A Victoria-based company is changing the way people look at home food waste, and one annual publication says they’re garnering international attention.
TIME Magazine has included Anvy Technologies’ Sepura, the world’s first sustainable food disposal system, in their list of top 100 inventions.
“It’s really great just to get recognized in that group,” said Anvy Technologies CEO Victor Nicolov in an interview with Victoria Buzz.
“We’ve had validation with people placing pre-orders, but it means a lot that people are recognizing this as a product that’s needed.”
Nicolov and his team first started working on Sepura just over two years ago, to create a perfect balance between three existing food waste methods: garburators, green bins, and tossing food in the trash.
“Those were the solutions that we were stuck with,” said Nicolov.
“Sepura was a way to tie all those together. I wanted to bring that to people at home, but still wanted to keep the benefits.”
Anvy Technologies’ patented design connects to an ordinary household kitchen sink, and separates solid food waste from liquids. Solids are redirected to an odorless, sealed bin.
LED indicators inform the user when the bin is full, and at that point the bin can be slid out and placed outside for curbside pickup or otherwise dumped out as compostable waste.
Sepura even has sensors to detect when a tool or utensil is mistakenly dropped down the drain, and is self-cleaning.
Nicolov says it’s a massive improvement on garburators, not only because of the utensil safety feature but because of the problems garburators cause for maintenance.
“We’ve talked to many municipalities before,” he said.
“We know that garburators are a big problem for them. It costs a lot to filter food waste out of the drain.”
Anvy Technologies is trying to break people away from the garburator market, and has set a similar product price for Sepura, at $580 USD, to compete.
Currently, they are offering pre-order discounts of $380 USD until units begin to ship in early 2021. Anvy is hoping that in the future Sepura will come pre-installed on new housing builds, much like dishwashers or refrigerators.
Nicolov, a Victoria local who has lived on the Island since he was seven, says B.C. is uniquely positioned to talk about green issues like food waste with an eye to the future.
“On the west coast here this subject comes up a lot more,” he said.
“BC’s definitely getting ahead, making solutions. It’s a common topic and it came up often in our schools.”
With Sepura’s inclusion on TIME Magazine’s top 100 list, Anvy Technologies is looking ahead to other green tech solutions that don’t break the bank.
Nicolov believes people think that eco-friendly lifestyles and products are at odds with the economy and with personal finances. With Sepura, he’s hoping to show that that isn’t the case.
“It definitely won’t stop with Sepura,” he said.
“What we really want to create are a whole line of products. You know how being healthy or being green is always ‘harder?’ It’s more work or more expensive? What we really want to create with these products is a way to sell green technology as a normal option.”
