Funding Innovation: Halifax’s Zero Waste Insect Production Facility
In early 2025, Divert NS, in collaboration with Oberland Agriscience Inc., hosted a tour of Oberland’s new commercial scale facility in Halifax. Oberland is a Halifax-based life science company founded in 2017 as a sustainable, zero waste, animal and soil nutrition supplement production facility. Oberland transforms organic waste materials such as pre-consumer waste and food and beverage production byproducts into a nutritious insect feed. That feed is used to rear black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) on an industrial scale. Oberland uses innovations such as AI, robotics, and predictive analytics to elevate the power of BSFL, delivering premium, nutrient rich, high quality protein ingredients to advance animal, plant, and soil nutrition.
In 2017, Divert NS provided Oberland with $75,000 through our Value-Added Manufacturing Program to assist the company in scaling their process from the laboratory to a pilot facility. The company recently expanded beyond their pilot facility to open their first commercial scale operation. Divert NS provided an additional $200,000 in funding to support the facility expansion.
Our recent facility tour was attended by Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change personnel, Divert NS Board members, staff, and other partners. Attendees had the opportunity to learn about the process of rearing BSFL and the value that this business brings to Nova Scotia.
Oberland Agriscience estimates they will divert 36,500 tonnes of waste and mitigate 20,797 tonnes of CO2 through their innovative operation. Oberland’s mission to become a zero-waste nutrient producer makes a local impact on the global protein shortage and addresses the food waste challenge in our region. “Insects are natural to many animal diets, especially poultry and fish,” comments Dr. Greg Wanger, Oberland’s Founder and CEO, who is passionate about solving the food waste challenge. “BSFL are voracious eaters and in a period of 10 days can go from hatchling to harvest size on our in-house feed blend.”
“Over 46% of all food in Canada is discarded every year, much of which still has a nutrient value. As the BSFL consume their feed, they store protein, calcium, and a host of nutrients. Once harvested, they are dried to use as a treat in dried whole form, or ground into a nutrient powder for use as an ingredient in animal feed.
During harvesting, we separate the larvae from their waste, known as frass, which has applications as a chemical-free soil amendment. International studies on frass, coupled with our own research, shows the benefits of frass to soil health, plant root growth, pest resilience, and soil water retention.”
Dr. Wanger continued, “Divert NS has been a tremendous partner from the beginning. They understand the truly circular nature of diverting organic materials from landfill or anaerobic digestor and leveraging the power of biology to transform them into nutrient-rich supplements for animal and soil nutrition, creating more resilient local economies.”
To learn more visit oberlandagriscience.com
