Food waste is a new energy source that ends up decomposing in landfills, in this manner releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Food waste disposal is a difficult process, unlike junk removal, and is not easy to recycle since it contains high levels of sodium, salt, and moisture and is mixed with other waste during collection.
With the emergence of many restaurants, food waste has recently been piling up. The inundation of food waste warrants a system where all of the waste is just leveraged properly.
The food waste management strategy seems to be too pressing because of the increase in food waste.
Food waste is not used properly as an energy source. It is necessary that we find a system that utilizes food waste properly.
There are many methodologies that have been gaining traction in many regions, which we will explore in this article.
Main food waste generators include hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, residential blocks, cafeterias, airline caterers, food processing industries, etc.
Food Waste Management Strategy
The amount of food waste is progressively increasing, and a proper food waste management strategy needs to be developed to ensure its eco-friendly and maintainable disposal.
The two most corporate methods for food waste recycling are,
Composting – An action that breaks down recyclable waste by naturally occurring microorganisms with oxygen in a bounded vessel or tunnel.
Anaerobic digestion (AD) – A treatment that breaks down decomposable waste in the absence of oxygen, producing renewable energy that can be used to generate electricity and heat.
What Is On-Site Food Composting?
Perhaps the eco-friendliest method of food disposal, composting is also one of the oldest methods of food disposal and recycling that we know.
It permits food to decompose naturally and then use that procedure’s results as a fertilizer for current food crops. It is possibly the most ecological method of food disposal.
How Does On-Site Food Composting Work?
Composting is part of science, needing more than just foods to be used.
Newspaper or torn-up cardboard is energetic to balance the compost’s acidity, and heat, soil containing the microorganisms guilty for the decay of the foods, and air are all essential to this process.
Unlike anaerobic digestion, where no oxygen is needed, this aerobic process needs air.
The compost must also have a good balance of water; not enough and the microorganisms will not flourish; too much and they will drown, and the decomposition process will go wrong, producing mound and mildew, which is not supreme.
To circulate enough air and reassure a rapid composting process, the food and paper or wood chips should be alternated, each with a layer of soil in between, and the whole mound should be wisely turned every other day.
In ideal conditions, the composting process can be completed within just a few weeks. The result will be a rich and nourishing fertilizer that can be used on flower beds, vegetable gardens, and planters.
How Much Is Food Waste Recycled In The UK?
Food waste refers to the food or food products that are thrown away as opposed to being consumed. Food waste occurs for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the food has gone out of date, or you simply purchased too much.
However, inappropriate food waste disposal, particularly from large businesses, has massive implications for the environment.
We produce around 10 million tons of food waste in the UK, but only 1.8 million of this waste is recycled.
Waste Reduction At The Source
Waste Audit
A waste audit or analysis can give details about how much you waste or your waste processing practices.
They set a roadmap for the efficiency of each food waste management technique and help you attain the best method. The waste audit actually determines what kind of decision you want to make on food waste and how you can optimize it.
Preparation Waste
The food waste that occurs when you are in the process of preparation is maximum. You have to be aware of how to reduce the waste from food processing. You should also be careful about how you preserve the waste so that it is leveraged to its full potential.
The amount of food waste is calculated and predisposed before the menu is prepared. Food waste like peels is processed as manures to plants, and they help a great deal in cultivation and agriculture.
Conserving Resources And Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Let us discuss all the great benefits of reducing food waste. There are lots of good effects to actually preserving food effectively. It has positive effects on a global level, elevating the standard of lifestyle and the ecosystem as a whole.
Save Resources
When food is wasted, whatever goes with it, including water, gas, oils, and land, also gets squandered. Hence the equal distribution of diversity and resources amongst the species in the world goes for a toss.
This will create an imbalance in the ecosystem and eventually disrupt the whole system altogether.
Greenhouse Gas Emission
Food being wasted also leads to lots of greenhouse gas emissions. Right from the preparation, processing, and disposal of food, all of this results in the emission of greenhouse gases. Hence preventing food wastage is an important concept.
Methane In Landfills
The wasted food eventually deposits itself in the landscape and becomes the remains of landfills. This effect, although sounds innocuous, is a bigger problem because of the methane gas it starts to emit slowly.
The methane might harm the neighborhood or even spoil the atmosphere with a slow effect. Hence wasting food has to be prevented and avoided immediately to reduce the hazards of methane gas.
Returning Nutrients To The Soil
As mentioned before, composting has many advantages. The food wasted will not be absorbed by the mand by any means. Composting could help in a large way.
This will help the fertility of the sand, thereby improving the standard of the crops to give healthy substances that we can consume. It could end up in a good recyclable procedure as what we deposit is going to come back with extra nutrition.
Build Cleaner Societies
Wet waste contributes to massive pollution and takes up about 70% of environmental destruction. Reducing food waste can result in cleaner societies and a healthy environment that benefits people in many ways.
From the air we breathe to the places we inhabit, cleanliness would be a great aid to a better standard of life.
Feed The World
The people who have been struck with poverty are more in number given in any region. The maximum preservation of food could actually benefit these people in a large amount.
This way, there will be a reduction in poverty and a great social solution to aid the underprivileged. Poverty is a burning issue, and every morsel of food given to the poor will help reclaim the upliftment of society.
Saving Money
The economy is the obvious progress when it comes to the reduction of food wastage. Waste less and spending less is definitely a maxim which has to be taken into account in order to improve the status of the economy in the world.
Reduction of food wastage will lead to saving money in a very substantial way.
Conclusion
This article is a clear effort to feed people with awareness regarding food waste disposal and how it affects people. A clear indication of strategies that can be coined for food waste disposal and how they will help us in the long run.
It also has a detailed summary of the benefits of reducing food waste and its impact on our society.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is composting?
An action that breaks down recyclable waste by naturally occurring micro-organisms with oxygen, in a bounded vessel or tunnel.
What is anaerobic digestion?
A treatment that breaks down decomposable waste in the absence of oxygen, producing renewable energy that can be used to generate electricity and heat.
What is on-Site Food Composting?
The eco-friendliest method of food disposal, composting is also one of the oldest methods of food disposal and recycling that we know. It permits food to decompose naturally and then use that procedure’s results as a fertilizer for current food crops.
How Does On-Site Food Composting Work?
Composting is part of science, needing more than just foods to be used. Newspaper or torn-up cardboard is energetic to balance the compost’s acidity and heat, soil containing the micro-organisms guilty for the decay of the foods, and air are all essential to this process.
