The City of Nelson officially launched their Pre-Treated Organics Program with a celebration event at Prestige Lakeside Resort on Wednesday.

Nelson has partnered with the Food Cycle Science Corporation in a collaboration that aims to change the way waste is handled.

Residents of the Fairview community have been given FoodCyclers as a way to reduce organic waste in the landfills. FoodCyclers are a countertop appliance that turns organic waste into soil amendment. When organic waste is stored in landfills, it can take up significant space, shortening the lifespan of the landfill, and it also decomposes and releases methane gas into the air, according to the program.

Soil amendment that is not used by residents will be disposed at drop off locations throughout the city and transferred to the Regional District of Central Kootenay's (RDCK) new compost facility near Salmo, BC.

This is the first time FoodCyclers have been used in a program on the municipal scale. According to the city's program summary, "the next step will be to assess the scalability of the program's environmental, economic, technical and social elements based on a full-scale neighbourhood rollout."

Several people spoke at the celebration event on Wednesday, including the Mayor of Nelson Janice Morrison and Jessica Taylor for the Food Cycle Science Corporation. Listen to the story below: