In an industry-leading move, Hyatt Regency Sydney – Australia’s largest hotel, has become the first hotel in the world to implement Goterra’s compact sustainable food waste management system onsite. Championed by owners M&L Hospitality, this initiative marks a significant step towards managing the hotel’s food waste and reducing its carbon footprint and environmental impact.
Goterra’s system, created and led by CEO Olympia Yarger, employs innovative technology to manage food waste using insects. The system utilises Black Soldier Fly larvae to break down food waste onsite rapidly and at a large scale. Housed in high-tech, containerised units dubbed ‘Maggot Robots,’ the larvae can devour vast amounts of food waste, reducing it by 95% in just 24 hours. This transformational innovation will help the industry tackle climate change, aligning Hyatt Regency Sydney with global sustainability goals.
“When you manage food waste with insects, you radically reduce the impact it has on the world. Using insects in tandem with industrial robotics means we manage waste efficiently, producing a sustainable protein that can be used in agricultural supply chains, creating a truly circular system,” Yarger explains.
Hyatt Regency Sydney is Australia’s largest premium hotel. Boasting 878 rooms, award-winning dining experiences and 4,000 square metres of flexible meeting and event spaces that can house up to 1,000 guests, the hotel actively manages hundreds of tonnes of food waste every year. In a huge win for bettering sustainable supply chains, the new system closes the loop with a ‘circular egg’; whereby Goterra processes the hotel’s food waste with insects and technology, then provides the hotel’s key egg supplier, Hilltops Free Range, with the insect protein as a feed mix alternative.
Hotel General Manager, Jane Lyons, is thrilled to have the Goterra system operational, “At Hyatt Regency Sydney, we are deeply committed to sustainability and environmental stewardship and advancement. The implementation of Goterra’s innovative food waste management system represents a significant milestone in our journey to reduce our carbon footprint. By transforming our food waste into sustainable protein for agricultural use, including suppling to our own egg supplier, Hilltops Free Range to feed their chickens, we are creating a circular economy. This initiative aligns perfectly with our ongoing efforts to consider sustainability in all aspects of our operations.”
M&L Hospitality, Executive Director and owner of Hyatt Regency Sydney Jocelyn Kum has been a key driver to the introduction of the system, emphasising the importance of this collaboration in combating climate change. “Our partnership with Goterra underscores our commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility. We are proud to lead the way in sustainable food waste management in the hospitality industry.”
Hyatt’s World of Care – a global Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) platform, deepens our commitment to caring for our people, planet, and communities. By adopting Goterra’s food waste management system, Hyatt Regency Sydney is setting a new standard for sustainability initiatives in the hospitality sector, demonstrating a practical and impactful approach to reducing waste and contributing to a greener future.