Volume Of Food Waste Research Articles

The efficiency of effective microorganism (EM) as catalyst in food waste composting using black soldier fly larvae

Composting is sustainable alternative method which can be utilized to recycle organic wastes. In this research, black soldier fly (BSF) larvae and effective microorganisms (EM) were used together to compost organic waste. This study seeks to investigate the effectiveness of composting food waste using EM together with BSF larvae and to determine whether the growth of BSF larvae is affected by the presence of EM. 5 g of BSF larvae and 300 g of food wastes were put in four different containers with different concentration of EM (0-25%). The larvae were weighed throughout the 13-day experiment, and the changes in food waste volume were recorded to calculate the percentage of frass. Results showed that BSF larvae in the container which has the highest EM concentration (25% EM) produced the highest percentage of compost (89%). Meanwhile, there is a slight difference in the weight of larvae in all samples, where the weight ranges from 5.6 g to 6.5 g. In conclusion, the presence of EM can assist BSF larvae in accelerating the rate of food waste composting.

Food Sharing Platforms: Emerging Evidence from Italian and German Users

Among the most challenging problems of the 21st century, the fight against food waste and losses is still one of the biggest concerns researchers and policy makers are trying to solve. The latest United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)’s report (UNEP, 2021) estimates that around 931 million tons of food waste were generated in 2019, and the majority came from households. As a consequence of the negative social, economic and environmental effects of this phenomenon, numerous actions have been launched by policymakers aiming to try to reduce the volume of food waste also through the donation of surplus food. At the same time, digital transformation and the advent of the sharing economy have boosted the launch of startups with disruptive business models creating a secondary market for the distribution of food surplus, thus trying to spread the practice of sustainable and collaborative consumption. Extant literature on the topic is relatively new. Despite a few recent attempts to study food sharing digital platforms, our knowledge is still limited (either in terms of platforms considered and of users’ nationality). This paper aims therefore at shedding new light on the proposed issue by providing a first attempt to study the behavior of Italian and German users of food sharing digital platforms. Data collected through an ad-hoc developed survey have been analyzed through a cluster analysis and preliminary results about users’ habits discussed. In doing so, we also provide insights about the critical issues that need to be considered to boost the adoption/diffusion of such platforms, i.e. logistics-related problems to reach full extensiveness of the service.

Stakeholders’ Role in the Adoption of Green Practices among Star Rated Hotels along Coastal Kenya: Partnerships and Collaborations

The hospitality and tourism industry is one of the key economic sectors expected to take a leadership role in transforming the emerging green economy. Climate change impacts on ecological sustainability alongside considerable growth in the industry have raised critical concerns through increased emission of greenhouse gases, water, and energy consumption, and vast volumes of food waste. A rapid move from carbon and material-intensive ways of delivering visitor experiences with an emphasis on stakeholder involvement and ecosystem wellbeing makes tourism a leader in transforming the emerging green economy. This paper aims to determine the role of stakeholder engagement in the adoption of green practices by star-rated hotels along the Kenyan Coast. A cross-sectional survey design was applied in this study. Sample hotels for the study were identified using stratified random selection. Stratification of management tiers for selecting general managers and heads of sections was applied. Data from heads of sections were obtained using a semi-structured questionnaire while semi-structured interview schedule was used for general managers. Analysis of data included descriptive statistics in determining the frequencies, means, standard deviations, and percentages for each survey item. One sample t-test was used to test the statistical significance of Likert scale responses. Hypothesis testing was conducted using a multiple linear regression model. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicated that stakeholders’ engagement contributes significantly to the adoption of green practices (p=≤0.000≤0.05). Stakeholder’ engagement was also revealed as a key predictor of adoption of green practices in star rated hotels (β= .760, P - value<0.05). The study concluded that stakeholders’ engagement provide new ideas, define performance indicators for monitoring, auditing, comparison, and reporting green practices adopted by the star-rated hotels. The study recommended that hotel managers, hotel associations, and government agencies need to enhance green practices by strengthening the capacity of existing institutions to partner and collaborate with key stakeholders, mobilize green climate funds, develop and review curricula, training resources, and short courses in hospitality, tourism, and environmental studies.

