Food Waste Avoidance Actions in Food Retailing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kulikovskaja, Viktorija; Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica

2017-01-01

Food waste occurs throughout the entire food supply chain, from production to consumption of food in households. Retailers are in a unique position to contribute to food waste avoidance, not only by minimizing the amount of waste in their distribution channels but also by influencing consumer...... attitudes and behaviors. This explorative study aims to identify which food waste avoidance actions are conducted by retailers in Denmark, to which extent, and how they vary across food categories and supermarket chain. Based on an analysis of secondary and empirical data collected via observations...... at retail stores, the authors identify 22 food waste avoidance actions in Danish retail. The results provide new insights into food waste avoidance in retail. Based on the findings, suggestions for further research directions are developed that should serve to identify the most efficient customer targeted...

The global potential of local peri-urban food production

Science.gov (United States)

Kriewald, Steffen; Garcia Cantu Ros, Anselmo; Sterzel, Till; Kropp, Jürgen P.

2013-04-01

One big challenge for the rest of the 21st century will be the massive urbanisation. It is expected that more than 7 out of 10 persons will live in a city by the year 2050. Crucial developments towards a sustainable future will therefore take place in cities. One important approach for a sustainable city development is to re-localize food production and to close urban nutrient cycles through better waste management. The re-location of food production avoids CO2 emissions from transportation of food to cities and can also generate income for inhabitants. Cities are by definition locations where fertility accumulates. As cities are often built along rivers, their soils are often fertile. Furthermore, labour force and the possibility of producing fertilizer from human fecal matter within the city promises sustainable nutrients cycles. Although urban and peri-urban agriculture can be found in many cities worldwide and already have a substantial contribution to food supply, it has not jet been comprehensibly structured by research. We combine several worldwide data sets to determine the supply of cities with regional food production, where regional is defined as a production that occurs very close to the consumption within the peri-urban area. Therefore, urban areas are not defined by administrative boundaries but by connected built-up urban areas, and peri-urban area by the surrounding area with the same size multiplied with a scaling parameter. Both together accumulate to an urban-bio-region (UBR). With regard to national food consumption, a linear program achieves the best possible yield on agricultural areas and allows the computation of the fraction of population, which can be nourished. Additionally, several climate scenarios and different dietary patterns were considered. To close the gap between single case studies and to provide a quantitative overview of the global potential of peri-urban food production we used high resolution land-use data Global Land Cover

Characterization and energy potential of food waste from catering service in Hangzhou, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Xiao-Hui; Sun, Fa-Qian; Sun, Ying-Jun; Lu, Hao-Hao; Wu, Wei-Xiang

2014-08-01

Safe disposal of food waste is becoming an impending issue in China with the rapid increase of its production and the promotion of environmental awareness. Food waste from catering services in Hangzhou, China, was surveyed and characterized in this study. A questionnaire survey involving 632 units across the urban districts showed that 83.5% of the food waste was not properly treated. Daily food waste production from catering units was estimated to be 1184.5 tonnes. The ratio of volatile solid to total solid, easily biodegradable matter (including crude fat, crude protein and total starch) content in total solid and the ratio of total organic carbon to nitrogen varied in ranges of 90.1%-93.9%, 60.9%-72.1%, and 11.9-19.9, respectively. Based on the methane yield of 350 mL g VS(-1) in anaerobic batch tests, annual biogas energy of 1.0 × 10(9) MJ was estimated to be recovered from the food waste. Food waste from catering services was suggested to be an attractive clean energy source by anaerobic digestion. © The Author(s) 2014.

Consumer-Related Food Waste

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica; Hooge, Ilona de; Normann, Anne

2016-01-01

Food waste has received increasing attention in recent years. As part of their corporate social responsibility strategies, food supply chain actors have started to act towards avoiding and reducing food waste. Based on a literature review, an expert interview study, and example cases, we discuss...... food marketing and the role and responsibility of retail. Food marketing and retailing contribute to consumer-related food waste via decisions on date labeling, packaging sizes and design elements, and pricing strategies encouraging overpurchase, as well as communication shifting consumer priorities...... to the disadvantage of food waste avoidance. Potential actions to tackle food waste relate to improved packaging and information, altering pricing strategies, and cooperation with other actors across the supply chain. Three cases highlight the extent to which moral and strategic motives are interlinked...

