Gerze Municipality Turns Leftover Food into Food for Street Animals with an OCTOEN Machine

In July 2026, Gerze Municipality in Sinop, Türkiye, started up a machine installed for its animal shelter. The machine was built by OCTOEN. Leftover food and bones, collected under suitable conditions from restaurants, businesses and homes, are processed in it and turned into food for the street animals living at the municipal shelter.

Close to 700 animals at the shelter

According to local press, the shelter cares for more than 650 dogs and more than 50 cats, and food was a significant cost in the municipal budget. The machine was bought through a public tender. A bone-crushing machine the municipality put into service earlier lets bones from butchers go into the food as well, and the municipality asks residents to bring suitable food leftovers from their homes.

Less waste, food for the shelter

The project meets two needs at once. Usable food waste is put to use instead of being thrown away, which cuts food waste and supports Zero Waste goals. At the same time, the shelter gets an affordable, sustainable source of food for its animals.

In its statement, the municipality put it this way: "By turning waste into food, we protect the environment and improve the living conditions of our animals. With this practice, we aim to prevent waste and build a sustainable production model."

Handling organic waste where it is produced

OCTOEN designs systems that process organic waste where it is produced and builds them in our own factory. Our composters run in restaurant kitchens, on university campuses and at many other sites. The Gerze project shows that the same approach can also deliver a social benefit for a municipality.

Read the original story (in Turkish) on Anka Haber, or see more projects on our references page.