Fast Treatment of Food Waste Utilizing a Smart Food Recycle Bin (S‐FRB)

Abstract

AbstractFood waste treatment technology should be simple to maintain, quick, economical, environmentally friendly, and socially acceptable. This research aims to accelerate food waste treatment and produce high‐quality fertilizer using a smart food recycling bin (S‐FRB). S‐FRB is a portable household‐appropriate technology, consisting of a semiautomatic chopper, stirrer, and drying unit. In this smart bin, a highest matrix temperature of 57 °C can be achieved. To start compost production, addition of a combination including a bioactivator (16 g) + dolomite lime (1 g) + bulking agent to the food waste in a ratio of 70:30, v/v is needed. During utilization, the water content decreases from 78.94% to 30% in 7 days, and the pH matrix turns from initially 7.5 to 8.0. Compost produced from food waste using the S‐FRB has matured within 7 days and meets quality standards of SNI 19‐7030‐2004. The produced compost has 18.41% C‐organic, 1.23–1.63% total N, smells like soil, and is black. The used combination of bulking agent/bioactivator/lime is effective for processing food waste into compost. The S‐FRB system is a practical way to solve the problem of recycling food waste into compost without having to be taken to a final processing plant.