Consumer food waste in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stancu, Violeta; Lähteenmäki, Liisa

Linket til højre henviser til rapporten i trykt format til download. Dokumentet over linket er selve leveringen til ministeriet med følgebrev. Household food waste is one of the main contributors to the food waste amounts across the food supply chain. This report is based on a study conducted...... in September 2017 by MAPP Research Centre – Research on Value Creation in the Food Sector. The study aimed to examine consumer food waste, with a focus on consumer perceptions and practices related to food waste. A survey was completed by 508 respondents in Denmark to provide insights into self......-reported consumer food waste, consumer understanding and perceptions of food waste, household food-related practices as well as individual and household characteristics with a role in food waste....

Costs of food waste in South Africa: Incorporating inedible food waste

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

De Lange, Willem J

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The economic, social and environmental costs of food waste are being increasingly recognised. Food waste consists of both edible and inedible components. Whilst wastage of edible food is problematic for obvious reasons, there are also costs...

A new strategy to maximize organic matter valorization in municipalities: Combination of urban wastewater with kitchen food waste and its treatment with AnMBR technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Moñino, P; Aguado, D; Barat, R; Jiménez, E; Giménez, J B; Seco, A; Ferrer, J

2017-04-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of treating the kitchen food waste (FW) jointly with urban wastewater (WW) in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) by anaerobic membrane technology (AnMBR). The experience was carried out in six different periods in an AnMBR pilot-plant for a total of 536days, varying the SRT, HRT and the food waste penetration factor (PF) of food waste disposers. The results showed increased methane production of up to 190% at 70days SRT, 24h HRT and 80% PF, compared with WW treatment only. FW COD and biodegradability were higher than in WW, so that the incorporation of FW into the treatment increases the organic load and the methane production and reduces sludge production (0.142 vs 0.614kgVSSkgremovedCOD -1 , at 70days SRT, 24h HRT and 80% PF, as compared to WW treatment only). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantifying food waste in Hawaii's food supply chain.

Science.gov (United States)

Loke, Matthew K; Leung, PingSun

2015-12-01

Food waste highlights a considerable loss of resources invested in the food supply chain. While it receives a lot of attention in the global context, the assessment of food waste is deficient at the sub-national level, owing primarily to an absence of quality data. This article serves to explore that gap and aims to quantify the edible weight, economic value, and calorie equivalent of food waste in Hawaii. The estimates are based on available food supply data for Hawaii and the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) loss-adjusted food availability data for defined food groups at three stages of the food supply chain. At its highest aggregated level, we estimate Hawaii's food waste generation at 237,122 t or 26% of available food supply in 2010. This is equivalent to food waste of 161.5 kg per person, per annum. Additionally, this food waste is valued at US$1.025 billion annually or the equivalent of 502.6 billion calories. It is further evident that the occurrence of food waste by all three measures is highest at the consumer stage, followed by the distribution and retail stage, and is lowest at the post-harvest and packing stage. The findings suggest that any meaningful intervention to reduce food waste in Hawaii should target the consumer, and distribution and retail stages of the food supply chain. Interventions at the consumer stage should focus on the two protein groups, as well as fresh fruits and fresh vegetables. © The Author(s) 2015.

Phosphorus flows in a peri-urban region with intensive food production: A case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bittman, S; Sheppard, S C; Poon, D; Hunt, D E

2017-02-01

Excess phosphorus (P) in peri-urban regions is an emerging issue, whereas there is global depletion of quality mined supplies of P. The flow of P across the landscape leading to regional surpluses and deficits is not well understood. We computed a regional P budget with internal P flows in a fairly discreet peri-urban region (Lower Fraser Valley, BC) with closely juxtaposed agricultural and non-agricultural urban ecosystems, in order to clarify the relationship between food production, food consumption and other activities involving use of P (e.g. keeping pets and horses and using soaps). We hypothesized changes that might notably improve P efficiency in peri-urban settings and wider regions. Livestock feed for the dairy and poultry sectors was the largest influx of P: the peri-urban land is too limited to grow feed grains and they are imported from outside the region. Fertilizer and import of food were the next largest influxes of P and a similar amount of P flows as food from the agricultural to urban ecosystems. Export of horticultural crops (berries and greenhouse crops) and poultry represented agricultural effluxes that partially offset the influxes. P efficiency was lower for horticultural production (21%) than animal production (32%), the latter benefited from importing feed crops, suggesting a regional advantage for animal products. There was 2.0, 3.8, 5.7 and 5.6 tonnes imported P per $ million farm cash receipts for horticulture, dairy, poultry meat and eggs. Eliminating fertilizer for corn and grass would reduce the ratio for the dairy industry. The net influx, dominated by fertilizer, animal feed and food was 8470 tonnes P per year or 3.2 kg P per person per year, and of this the addition to agricultural soils was 3650 tonnes P. The efflux in sewage effluent to the sea was 1150 tonnes P and exported sewage solids was 450 tonnes P. Municipal solid waste disposal was most difficult to quantify and was about 1800 tonnes P, 80% of which was partly reused

