UCI Green Tech Startup Circular Combats Climate Change and Hunger with One Secret Weapon

In the U.S., Food waste is the single largest category that makes up municipal landfills with an estimated 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth in 2010, according to the FDA. In addition, food waste incurs logistical challenges, lost labor costs and is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, according to Caleb Finn, founder and CEO of Wayfinder green tech startup company Circular.

“We read all these headlines about the climate crisis, biodiversity, hunger… and how if we don’t turn things around by 2040 the world will fall apart. I don’t want my three children to live in a dire future like that. So, what is one pinch point I can attack to help all these problems at once? Food waste is that one central thing,” said Finn.

Finn’s startup picks up food waste from restaurants and repurposes that food into organic fertilizer and insect protein using special earthworms that can process food waste, in addition to other organic materials like paper, grass clippings and manures. The earthworms are curated in a specially designed worm reactor that controls environmental factors like temperature, moisture, and oxygen levels.

“Instead of having a compost pile in your backyard, or hauling your waste out to a remote site, we want to regionally localize by scaling this operation inside every urban and suburban area,” said Finn.

Additionally, the startup aims to replace synthetic fertilizers.

“Food is less nutritious now than it has been historically, and that’s because of the way it’s grown,” said Finn. “We have to eat three times as much broccoli to get to the same amount of nutrients as our grandparents did when they were kids.”

Unlike most crops, which are grown using synthetic pesticides and weak soil, according to Finn, his startup creates more bio-available fertilizers from worm castings, or earthworm manure, that revitalizes the soil. And Finn creates and sells this specific fertilizer through Circular.

“I have a test reactor where I intake food waste from our neighborhood and then process it with the worms. It’s been my prototyping process,” said Finn.

To meet the demands of restaurant organic waste, Circular is raising $400,000 to build their pilot facility to scale operations by fall 2022, which will collect two tons of waste weekly from 10 restaurants.

In full-circle fashion, Finn also aims to supply zoos, poultry farms and sustainable fish farms with worms as feed product. Finn is also tackling food insecurity through food donations. After selling to and partnering with farms, Finn plans to purchase their organic produce and donate it to food banks.

“One-in-five children in Orange County don’t have enough food to eat at least once a week. Imagine if they got a fresh, organic meal—what that could do to their brains, bodies and trajectories in life,” said Finn.

Looking ahead, once they’ve demonstrated viability with their pilot facility, Circular plans to open 10 more locations across Southern California each servicing 100 restaurants and wants to collect food waste within a 15-mile radius to maintain a minimal carbon footprint.

“At the end of the day, my goal is to help create a better world with better food for my kids and your kids and the whole community, the whole world. I think that we can really accomplish that through Circular,” said Finn.

Learn more about Circular.

All photos courtesy of: Circular

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