Denali Launches Garden Products Made From Grocery Store Waste
As grocers seek to play their part in lowering landfill levels, organic recycling company Denali is launching compost and organic potting soil made from grocery store food waste. The new ReCirculate products will be available in participating retail locations starting in January 2025.
The offering is part of Denali’s efforts to create a more circular economy, by diverting foods that would otherwise go to waste and returning nutrients back to soil and plants. The product also cuts down on methane emissions that would have been produced by food decomposing in landfills.
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Consumers can buy the compost and soil in one cubic foot bags and use the products to tend to their gardens and landscapes. The products were made using Denali’s innovative depackaging technology that can separate up to 97% of all trash from organic food waste, including expired food products, recalled items, food scraps, and spoiled deli, bakery, and produce, and turn it into a clean stream of materials.
"At Denali, we’re on a mission to harness the potential of organic waste and ReCirculate is an example of how we can do that,” said CEO Todd Mathes. “The product not only inspires consumers to choose sustainable potting soil and compost but allows retailers to monetize food waste otherwise sent to landfills, while effectively reducing their carbon footprint.”
To source the waste for the new products, Denali works with a variety of big chains and regional and independent stores around the country. According to the Russelville, Ark.-based company, Denali recycled 1.7 billion pounds of food waste in 2023 alone.
Fred Sousa, VP of retail sales at Denali, will join Louise Fritjofsson, CEO and co-founder of Martie Inc., for a session on “The Food on Food Waste” at Progressive Grocer’s upcoming Grocery Impact event in Orlando, Fla., from Nov. 6-8.
