In 2017, two product design graduates took an interest in the issues of waste collection and ways to save food from the end of its life in the dump. From this reflection was born Tero, a small domestic appliance whose mission is to transform kitchen waste into fertilizer. Revolutionary ? We tested the formula.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
Equipped with a dehydration system and two blades that grind food, Tero makes a nutrient-rich grind. This fertilizer can be sprinkled on the lawn, flower beds, vegetable garden or vegetated sidewalk squares. Too often wasted food and kitchen residues thus find a new vocation: if not consumed, they enrich the soil and nourish the plants.
Food waste is never desirable, emphasize the designers of Tero. Their device is however an additional solution to reduce pollution directly at the source. Quebec wastes 1.2 million tonnes of edible food each year, which corresponds to 4% of the province’s greenhouse gases. These emissions exceed those emitted by the marine, air and rail transport sectors combined. “The transport of our collective waste, including compost, is not without consequences either,” notes Élizabeth Coulombe.
People want to do their bit for the environment, she notes, but they’re often reluctant to compost because of the smells. “It was the most difficult element to control,” says his business partner, Valérie Laliberté. We researched the temperature, sealing, layout of components and type of carbon to make sure it’s flawless on this side. The result is convincing!
PHOTO PROVIDED BY TERO
Tero is equipped with a dehydration system and two blades that grind the food.
A promising idea
Tero has been designed in terms of eco-design. It is made entirely in Quebec and designed to be durable. No glue was used in its manufacture: only screws. The device can thus be dismantled and easily repaired if necessary.
To test the product’s ecological footprint, the designers called on students from Polytechnique Montréal. Preliminary results show that after 2 years of use, the device becomes carbon-negative thanks to its energy efficiency, its eco-design and the diversion of organic materials from landfills. In terms of its energy consumption, Tero is less greedy than a toaster.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY TERO
The device is attractive for those who do not have the space to compost.
The idea of being able to transform food residues at home and use them directly in the garden is attractive for those who do not have the space to compost. Evidenced by the sum of $ 1.75 million raised in crowdfunding on Kickstarter in just one month. Several municipalities for which compost collection is not an option have since contacted the Tero team. It is easy to imagine that this type of device could one day be subsidized in the same way as cloth diapers. In the meantime, the device retails for $595, while the remote-controllable model retails for $695.
A device to tame
Using Tero required an adjustment period. What goes to compost doesn’t necessarily suit Tero, who turns out to be a little more capricious in his handling of food than one would have imagined.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY TERO
Its bowl and blades are dishwasher safe.
The device struggles to transform very moist foods, tolerates or not those that are very sweet or fatty, only accepts starchy foods in limited quantities, refuses those that are too hard like nutshells.
Unless first cut into small pieces, food escapes or resists the blades.
In this case, we are advised, it is possible to simply redeposit them in the next cycle. Note that Tero has the advantage of transforming meat and fish into fertilizer (integrated in small quantities) and is powerful enough to treat small chicken bones.
Its operation couldn’t be simpler. Once the device is filled to the correct level, it can be started by pressing a key. The rest of the work is done relatively quietly within a few hours. Depending on its location and the duration of its cycle (which varies according to the foods to be processed), we recommend, however, to make it work at night. Good point: its bowl and blades are dishwasher safe.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY TERO
The grind obtained is uneven, which does not, however, affect its performance in the garden.
In the end, you should not expect to obtain a fine powder of fertilizer. The grind is uneven, but this does not affect its performance in the garden. The fear of having visitors, including squirrels in town, is legitimate and it is certainly prudent to bury the fertilizer under a mulch or in the soil.
Composting remains, for us, an easier solution to integrate into our daily lives. We are used to depositing certain foods such as coffee grounds, used tea leaves, certain peels or stems, directly in the garden. Tero, however, is a promising solution that could well be a revelation and a must-have for others.
Please note: the device can now be ordered online. As the pre-sale list is already full, you will have to wait until December to get it… in time for the Christmas gifts!