SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – At the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County’s South County facility in Goleta, yesterday’s leftovers are finding a new purpose — feeding local farms instead of landfills.
A powerful new industrial composter can process up to 400 pounds of food waste a day. Spoiled produce and uneaten meals are fed into the machine, where heat and motion break them down in hours, transforming scraps into nutrient-rich compost ready for the next growing season.
“This machine’s like a garbage truck on steroids — only it feeds farms, not landfills,” said one Foodbank worker. Another added, “we’re saving tons from the landfill and growing the next harvest instead.”…