Environmental management in the hotel and restaurant complex

In the current context, significant changes are taking place in the structure of Ukrainian industry. Powerful productions of some spheres of activity lose their urgency and, on the contrary, acquire the development of power of other branches, namely, craft productions, to the composition of which the company belongs. The result of the activity of the businesses complex is the formation of significant volumes of food waste (about 160 thousand ton), discharges of concentrated wastewater, wastewater discharges. The wastes of the restaurant industry have a wide nomenclature and a specific composition, under the conditions of their placement in the components of the environment form the ecological aspects of the negative effects. Food wastes of facility in this branch contain a significant amount of nutrients, organic substances and require complex processes of their processing. Meanwhile, according to their composition, production wastes can be involved in the transfer process with the removal of secondary raw materials and energy sources. Thus, there is a need to improve existing and new technologies for the transfer of hazardous waste in order to reduce the load on the environment. The results of the analysis of world and domestic developments in the field of technologies for the utilization of food waste allowed to determine the main methodological approaches to the transition. In the case of the utilization of food waste, biotechnological methods represent a significant interest. Thus, the work is devoted to the connection of the actual scientific-practical task, which consists in the scientific substantiation and improvement of the technology of the transfer of the population's needs.

Improvement of Hydrogen Production during Anaerobic Fermentation of Food Waste Leachate by Enriched Bacterial Culture Using Biochar as an Additive.

It has become urgent to develop cost-effective and clean technologies for the rapid and efficient treatment of food waste leachate, caused by the rapid accumulation of food waste volume. Moreover, to face the energy crisis, and to avoid dependence on non-renewable energy sources, the investigation of new sustainable and renewable energy sources from organic waste to energy conversion is an attractive option. Green energy biohydrogen production from food waste leachate, using a microbial pathway, is one of the most efficient technologies, due to its eco-friendly nature and high energy yield. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the ability of an enriched bacterial mixture, isolated from forest soil, to enhance hydrogen production from food waste leachate using biochar. A lab-scale analysis was conducted at 35 °C and at different pH values (4, no adjustment, 6, 6.5, 7, and 7.5) over a period of 15 days. The sample with the enriched bacterial mixture supplemented with an optimum of 10 g/L of biochar showed the highest performance, with a maximum hydrogen yield of 1620 mL/day on day three. The total solid and volatile solid removal rates were 78.5% and 75% after 15 days, respectively. Acetic and butyrate acids were the dominant volatile fatty acids produced during the process, as favorable metabolic pathways for accelerating hydrogen production.

The efficiency of potential food waste-degrading bacteria under harsh conditions.

Investigate the impact of highly adapted bacterial strains and their ability in waste degradation under a wide range of temperatures. Bacteria isolated from soil and food waste were grown in various media under fluctuated temperatures. After screening for organic compound degradation, the seven strongest bacterial strains have been selected for further experiments. Their enzyme activities were expressed in terms of the size of the hydrolysis zone in a wide temperature range of 2·5-70°C. The enzyme production assay was carried out for each protease, cellulase and amylase. The waste degradation was determined with a maximum 80% decrease in the volume of food waste in 21days compared to the control in lab scale with enriched bacterial cultures and soil bacteria as additives at room temperature around 18-20°C. These seven bacteria are promising candidates for food waste biodegradation in composting especially in the winter without heating expense for maintaining ambient temperature. It is necessary to coax the uncultured bacteria from the various environments into the laboratory for investigating their valuable functions. Herein, using enrichment culture of consortium and additive of soil has illustrated the significant mean in food waste degradation.

Energy from food waste

Energy from food waste

Preventing food waste in subsidy-based university dining systems: An artificial neural network-aided model under uncertainty.

