Video shot and edited by Nathan Fitch. (video link)

New York City is doing what it can to be more eco-friendly. We’re not just talking recycling plastic bottles or taxing plastic bags; we’re also talking about behind-the-scenes efforts that tackle waste before it hits the streets. Starting July 19, 2016, many hotels, wholesalers, and other large vendors in New York City will be required to separate their organic waste and recycle it. Businesses can dispose of the waste themselves, or they can coordinate a pick-up from a third party.

Another option is for the businesses to process the waste on-site, which means recycling it on their own. That’s where the ORCA comes in—ORCAs are big, steel machines that basically eat and digest organic waste. Using continuous motion and waste-eating biochips, all of the food remnants and organic matter dumped into an ORCA are processed down to slightly murky water that’s then pushed into the sewer system.