A composting device showcased in other communities in the Northwest may be coming to Dryden.
Officials with FoodCycler made a presentation to council Monday, noting the program’s federal subsidy as a benefit.
“This brings the price of each unit down by 50 percent,” said Community Program Coordinator Jacob Hanlon. “From there we ask for a municipal subsidy of $100 per household, regardless of which machine the resident chooses, and then the participating residents will pay that remaining amount.”
That remaining amount would be anywhere from $150 to $300.
FoodCyclers take food waste and processes it during an 8 hour cycle into material full of nutrients for soil that is beneficial for plant growth.
It also leads to a reduction of up to 90 percent in the weight and volume of food waste.
Councillor Ritch Noel, who has taken a hardline stance against deer in the city, took notice of the presentation.
“I was quite excited when I read your presentation before the meeting, when you mentioned this could address our deer problem.”
Typically, according to Hanlon, when one or two animals come into town it opens the door for others with a ready food source, such as garden scraps.
“Once you have bears in there you have raccoons its an issue that continues to pile up, deer may not be going for the garbage, and in your case it might be the garden and the pumpkins and things like that. But I would assume with a location like Dryden there would be other animals coming to town as well.”
Similar sentiments and optimism was expressed by Councillor Catherine Kiewning.
“Hopefully encouraging them to maybe invest in the FoodCycler program, this would deter people who are encouraging the deer to come more into our city.”
The ask before council is a $10,000 subsidy for a 12 week pilot project, which would have participants fill out a survey, which would be used for a report to council to show the success of the program and how much waste diversion came as a result.
If approved the pilot project would be open to 100 residents.
