Goterra has unveiled its innovative new food waste management facility in Wetherill Park, Sydney, marking a major milestone in the city’s journey toward a circular economy. This next-generation solution tackles the growing challenge of organic waste by using cutting-edge technology to process food waste rapidly and sustainably onsite. As the winner of the Most Innovative Startup at this year’s Startup Daily Best In Tech Awards, Goterra is setting a bold example of how climate startups can drive real environmental impact.
Where Insects and Innovation Collide
At the heart of Goterra’s system are deep-tech units known as Maggot Robots—shipping container-sized modules filled with Black Soldier Fly larvae. These industrious insects devour vast amounts of food waste around the clock, monitored by sensors that adjust internal conditions for optimal digestion. Compared to landfill disposal, the process slashes CO2 emissions by up to 97% and generates valuable agricultural products like organic fertiliser and nutrient-rich insect protein, contributing to a low-waste, high-value circular economy.
Woolworths and Cleanaway Join Forces
Woolworths, the site’s founding customer, is sending waste from stores across Sydney that can’t be redirected to hunger relief. Long-time partner Cleanaway is managing transport, aggregating food waste from multiple sources and delivering it to the Wetherill Park facility. This collaboration offers a decentralised waste solution that avoids the high emissions and costs of long-distance trucking to overfilled landfills—helping transform how Sydney manages the 500,000+ tonnes of food waste it produces each year.
Building a Greener, Scalable Future
Processing over 100 tonnes of waste each week and creating 10 new local jobs, the Wetherill Park site is more than just a waste facility—it’s a blueprint for the future. Goterra plans to expand its modular units nationwide, offering businesses, councils, and communities a scalable, efficient, and eco-friendly way to handle organic waste. As CEO Olympia Yarger puts it, “For too long, food waste has decomposed in landfills creating methane… our partnerships are helping to rewrite that story—one maggot at a time.”
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