Pre-treated Organics Program

Welcome to the Pre-treated Organics Program, proudly launched by the City of Nelson. This innovative program marks the beginning of Canada's first residential pre-treated organics initiative. We're excited to provide you with an opportunity to make a positive impact in our community while transforming your food waste.

What is the Pre-treated Organics Program?

The Pre-Treated Organics Program provides residents with an in-home appliance specifically designed for mashing and dehydrating food waste. This process, known as 'pre-treatment,' significantly reduces the weight and volume of food waste. Like composting, your food waste is transformed into a valuable soil amendment, which can enrich your garden. Pre-treating food waste in a FoodCycler creates a dry, nearly odourless material that you can either use in your home garden or drop off to be collected by the City.  Through our program, we offer a range of educational materials and support services, to help you effectively use the FoodCycler. 

The evaluation of the pilot phase of the Pre-treated Organics Program is complete. See the full evaluation here. 

This program is offered at no additional fee to eligible Nelson City residents, this includes occupants of secondary suites.

See our Program FAQs for more information. How to Participate

Our neighourhood pilot study in Fairview is now underway. We also have a number of appliances available for interested residents in all other neighbourhoods. 

Register online to secure your spot on our list, regardless of neighbourhood. Our team will contact you to arrange pickup of your unit at the next available opportunity. Click here to sign up.

Program Phases

This is a first-of-its-kind program in Canada. We are collecting valuable information as we roll out the Pre-Treated Organics Program in the following phases:

Food Waste Reduction:

With the rising cost of food, a great way to save money on your grocery bills is to reduce food waste at home. About 1/3 of all food produced is lost or wasted every year, but small changes in how you shop, cook, and use food at home will have a lasting impact on your wallet.

Did you know that food waste is also one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in BC? Reducing food waste is one of the simplest things we can do to decrease our impact on the environment.  When food waste ends up in the landfill, it creates methane – a greenhouse gas 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide!

Aligned with our Nelson Next Climate Plan, The City of Nelson is developing its organics program to help residents manage their household food waste. While some food waste is unavoidable, preventing food waste in the first place is the best solution. 

Regional Program

In partnership with the RDCK, Nelson City Council is committed to diverting organics from the waste stream. The RDCK completed an organic diversion strategy for the region and has received funding to develop a central compost site. 

Residents outside the City of Nelson, visit rdck.ca/organics for program details in your region.

Initial Pilot Program

For more information on our initial pilot project that lead to the decision to adopt a pre-treatment organics program, click here.