Amazon partners for ‘industry-first’ food waste innovation at Whole Foods Market
Amazon's Whole Foods Market will automate its in-store food recycling to reduce waste.
Starting in 2027, Whole Foods Market will be the first to deploy a new, automated, high-capacity food recycling infrastructure from Mill Industries. Described as an 'industry-first" innovation, the new automated "Mill Commercial" solution will turn fruit and vegetable scraps generated in back-of-house operations into a nutrient-rich chicken feed ingredient intended for Whole Foods' private-label egg suppliers.
Leveraging artificial intelligence, Mill Commercial will precisely and automatically measure and characterize fruit and vegetable scraps generated on-site by Whole Foods stores. According to Mill, the solution’s dehydration process can reduce waste volumes by up to 80%, simplifying Whole Foods Market's operational handling requirements, lowering transportation costs, and enhancing food safety.
"We're excited to collaborate with Mill on its innovative commercial scale technology that will help us reduce food waste and operate more efficiently," said Jason Buechel, VP Amazon worldwide grocery stores and CEO, Whole Foods Market. "This first-of-its-kind collaboration enables us to minimize waste while building a more circular supply chain that benefits our customers, communities, and environment."
Mill received an investment from the Amazon Climate Pledge Fund to enable the deployment of this technology. Initially announced in June 2020 with funding of $2 billion, the Amazon Climate Pledge Fund is designed to enable Amazon and other companies to meet the Climate Pledge, a commitment to be net-zero carbon by 2040.
[READ MORE: Amazon launches $2 billion fund to promote sustainability]
"Until now, there has been no advanced technology solution to tackle the problem of food waste at commercial scale,” said Matt Rogers, co-founder and CEO of Mill. “With Mill Commercial, we are combining our innovative hardware with data and insights powered by AI to make it easier to dramatically reduce food waste in the grocery sector and beyond, turning what was 'waste' into a resource we can use."
In other efforts to help reach its goal of cutting food waste in half by 2030, Whole Foods recently introduced seven new bag categories with Too Good To Go, which connects users of its app with stores and restaurants that have surplus food which are sold in "surprise bags."
The expansion builds on the success of the existing bakery and prepared foods surprise bags available at Whole Foods. New categories include produce, seafood, meat, dry goods, frozen foods, refrigerated foods and floral items.
"Utilizing Mill's intelligent, connected, and distributed infrastructure helps customers reduce food waste, scale a more circular supply chain, and achieve greater operational efficiency,” said Thomas Selby, investor at the Amazon Climate Pledge Fund. “We've been following Mill since inception and are thrilled to invest now to support the development and deployment of its commercial technology at Whole Foods Market and beyond."
Whole Foods follows a comprehensive strategy to reduce food waste, which is grounded in three pillars: decrease, donate, divert. The company has a legacy in reducing food waste, from upcycling imperfect foods to donating items to food banks and rescue organizations.
