Trevor Whyte’s newest employee, TOM, is only 1.48 m tall and sends a text when he’s had enough. THE POST, a local Perth News Paper in Australia, recently published an article about TOM being busy crushing compostables to a seventh of their original volume at a beach café.
The new Compact Compaction Colleague at The Orange Box Café
Trevor, who owns The Orange Box Café at Leighton Beach in Perth, hired TOM about a month ago on a five-year lease. Trevor admits that the new compact compacting colleague does not directly save him money, but on the other hand he does not have to employ anyone to take care of the waste.
Another cost offset is café waste coming back as organic compost and Trevor explains: “we buy it back and sell it to customer”. Washing up in the tiny kitchen is impossible and there is so much volume in cardboard.
TOM takes everything and holds the equivalent of seven bins
TOM holds the equivalent of seven 240 L bins and he takes everything. “Food dregs, lids, cups, plates – everything we sell, Trevor states. TOM tells people when it is working and sends a message to café workers when the bag is full.
Trevor spoke about TOM at a Leighton Beach Community Action Network meeting, where local business owners and residents get together to talk about sustainability.
The full article from “THE POST”, published October 31, 2020