Nixyaawii, Don’t Throw It Away tackles food waste

MISSION – Nixyaawii, Don’t Throw It Away has been underway for almost a year. Since food waste is considered to be responsible for eight to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions the project is attempting a unique process to handle it using an anaerobic digester.

DeArcy Abraham, a Tribal member of Biowaste Technology, is the coordinator of the process and Colleen Sanders is the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation climate adaption specialist. They are using what they call an Aqpas (pronounced Ak-paash), Umatilla for stomach, which uses water to cause the waste to produce methane.

“We’re capturing that methane product and you can use it to cook directly on, so it’s a cooking gas,” Sanders said. “You can electrify it. You can canisterize it.”

It is now operating at the CTUIR Longhouse. Because it relies on living bacteria, anaerobic digestion goes slower in cold temperatures and faster in warm temperatures.

Tribal members who want to volunteer to provide food waste to the Aqpas or to volunteer with the project can contact FirstFoods@CTUIR.org or call 541-429-7247. For more information visit https://ctuir.org/departments/natural-resources/climate-adaptation/nixyaawii-don-t-throw-it-away-project/.

Listen to the March 27 KUMA Coffee Hour to hear Abraham and Sanders discuss food waste in depth at https://omny.fm/shows/coffee-hour-podcast.

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