Organic recycling company Denali today announced it has transformed over 10 billion pounds of organic byproducts into natural fertilizers, according to its newly released third annual sustainability report detailing findings from 2023. The report also notes the company collected 1.7 billion pounds of food waste of which more than 75% was recycled into organic, nutrient-rich animal feed or made into customized formulations to address specific dietary concerns of cattle.

2023 Report Agriculture Highlights By The Numbers
● Denali’s recycling efforts produced enough natural fertilizer to support more than 100,000 acres of farmland and manufactured enough animal feed to nourish over 40,000 cattle across five states.
● According to US EPA calculations, converting 1.3 billion pounds of food waste into animal feed resulted in an approximate avoidance of 780,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) in 2023. This reduction is comparable to the greenhouse gas emissions produced by 185,641 gasoline-powered vehicles driven over the course of one year.
● Fertilizer and chemicals remain the largest on-farm expenditure accounting for 17.5% of on-farm costs, with animal feed closely following at 15.5%. Denali’s depackaging process enabled farmers to receive fertilizer and/or animal feed at no cost, saving them a minimum of $100 per acre.

Denali convert organic wastes, such as unsalable food, into valuable products, according to CEO Todd Mathes. “Our business is inherently circular, returning value from the earth back to the earth by taking organic byproducts originally destined for the landfill and recycling them to save farmers money and advance the circular economy. Through our customized service offering, we connect with farmers across the country to offer fertilizer and animal feed tailored to their specific needs.”

The company collects food waste from thousands of generators, including major retailers like Whole Foods Market and Albertson’s, as well as food manufacturers and distributors, hotels, stadiums, universities, and cafeterias across 48 states and Puerto Rico. Most recently, Denali launched depackaging technology across the US that automatically separates food from its packaging materials like plastic and cardboard, producing a cleaner stream of organic material that can be turned into animal feed, compost or converted into energy with anaerobic digesters.