Food waste planning at universities is often a complex matter due to the large volume of food and variety of services. A major portion of university food waste arises from dining systems including meal booking and distribution. Although dining systems have a significant role in generating food wastes, few studies have designed prediction models that could control such wastes based on reservation data and behavior of students at meal delivery times. To fill this gap, analyzing meal booking systems at universities, the present study proposed a new model based on machine learning to reduce the food waste generated at major universities that provide food subsidies. Students' reservation and their presence or absence at the dining hall (show/no-show rate) at mealtime were incorporated in data analysis. Given the complexity of the relationship between the attributes and the uncertainty observed in user behavior, a model was designed to analyze definite and random components of demand. An artificial neural network-based model designed for demand prediction provided a two-step prediction approach to dealing with uncertainty in actual demand. In order to estimate the lowest total cost based on the cost of waste and the shortage penalty cost, an uncertainty-based analysis was conducted at the final step of the research. This study formed a framework that could reduce the food waste volume by up to 79% and control the penalty and waste cost in the case study. The model was investigated with cost analysis and the results proved its efficiency in reducing total cost.

Air versus Water Chilling of Chicken: a Pilot Study of Quality, Shelf-Life, Microbial Ecology, and Economics.

ABSTRACTThe United States’ large-scale poultry meat industry is energy and water intensive, and opportunities may exist to improve sustainability during the broiler chilling process. By USDA regulation, after harvest the internal temperature of the chicken must be reduced to 40°F or less within 16 h to inhibit bacterial growth that would otherwise compromise the safety of the product. This step is accomplished most commonly by water immersion chilling in the United States, while air chilling methods dominate other global markets. A comprehensive understanding of the differences between these chilling methods is lacking. Therefore, we assessed the meat quality, shelf-life, microbial ecology, and techno-economic impacts of chilling methods on chicken broilers in a university meat laboratory setting. We discovered that air chilling methods resulted in superior chicken odor and shelf-life, especially prior to 14 days of dark storage. Moreover, we demonstrated that air chilling resulted in a more diverse microbiome that we hypothesize may delay the dominance of the spoilage organism Pseudomonas. Finally, a techno-economic analysis highlighted potential economic advantages to air chilling compared to water chilling in facility locations where water costs are a more significant factor than energy costs.IMPORTANCE As the poultry industry works to become more sustainable and to reduce the volume of food waste, it is critical to consider points in the processing system that can be altered to make the process more efficient. In this study, we demonstrate that the method used during chilling (air versus water chilling) influences the final product microbial community, quality, and physiochemistry. Notably, the use of air chilling appears to delay the bloom of Pseudomonas spp. that are the primary spoilers in packaged meat products. By using air chilling to reduce carcass temperatures instead of water chilling, producers may extend the time until spoilage of the products and, depending on the cost of water in the area, may have economic and sustainability advantages. As a next step, a similar experiment should be done in an industrial setting to confirm these results generated in a small-scale university lab facility.

All you can eat or all you can waste? Effects of alternate serving styles and inducements on food waste in buffet restaurants

ABSTRACT Consumer plate waste is a pressing environmental concern. Scholars hypothesize that moral and financial inducements have the potential to reduce food waste at the end of the meal. This study addresses this hypothesis for buffet restaurants, a popular dining option in Asia. ‘All-you-can-eat' consumption leads to higher volumes of food waste at the end of the meal, as the leftovers may not be taken away. This study is the first attempt to examine the effect of the combination of serving styles (self-service buffet bar vs. rolling cart) and inducements (both moral and financial) on food waste, employing a field experiment method. Bulk food waste was recorded for a total of 630 participants. The results provide evidence that there is a significant interaction between serving styles and inducements on food waste volume (Study 1 and Study 2). Specifically, the results indicate that buffet self-service combined with moral persuasion and a discount produces the least food waste (Study 3). Restaurants can employ a variety of methods to address the problem of plate waste by their customers, including serving styles, moral persuasion, and financial inducements in the form of discounts as a reward for eating all that one takes at the buffet bar.

Solid-state anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and cardboard in a pilot-scale auto-fed continuous stirred tank reactor system

Abstract Increasing volume of Food waste (FW) and cardboard (CB) which are the two major fractions of municipal solid waste increases environmental concerns. This study evaluated the performance of a pilot-scale auto-fed continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) system for the solid-state anaerobic co-digestion (ACoD) of acetic acid rich food waste (FW) and cardboard (CB). The objective to co-digest acids rich FW and CB originates from the fact that acetic acid can act as a pre-treatment agent. Can the frequency of feeding and feeding pattern assists the system to withstand an organic loading rate >4 g volatile solids (VS)/(L.d) without addition of any pH boosting chemicals? Four mixing ratios of 100:0, 80:20, 60:40, 50:50 (v/v %) of FW and CB on biogas yield and process stability at an OLR > 4 g VS/(L.d) at a hydraulic residence time (HRT) of 40 d was investigated. Results revealed that the reactor R1 operated with FW:CB in the ratio of 100:0 achieved 76% biodegradability (the ratio of experimental to theoretical methane yield) while it was 39%, 32% and 22% for FW:CB ratios of 80:20, 60:40 and 50:50, respectively. This study concludes that exposing the CB to acetic acid-rich FW assisted the disintegration and depolymerization of CB without any pre-treatment step. Micro-feeding the reactor on an hourly basis assisted to overcome the susceptible failure of the system. The outcomes of this study provides new insight into the potential of implementing decentralized AD units for the treatment of FW and CB at source, which not only diverts waste from landfills but creates a revenue model through bioenergy generation and digestate sales.

Anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste generated from Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE) cafeteria for lactic acid production

Due to accelerated economic growth and increased food production, per capita rate of waste generation is also increasing in Bangladesh. Being the ninth most populous and twelfth most densely populated country in the world, Bangladesh will face serious crisis in both food scarcity as well as food loss if food wastage problem is not addressed. At household level, 5.5 percent food is wasted on daily basis. Due to its large volume, the disposal of food waste will be a major problem. Production of Organic acid from kitchen waste via anaerobic digestion can eliminate both waste pollution problem and high cost production of organic acid. Such organic acid can be used in food and beverages, cosmetics, and detergent industries. The present study was undertaken to convert kitchen waste generated from cafeteria of Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE), Savar, Dhaka into lactic acid using natural microflora. The number of indigenous microflora in kitchen waste were found to be 1.25×107 cfu/mL and pH range of 5.0-6.0. The ratio of rice, meat and vegetables in the kitchen waste was found to be 3:1:1. Kitchen waste was found to contain approximately 19.03% protein, 3.2% fat and 1.5% ash. Anaerobic digestion was carried out in shake flasks at various initial pH (5.0, 6.0 and 7.0) and different temperature (30℃, 37℃ and 45℃) for 96 hours. Highest lactic acid from Kitchen waste was produced (24.00 g/L) at 24 h at initially adjusted pH-7.0. An attempt to recover Lactic acid from fermented broth was conducted using rotary evaporation at 100℃ and at (60-65) cm. Hg vac. The results indicated that, the volume of food waste can be greatly reduced and can be converted into value-added products such as lactic acid via anaerobic fermentation.
 Asian Australas. J. Biosci. Biotechnol. 2020, 5 (3), 88-99

Comparison of two measures for assessing the volume of food waste in Swiss households

The huge amount of food wasted at the consumer or household level has severe environmental and economic consequences. In the present work, we compared two self-report measures for the assessment of food waste quantities at the household level in Switzerland. Participants (N = 223) were asked to complete an online food waste questionnaire (FWQ), in which they were instructed to report the average amount of food waste produced in their households. In the second step, participants were asked to maintain a food waste diary (FWD) for 21 days. They were instructed to write down all food waste items, including their relative amounts, as well as the reason and method for their disposal. Using correlation and regression analyses, we found that the amount of food waste reported on the FWQ and in the FWD were highly correlated, revealing similar patterns in terms of their psychological predictors. In the context of the range of different methods available for the assessment of household food waste, our study has provided valuable insights into two of the most used self-report measures. Similarities between and limitations of the methods have also been discussed. This knowledge can be used to contextualise the available results, to design future studies, and ultimately, to help develop intervention strategies to reduce household food waste.

A review on the valorisation of food waste as a nutrient source and soil amendment.

Valorisation of food waste offers an economical and environmental opportunity, which can reduce the problems of its conventional disposal. Food waste is commonly disposed of in landfills or incinerated, causing many environmental, social, and economic issues. Large amounts of food waste are produced in the food supply chain of agriculture: production, post-harvest, distribution (transport), processing, and consumption. Food waste can be valorised into a range of products, including biofertilisers, bioplastics, biofuels, chemicals, and nutraceuticals. Conversion of food waste into these products can reduce the demand of fossil-derived products, which have historically contributed to large amounts of pollution. The variety of food chain suppliers offers a wide range of feedstocks that can be physically, chemically, or biologically altered to form an array of biofertilisers and soil amendments. Composting and anaerobic digestion are the main large-scale conversion methods used today to valorise food waste products to biofertilisers and soil amendments. However, emerging conversion methods such as dehydration, biochar production, and chemical hydrolysis have promising characteristics, which can be utilised in agriculture as well as for soil remediation. Valorising food waste into biofertilisers and soil amendments has great potential to combat land degradation in agricultural areas. Biofertilisers are rich in nutrients that can reduce the dependability of using conventional mineral fertilisers. Food waste products, unlike mineral fertilisers, can also be used as soil amendments to improve productivity. These characteristics of food wastes assist in the remediation of contaminated soils. This paper reviews the volume of food waste within the food chain and types of food waste feedstocks that can be valorised into various products, including the conversion methods. Unintended consequences of the utilisation of food waste as biofertilisers and soil-amendment products resulting from their relatively low concentrations of trace element nutrients and presence of potentially toxic elements are also evaluated.

Analysis of Drying Characteristics and Cost of High-Capacity Vacuum-Drying Food Waste Disposal System Using Steam

This study was conducted to develop a high-capacity vacuum-drying food waste disposal system that uses steam and to identify its drying characteristics and cost through an experiment. A drying system with a drying capacity of 10,000 kg/h was fabricated that used the steam generated by a boiler as a drying heat source. Its performance was verified, and the drying cost was analyzed through a drying experiment in which water and mixtures (sawdust, flour, and water) were used as experimental materials. The results of the drying experiment showed that the input steam temperature was 193.2 °C, and that the average drying speeds were 19.65%/h for water and 3.89%/h for the mixtures. The drying speed increased as the drying progressed, and it reached a moisture content of 20% (wb) or less after drying without a drying delay caused by moisture condensation. The drying energy rate that represents the ratio of the drying energy consumption to the input energy was as high as 88.90% for water and 99.23% for the mixtures, on average. The total drying time was 5.5 h for water and 18.5 h for the mixtures on average, which were significantly shorter compared with that of the hot-air drying method. The drying speed, water content after drying, drying energy rate, and total drying time were significantly improved compared with those of the case of converting steam to hot air when the boiler steam was directly used as a drying heat source for the disposal of large-volume food waste with high water content. The drying cost was also not significantly different from that of the methods that use electricity or gas as a heat source, indicating that the developed system can be used for the disposal of large volumes of food waste.

Management of Fruit Industrial By-Products-A Case Study on Circular Economy Approach.

The management of industrial fruit by-products is important not only to decrease the volume of food waste accumulated in the landfills but also to develop strategies through reuse with the purpose to valorise and add economic value. The disposal of food waste leads to different global issues in different sectors, such as social, environmental and economical. These by-products represent a rich source of valuable compounds (polyphenols) with high antioxidant activity, which can be extracted through biotechnological methodologies for future industrial applications. In this context, the management of fruit by-products is challenged to move from a linear economy to a circular economy. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to provide a critical view of an integrated valorisation of fruit by-products to overcome a global issue, via the production of antioxidant extracts with high economic value. A case study of pineapple processing industrialization in a circular economy is explored and discussed.

Variability in commercial and institutional food waste generation and implications for sustainable management systems

Disposing food waste in landfills leads to significant greenhouse gas emissions and lost economic and environmental resources, motivating the need for alternative treatment processes to convert waste to energy and value-added products. Developing the networks and infrastructure required to make these processes economically viable depends on high quality information about the volume and characteristics of food waste requiring treatment. Traditionally, food waste generation estimates have come from limited empirical studies and theoretical tools that predict the volume of food waste that will result from different types and intensities of economic activity. Resulting estimations are quick and don’t require extensive investment to collect, but only provide single, static snapshots of expected waste generation. In reality, however, food waste would vary depending on the season, geography, and type and magnitude of the waste generating activity. This study provides an analysis of this potential variability using empirical data from commercial and institutional food waste generators in New York State and a publicly available database of food waste estimates. Results show that 57 % of food waste generated within the region comes from only 4 % of commercial facilities. Moreover, statewide generation varies monthly by approximately 37 % and significantly across different regions due to concentrations of facility locations. Study findings underscore how policy or facility siting decisions based on a single, static food waste estimation may not capture the full complexity of food waste management. Future work can improve common estimation approaches and methods for collecting empirical data to support robust policy.

Food waste and the embedded phosphorus footprint in China

The increasing food waste volume causes inadequate resource usage and results in partially avoidable environmental degradation. Although previous research has developed cost-effective processes for food waste treatment, the significance of embedded resources in food waste, especially the unreplaceable and depleting phosphorus, has been overlooked. This paper quantifies food waste in China at the provincial level by considering both at-home and away-from-home consumption, where phosphorus loss factor derived from substance flow analysis will be used to estimate phosphorus loss along the food supply chain. The results provide meaningful information regarding the volume and composition of food waste, as well as its impact on phosphorus resource and the environment at the provincial level. The calculation confirmed that at-table food waste was 53.7 million tons in 2015, while the embedded phosphorus was 86,300 tons. The off-table phosphorus loss was then back-calculated along the food supply chain, showing a total phosphorus loss of 424,400 tons, which was equivalent to 16.4% of the total mineral phosphate fertilizer consumption in China. Given China’s importance on the global food cycle, effective phosphorus management along the food supply chain, at-table food waste minimization and phosphorus recovery are recommended to close the current imbalanced phosphorus cycle.

Food waste volume and composition in households in Greece

<p>The purpose of this paper is the presentation of the results compiled from self weighing of household food waste and self filling of waste collection diaries that took place in Greece. A diary was compiled and given to 101 urban households in various areas of the country. The participants were asked to weigh and write down in the diary every food item wasted in their households for two full weeks (i.e., 14 days). The total per capita food waste generation in Greece is estimated to be 76.1 (±68.3) kg/inh.y. This figure is divided into the avoided food waste fraction which equals to 25.9 (±34.9) kg/inh.y, and the unavoidable fraction which is estimated to be 50.2 (±47.1) kg/inh.y. The use of diaries for recording food that is thrown away from households is a methodology that underestimates the food wasted in households because households tend to be cautious when they know that they have to weigh and report the amount of food that they throw away. The current research is the first of its kind, presenting actual field data for food waste generation by households in Greece.</p>

Exploring the Landscape of Innovative “from Food to Feed” Strategies: A Review

The identification of new strategies to prevent or at least reduce the volume of food waste needs to consider a wide range of solutions and priorities that EU policy is recently implementing. Based on the principles of the circular economy, one of the most promising solutions is to prevent food losses turning into waste by working synergistically on different action points. Amongst them, the strategy of repurposing food waste through conversion in a safe and sustainable feed product is acquiring huge interest amongst scientists and policy makers. In this context, the aim of the work is to depict the landscape of the existent solutions for the valorisation of food waste for animal feeding, through a systematic review of the literature, to answer the following three research questions: 1) To what extent is the interest of the academic research increasing, in line with the priorities of the international political agenda? 2) Which kinds of approaches have been used to explore this issue? 3) What type of solutions is the scientific literature able to propose to support policy makers in setting the strategies for the re‐use of food waste as animal feed? A set of keywords has been applied for the search in the “Topic” option of the Web of Science Core Collection resulting in 114 references. The application of filters for the identification of the relevant papers led to a final dataset composed of 31 scientific studies. Papers have been coded according to the nature of the study, namely theoretical or experimental, the source and the type of food waste considered, the type of technology used to process food waste (if any) and the destination of the final product. The literature suggests that the most positive aspect related to these practices is the low environmental impact, while the most critical issue regards compliance with the EU legal framework that is strictly dependent on the composition of the wasted food. The analysis revealed a growing interest in this field of research, with a great focus on the estimation of the environmental impact but few studies targeted on the assessment of the economic dimension.