the Ben and Jerry’s factory just up the road. Some of the waste comes from ice cream not up to taste or when a switchover occurs during production.
“There’s some product left in the line, and that goes down the drain during cleaning, and then they change over to the next product. You can’t mix Half-Baked ice cream with Cherry Garcia,” said Purpose Energy’s William White.
Other waste from other food and beverage producers in Vermont and upstate New York is also trucked to the facility. The digester is similar to what happens after you take a bite from your favorite pint — it acts like a stomach, with bacteria breaking down waste, producing methane. It’s a process already used on several Vermont farms.
“Getting rid of food waste in the food manufacturing process can be rather difficult, for dairy particularly. Dairy can pose issues when it comes to water quality,” Evans said.
The facility converts the waste into three elements. Renewable energy that’s sent to the Green Mountain Power grid, clean water used by St. Albans’ wastewater treatment facility, and solid waste that’s added as a soil amendment on nearby Hudak Farm.
It will also help take trucks off the road and reduce the amount of phosphorus pollution.
“Ben & Jerry’s tries very hard to reduce food waste down to zero, but it’s not always practical in food manufacturing. You’re always going to have a little bit of waste, and so having a responsible outlet is really such a beautiful solution for us,” Evans said.
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