Avoiding food waste by Romanian consumers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stefan, Violeta; van Herpen, Erica; Tudoran, Ana Alina

2013-01-01

of disapproval towards food waste, and perceived behavioural control on consumers’ self-reported food waste. Results show that consumers’ planning and shopping routines are important predictors of food waste. Planning and shopping routines are determined by moral attitudes towards food waste and perceived......Food waste is generated in immense amounts across the food life cycle, imposing serious environmental, social and economic consequences. Although consumers are the single biggest contributor to this volume, little is known about the drivers of food waste in households. This exploratory study aims...... to investigate the role of food choices and other food-related activities in producing food waste. A survey of 244 Romanian consumers examined the influence of intentions not to waste food, planning and shopping routines, as well as moral attitudes and lack of concern towards wasting food, a subjective norm...

Introducing Urban Food Forestry: A Multifunctional Strategy for Enhancing Urban Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Nicholas, K. A.; Clark, K.

2012-12-01

We propose combining elements of urban agriculture and urban forestry into what we call "urban food forestry" (UFF), the practice of growing perennial woody food-producing species ("food trees") in cities. We used four approaches at different scales to gauge the potential of UFF to enhance urban sustainability, in the context of trends including increasing urbanization, resource demands, and climate change. First, we analyzed 37 current international initiatives based around urban food trees, finding that core activities included planting, mapping, and harvesting food trees, but that only about a quarter of initiatives engaged in more than one of these activities necessary to fully utilize the food potential of urban trees. Second, we analyzed 30 urban forestry master plans, finding that only 13% included human food security among their objectives. Third, we used Burlington, Vermont as a case study to quantify the potential caloric output of publicly accessible open space if planted with Malus domestica (the common apple) under 9 different scenarios. We found that the entire caloric deficit of the very low food security population could be met on as few as 29 hectares (representing 16% of total open space), and that 98% of the daily recommended minimum intake of fruit for the entire city's population could be met under the most ambitious planting scenario. Finally, we developed a decision-making tool for selecting potential food trees appropriate for temperate urban environments, the Climate-Food-Species Matrix. We identified a total of 70 species, 30 of which we deemed "highly suitable" for urban food forestry based on their cold hardiness, drought tolerance, and edibility. We conclude that urban food forestry provides multiple pathways for building urban sustainability through local food production, and that our framework can be used to increase the coordination between and effectiveness of a growing number of related initiatives.

The impact of food preservation on food waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Martindale, Wayne; Schiebel, Walter

2017-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relationship between food preservation and reducing consumer waste is of value in developing sustainable meal options. The research reports insights into Austrian marketplace for frozen and fresh foods that have been obtained from a consumer survey. The consumer survey methodologies indicate how preservation can change meal planning and lower food waste across frozen and fresh and ambient food purchases using freezing preservation methods. The results show food waste can be reduced by six-fold when frozen foods are compared with fresh foods. This study highlights the requirement for a greater understanding of the probability that specific foods will be wasted with respect to the frequency of purchase. This is a limitation of the current study that has been investigated by other researchers. This research has enabled the identification of different food waste amounts for different food product categories. The data presented could be used to guide food product development so that less consumer waste is produced. The research suggests a decision matrix approach can be used to can guide new product development and a model of this matrix is presented so that it may provide fit-for-purpose food preservation options for consumers. This paper will continue to highlight the overlooked value of food preservation during processing and manufacturing of foods and their preparation in households.

Food-Processing Wastes.

Science.gov (United States)

Frenkel, Val S; Cummings, Gregg A; Maillacheruvu, K Y; Tang, Walter Z

2017-10-01

Literature published in 2016 and early 2017 related to food processing wastes treatment for industrial applications are reviewed. This review is a subsection of the Treatment Systems section of the annual Water Environment Federation literature review and covers the following food processing industries and applications: general, meat and poultry, fruits and vegetables, dairy and beverage, and miscellaneous treatment of food wastes.

Elements affecting food waste in the food service sector.

Science.gov (United States)

Heikkilä, Lotta; Reinikainen, Anu; Katajajuuri, Juha-Matti; Silvennoinen, Kirsi; Hartikainen, Hanna

2016-10-01

Avoidable food waste is produced in the food service sector, with significant ecological and economical impacts. In order to understand and explain better the complex issue of food waste a qualitative study was conducted on the reasons for its generation in restaurants and catering businesses. Research data were collected during three participatory workshops for personnel from three different catering sector companies in Finland. Based on synthesized qualitative content analysis, eight elements influencing production and reduction of food waste were identified. Results revealed the diversity of managing food waste in the food service sector and how a holistic approach is required to prevent and reduce it. It is crucial to understand that food waste is manageable and should be an integral component of the management system. The model of eight factors provides a framework for recognition and management of food waste in the food service sector. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Source segregation and food waste prevention activities in high-density households in a deprived urban area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rispo, A.; Williams, I.D.; Shaw, P.J.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Study of waste management in economically and socially deprived high-density housing. • Food waste segregation, prevention and recycling activities investigated. • Study involved a waste audit and household survey of 1034 households. • Populations in such areas are “hard-to-reach”. • Exceptional efforts and additional resources are required to improve performance. - Abstract: A waste audit and a household questionnaire survey were conducted in high-density housing estates in one of the most economically and socially deprived areas of England (Haringey, London). Such areas are under-represented in published research. The study examined source segregation, potential participation in a food waste segregation scheme, and food waste prevention activities in five estates (1034 households). The results showed that: contamination of recyclables containers was low; ca. 28% of the mixed residual waste’s weight was recyclable; food waste comprised a small proportion of the waste from these residents, probably because of their relatively disadvantaged economic circumstances; and the recycling profile reflected an intermittent pattern of behaviour. Although the majority of respondents reported that they would participate in a food waste separation scheme, the response rate was low and many responses of “don’t know” were recorded. Municipalities committed to foster improved diversion from landfill need to recognise that there is no “quick and easy fix”, regardless of local or national aspirations. Lasting and sustained behaviour change requires time and the quality of service provision and associated infrastructure play a fundamental role in facilitating residents to participate effectively in waste management activities that maximise capture of source-segregated materials. Populations in deprived areas that reside in high-rise, high-density dwellings are “hard-to-reach” in terms of participation in recycling schemes and exceptional

Source segregation and food waste prevention activities in high-density households in a deprived urban area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rispo, A.; Williams, I.D., E-mail: idw@soton.ac.uk; Shaw, P.J.

2015-10-15

Highlights: • Study of waste management in economically and socially deprived high-density housing. • Food waste segregation, prevention and recycling activities investigated. • Study involved a waste audit and household survey of 1034 households. • Populations in such areas are “hard-to-reach”. • Exceptional efforts and additional resources are required to improve performance. - Abstract: A waste audit and a household questionnaire survey were conducted in high-density housing estates in one of the most economically and socially deprived areas of England (Haringey, London). Such areas are under-represented in published research. The study examined source segregation, potential participation in a food waste segregation scheme, and food waste prevention activities in five estates (1034 households). The results showed that: contamination of recyclables containers was low; ca. 28% of the mixed residual waste’s weight was recyclable; food waste comprised a small proportion of the waste from these residents, probably because of their relatively disadvantaged economic circumstances; and the recycling profile reflected an intermittent pattern of behaviour. Although the majority of respondents reported that they would participate in a food waste separation scheme, the response rate was low and many responses of “don’t know” were recorded. Municipalities committed to foster improved diversion from landfill need to recognise that there is no “quick and easy fix”, regardless of local or national aspirations. Lasting and sustained behaviour change requires time and the quality of service provision and associated infrastructure play a fundamental role in facilitating residents to participate effectively in waste management activities that maximise capture of source-segregated materials. Populations in deprived areas that reside in high-rise, high-density dwellings are “hard-to-reach” in terms of participation in recycling schemes and exceptional

Use of food waste, fish waste and food processing waste for China's aquaculture industry: Needs and challenge.

Science.gov (United States)

Mo, Wing Yin; Man, Yu Bon; Wong, Ming Hung

2018-02-01

China's aquaculture industry is growing dramatically in recent years and now accounts for 60.5% of global aquaculture production. Fish protein is expected to play an important role in China's food security. Formulated feed has become the main diet of farmed fish. The species farmed have been diversified, and a large amount of 'trash fish' is directly used as feed or is processed into fishmeal for fish feed. The use of locally available food waste as an alternative protein source for producing fish feed has been suggested as a means of tackling the problem of sourcing safe and sustainable feed. This paper reviews the feasibility of using locally available waste materials, including fish waste, okara and food waste. Although the fishmeal derived from fish waste, okara or food waste is less nutritious than fishmeal from whole fish or soybean meal, most fish species farmed in China, such as tilapia and various Chinese carp, grow well on diets with minimal amounts of fishmeal and 40% digestible carbohydrate. It can be concluded that food waste is suitable as a component of the diet of farmed fish. However, it will be necessary to revise regulations on feed and feed ingredients to facilitate the use of food waste in the manufacture of fish feed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cutting Food Waste through Cooperation along the Food Supply Chain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christine Göbel

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Food produced but not used for human consumption is a waste of natural resources. In order to prevent and reduce food waste, the main causes have to be identified systematically along the food supply chain (FSC. The aim of this study is (1 to shed light on the causes and effects of food waste through the analysis of 44 qualitative expert interviews examining the processes and intermediaries along the German food chain and (2 to find methods to reduce it. Results indicate that food waste occurs at all stages in the food chain. Thus, there is no single culprit to be blamed. Besides, the identified reasons for food waste differ between product groups; not a single solution can cause notable change. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrates that the causes and effects of food waste are to be found at different stages of the value chain. Hence, it is of high importance to improve communication and to raise a new appreciation for food among all stakeholders of the food supply chain in order to develop a more sustainable food system. Information on the topic of food waste needs to be shared among all actors of the supply chain. They need to share responsibility and work together to reduce food waste.

Radioactive waste management of urban area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Z.; Gu, S.X.

1993-01-01

The several years experience of radioactive waste management in Shanghai of China shows that the centralized management is quite successful and effective. Rad waste generated in urban area would be treated with further concern in the respect of radiation and environmental protection. In this respect, there is a need for a professional organisation to undertake the necessary regulation, and demonstrate that high standards of design, planning, management and operation could be met. The experience in China is suitable to manage and dispose rad waste generated from the civil applications in urban area, and valuable to the developing country and area in particular. It is concluded that the centralized management of intermediate level and low level radioactive waste is an optimum choice for urban area

Efficiency of a novel "Food to waste to food" system including anaerobic digestion of food waste and cultivation of vegetables on digestate in a bubble-insulated greenhouse.

Science.gov (United States)

Stoknes, K; Scholwin, F; Krzesiński, W; Wojciechowska, E; Jasińska, A

2016-10-01

At urban locations certain challenges are concentrated: organic waste production, the need for waste treatment, energy demand, food demand, the need for circular economy and limited area for food production. Based on these factors the project presented here developed a novel technological approach for processing organic waste into new food. In this system, organic waste is converted into biogas and digester residue. The digester residue is being used successfully as a stand-alone fertilizer as well as main substrate component for vegetables and mushrooms for the first time - a "digeponics" system - in a closed new low energy greenhouse system with dynamic soap bubble insulation. Biogas production provides energy for the process and CO2 for the greenhouse. With very limited land use highly efficient resource recycling was established at pilot scale. In the research project it was proven that a low energy dynamic bubble insulated greenhouse can be operated continuously with 80% energy demand reduction compared to conventional greenhouses. Commercial crop yields were achieved based on fertilization with digestate; in individual cases they were even higher than the control yields of vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce among others. For the first time an efficient direct use of digestate as substrate and fertilizer has been developed and demonstrated. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The potential of food preservation to reduce food waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Martindale, Wayne

2017-02-01

While we state it seems unthinkable to throw away nearly a third of the food we produce, we still continue to overlook that we are all very much part of this problem because we all consume meals. The amount of food wasted clearly has an impact on our view of what we think a sustainable meal is and our research suggests food waste is a universal function that can help us determine the sustainability of diets. Achieving sustainability in food systems depends on the utilisation of both culinary skills and knowledge of how foods make meals. These are overlooked by the current food waste debate that is concerned with communicating the problem with food waste rather than solutions to it. We aim to change this oversight with the research presented here that demonstrates the need to consider the role of food preservation to reduce food waste and the requirement for new marketing terms associated with sustainability actions that can be used to stimulate changes in consumption behaviours. We have chosen frozen food to demonstrate this because our research has shown that the use of frozen foods results in 47 % less household food waste than fresh food categories. This has created a step-change in how we view food consumption and has stimulated consumer movements that act across different products and supply chains to enable the consumption of the sustainable meal.

Practices, Concerns, and Willingness to Participate in Solid Waste Management in Two Urban Slums in Central Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukama, Trasias; Ndejjo, Rawlance; Musoke, David; Musinguzi, Geofrey; Halage, Abdullah Ali; Carpenter, David O; Ssempebwa, John C

2016-01-01

Poor solid waste management is among the major challenges facing urban slums in developing countries including Uganda. Understanding community concerns and willingness towards involvement in solid waste management improvement initiatives is critical for informing interventions in slums. We used a cross-sectional study to collect quantitative data from 435 residents in two urban slums in central Uganda. A semistructured questionnaire was used which assessed waste collection practices, separation and disposal methods, concerns regarding solid wastes, and willingness to participate in waste separation and composting. Data was analysed using STATA 12. Food remains (38%) and plastics (37%) formed the biggest proportion of wastes generated in households. Most households (35.9%) disposed of general wastes by open dumping while 27% disposed of plastics by burning. Only 8.8% of households conducted composting while 55% carried out separation for some decomposable wastes. Separation was carried out for only banana peelings and leftover foods for feeding animals. Respondents expressed high willingness to separate (76.6%) and compost (54.9%) solid wastes. Practices in waste disposal and separation were poor despite high willingness to participate in initiatives to improve waste management, highlighting a need for authorities to engage residents of slums to improve their practices.

Practices, Concerns, and Willingness to Participate in Solid Waste Management in Two Urban Slums in Central Uganda

Science.gov (United States)

Ndejjo, Rawlance; Musoke, David; Musinguzi, Geofrey; Halage, Abdullah Ali; Carpenter, David O.; Ssempebwa, John C.

2016-01-01

Poor solid waste management is among the major challenges facing urban slums in developing countries including Uganda. Understanding community concerns and willingness towards involvement in solid waste management improvement initiatives is critical for informing interventions in slums. Methods. We used a cross-sectional study to collect quantitative data from 435 residents in two urban slums in central Uganda. A semistructured questionnaire was used which assessed waste collection practices, separation and disposal methods, concerns regarding solid wastes, and willingness to participate in waste separation and composting. Data was analysed using STATA 12. Results. Food remains (38%) and plastics (37%) formed the biggest proportion of wastes generated in households. Most households (35.9%) disposed of general wastes by open dumping while 27% disposed of plastics by burning. Only 8.8% of households conducted composting while 55% carried out separation for some decomposable wastes. Separation was carried out for only banana peelings and leftover foods for feeding animals. Respondents expressed high willingness to separate (76.6%) and compost (54.9%) solid wastes. Conclusion. Practices in waste disposal and separation were poor despite high willingness to participate in initiatives to improve waste management, highlighting a need for authorities to engage residents of slums to improve their practices. PMID:27066081

Household food waste in Nordic countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gjerris, Mickey; Gaiani, Silvia

2013-01-01

such as climate change and unjust distribution of food resources, needs to be based on an appreciative and relational understanding of nature and food and not only on economic and moralizing arguments. This is done by drawing on an ecocentric perspective where food is seen as one of the areas where new narratives......This study focuses on food waste generated by households in four Nordic countries: Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Based on existing literature we present (A) comparable data on amounts and monetary value of food waste; (B) explanations for food waste at household level; (C) a number...... of public and private initiatives at national levels aiming to reduce food waste; and (D) a discussion of ethical issues related to food waste with a focus on possible contributions from ecocentric ethics. We argue that reduction of food waste at household level, which has an impact on issues...

Food Waste to Energy: An Overview of Sustainable Approaches for Food Waste Management and Nutrient Recycling.

Science.gov (United States)

Paritosh, Kunwar; Kushwaha, Sandeep K; Yadav, Monika; Pareek, Nidhi; Chawade, Aakash; Vivekanand, Vivekanand

2017-01-01

Food wastage and its accumulation are becoming a critical problem around the globe due to continuous increase of the world population. The exponential growth in food waste is imposing serious threats to our society like environmental pollution, health risk, and scarcity of dumping land. There is an urgent need to take appropriate measures to reduce food waste burden by adopting standard management practices. Currently, various kinds of approaches are investigated in waste food processing and management for societal benefits and applications. Anaerobic digestion approach has appeared as one of the most ecofriendly and promising solutions for food wastes management, energy, and nutrient production, which can contribute to world's ever-increasing energy requirements. Here, we have briefly described and explored the different aspects of anaerobic biodegrading approaches for food waste, effects of cosubstrates, effect of environmental factors, contribution of microbial population, and available computational resources for food waste management researches.

Urban Wood Waste Resource Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiltsee, G.

1998-11-20

This study collected and analyzed data on urban wood waste resources in 30 randomly selected metropolitan areas in the United States. Three major categories wood wastes disposed with, or recovered from, the municipal solid waste stream; industrial wood wastes such as wood scraps and sawdust from pallet recycling, woodworking shops, and lumberyards; and wood in construction/demolition and land clearing debris.

Determinants of consumer food waste behaviour

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stancu, Violeta; Haugaard, Pernille; Lähteenmäki, Liisa

2016-01-01

. Yet, there is still little evidence regarding the determinants of consumers' food waste behaviour. The present study examines the effect of psycho-social factors, food-related routines, household perceived capabilities and socio-demographic characteristics on self-reported food waste. Survey data...... gathered among 1062 Danish respondents measured consumers' intentions not to waste food, planning, shopping and reuse of leftovers routines, perceived capability to deal with household food-related activities, injunctive and moral norms, attitudes towards food waste, and perceived behavioural control....... Results show that perceived behavioural control and routines related to shopping and reuse of leftovers are the main drivers of food waste, while planning routines contribute indirectly. In turn, the routines are related to consumers' perceived capabilities to deal with household related activities...

Smaller plates, less food waste

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Pelle Guldborg; Schmidt, Karsten; Skov, Laurits Rhoden

With roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption lost or wasted globally (about 1.3 billion tons per year), the impact on the environment cannot be anymore neglected. Actions at all points in the production chain are now urgent, including reductions in food waste at home, by retailer...... the hypothesis that dishware size plays an important role in the amount of food wasted among Danish adults in a self-service eating setting. This finding has PHN implications: slight changes in the foodscape can contribute to sustainable food consumption goals.......With roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption lost or wasted globally (about 1.3 billion tons per year), the impact on the environment cannot be anymore neglected. Actions at all points in the production chain are now urgent, including reductions in food waste at home, by retailers...... and producers. Northern European consumers are among the most environmentally concerned consumers, however, their concerns do not always translate in more sustainable food-related behaviours. Furthermore, food choices are not always rational and could be non-reflective. Hence, the objective of this pilot study...

Sustainable Urban (re-Development with Building Integrated Energy, Water and Waste Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tae-Goo Lee

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The construction and service of urban infrastructure systems and buildings involves immense resource consumption. Cities are responsible for the largest component of global energy, water, and food consumption as well as related sewage and organic waste production. Due to ongoing global urbanization, in which the largest sector of the global population lives in cities which are already built, global level strategies need to be developed that facilitate both the sustainable construction of new cities and the re-development of existing urban environments. A very promising approach in this regard is the decentralization and building integration of environmentally sound infrastructure systems for integrated resource management. This paper discusses such new and innovative building services engineering systems, which could contribute to increased energy efficiency, resource productivity, and urban resilience. Applied research and development projects in Germany, which are based on integrated system approaches for the integrated and environmentally sound management of energy, water and organic waste, are used as examples. The findings are especially promising and can be used to stimulate further research and development, including economical aspects which are crucial for sustainable urban (re-development.

Comparing Food Provided and Wasted before and after Implementing Measures against Food Waste in Three Healthcare Food Service Facilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christina Strotmann

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to reduce food waste in a hospital, a hospital cafeteria, and a residential home by applying a participatory approach in which the employees were integrated into the process of developing and implementing measures. Initially, a process analysis was undertaken to identify the processes and structures existing in each institution. This included a 2-week measurement of the quantities of food produced and wasted. After implementing the measures, a second measurement was conducted and the results of the two measurements were compared. The average waste rate in the residential home was significantly reduced from 21.4% to 13.4% and from 19.8% to 12.8% in the cafeteria. In the hospital, the average waste rate remained constant (25.6% and 26.3% during the reference and control measurements. However, quantities of average daily food provided and wasted per person in the hospital declined. Minimizing overproduction, i.e., aligning the quantity of meals produced to that required, is essential to reducing serving losses. Compliance of meal quality and quantity with customer expectations, needs, and preferences, i.e., the individualization of food supply, reduces plate waste. Moreover, establishing an efficient communication structure involving all actors along the food supply chain contributes to decreasing food waste.

Characterization of household food waste in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Edjabou, Vincent Maklawe Essonanawe; Petersen, C.; Scheutz, Charlotte

This paper presents a methodology and the results of compositional analysis of food waste from Danish families living in single-family houses. Residual household waste was sampled and manually sorted from 211 single-family houses in the suburb of Copenhagen. The main fractions contributing...... to the household food waste were avoidable vegetable food waste and non-avoidable vegetable food waste. Statistical analysis found a positive linear relationship between household size and the amount of the household food waste....

Biofuels from food processing wastes.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhanying; O'Hara, Ian M; Mundree, Sagadevan; Gao, Baoyu; Ball, Andrew S; Zhu, Nanwen; Bai, Zhihui; Jin, Bo

2016-04-01

Food processing industry generates substantial high organic wastes along with high energy uses. The recovery of food processing wastes as renewable energy sources represents a sustainable option for the substitution of fossil energy, contributing to the transition of food sector towards a low-carbon economy. This article reviews the latest research progress on biofuel production using food processing wastes. While extensive work on laboratory and pilot-scale biosystems for energy production has been reported, this work presents a review of advances in metabolic pathways, key technical issues and bioengineering outcomes in biofuel production from food processing wastes. Research challenges and further prospects associated with the knowledge advances and technology development of biofuel production are discussed. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Decomposition of the Urban Water Footprint of Food Consumption: A Case Study of Xiamen City

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Jiefeng Kang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Decomposition of the urban water footprint can provide insight for water management. In this paper, a new decomposition method based on the log-mean Divisia index model (LMDI was developed to analyze the driving forces of water footprint changes, attributable to food consumption. Compared to previous studies, this new approach can distinguish between various factors relating to urban and rural residents. The water footprint of food consumption in Xiamen City, from 2001 to 2012, was calculated. Following this, the driving forces of water footprint change were broken down into considerations of the population, the structure of food consumption, the level of food consumption, water intensity, and the population rate. Research shows that between 2001 and 2012, the water footprint of food consumption in Xiamen increased by 675.53 Mm3, with a growth rate of 88.69%. Population effects were the leading contributors to this change, accounting for 87.97% of the total growth. The food consumption structure also had a considerable effect on this increase. Here, the urban area represented 94.96% of the water footprint increase, driven by the effect of the food consumption structure. Water intensity and the urban/rural population rate had a weak positive cumulative effect. The effects of the urban/rural population rate on the water footprint change in urban and rural areas, however, were individually significant. The level of food consumption was the only negative factor. In terms of food categories, meat and grain had the greatest effects during the study period. Controlling the urban population, promoting a healthy and less water-intensive diet, reducing food waste, and improving agriculture efficiency, are all elements of an effective approach for mitigating the growth of the water footprint.

Food waste volume and origin: Case studies in the Finnish food service sector.

Science.gov (United States)

Silvennoinen, Kirsi; Heikkilä, Lotta; Katajajuuri, Juha-Matti; Reinikainen, Anu

2015-12-01

We carried out a project to map the volume and composition of food waste in the Finnish food service sector. The amount, type and origin of avoidable food waste were investigated in 51 food service outlets, including schools, day-care centres, workplace canteens, petrol stations, restaurants and diners. Food service outlet personnel kept diaries and weighed the food produced and wasted during a one-week or one-day period. For weighing and sorting, the food waste was divided into two categories: originally edible (OE) food waste was separated from originally inedible (OIE) waste, such as vegetable peelings, bones and coffee grounds. In addition, food waste (OE) was divided into three categories in accordance with its origins: kitchen waste, service waste and customer leftovers. According to the results, about 20% of all food handled and prepared in the sector was wasted. The findings also suggest that the main drivers of wasted food are buffet services and overproduction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of urban solid waste in Chihuahua, Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez, Guadalupe; Meneses, Montserrat; Ballinas, Lourdes; Castells, Francesc

2008-01-01

The characterization of urban solid waste generation is fundamental for adequate decision making in the management strategy of urban solid waste in a city. The objective of this study is to characterize the waste generated in the households of Chihuahua city, and to compare the results obtained in areas of the city with three different socioeconomic levels. In order to identify the different socioeconomic trends in waste generation and characterization, 560 samples of solid waste were collected during 1 week from 80 households in Chihuahua and were hand sorted and classified into 15 weighted fractions. The average waste generation in Chihuahua calculated in this study was 0.676 kg per capita per day in April 2006. The main fractions were: organic (48%), paper (16%) and plastic (12%). Results show an increased waste generation associated with the socioeconomic level. The characterization in amount and composition of urban waste is the first step needed for the successful implementation of an integral waste management system

Characterization of urban solid waste in Chihuahua, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez, Guadalupe; Meneses, Montserrat; Ballinas, Lourdes; Castells, Francesc

2008-12-01

The characterization of urban solid waste generation is fundamental for adequate decision making in the management strategy of urban solid waste in a city. The objective of this study is to characterize the waste generated in the households of Chihuahua city, and to compare the results obtained in areas of the city with three different socioeconomic levels. In order to identify the different socioeconomic trends in waste generation and characterization, 560 samples of solid waste were collected during 1 week from 80 households in Chihuahua and were hand sorted and classified into 15 weighted fractions. The average waste generation in Chihuahua calculated in this study was 0.676 kg per capita per day in April 2006. The main fractions were: organic (48%), paper (16%) and plastic (12%). Results show an increased waste generation associated with the socioeconomic level. The characterization in amount and composition of urban waste is the first step needed for the successful implementation of an integral waste management system.

Compositional data analysis of household food waste in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Edjabou, Vincent Maklawe Essonanawe; Pivnenko, