Grenada Benefiting Significantly from PFW

In Grenada, the Compete Caribbean funded the Protein from Waste (PFW) project has helped Grenada move past many environmental, health, economic and social challenges to create a multitude of opportunities, develop true sustainability and enable some Grenadians to take charge of their own futures.

The PFW plant uses four different waste products to produce a high-quality, value-added animal feed supplement. Fish offal from a nearby plant, waste chicken parts from chicken farms and spent brewery grain are combined into a high quality animal feed supplement, and made available to chicken farmers at an affordable cost. Director of PFW, Jim Aronson discloses: “350 tons of organic waste will now be diverted annually from the nearby landfill.”

PFW Plant, Perseverance, Grenada

Meanwhile, Paul Graham, Head of the Pest Management Unit for the Ministry of Agriculture said that a figure of 12% can safely be ascribed to annual national consumption in the PFW process. “Up to 12% of Grenada’s waste automobile oil is collected and used to fire the PFW plant boiler.” This, he explains, helps to reduce the amount of waste oil that is carelessly disposed and insures the integrity of Grenada’s scarce and vulnerable potable water supply while also translating to less new motor oil being imported into Grenada to fuel the PFW process, resulting in significant cost savings.

Further contributing to the protection of the environment, many components of the PFW plant are recycled; actually, some plant components are recycled components of a freighter that ran aground offshore near the plant and the nearby landfill.

Ensuring the quality of the animal food supplement is paramount. Any variations in quality could adversely affect the PFW brand and reduce sales. The process of quality control at the PFW plant meets a high standard, with detailed record keeping and cleanliness being top priorities. Importantly, the protein content of the animal feed supplement is monitored daily with the use of a protein analyzer provided to the project with Compete Caribbean funding.

Protein Analyzer

Moreover, PFW is soon to begin importation of chicken feed (soy and corn-based products) on behalf of chicken farmers. PFW intends to import sufficient volumes of feed to obtain preferential pricing; the imported feed will then be mixed with the animal feed supplement produced by the plant and this product will be available directly to farmers.

To ensure long-term sustainability of PFW, Compete Caribbean is also assisting with the development of a farmers’ cooperative that will eventually be afforded the opportunity to manage the plant.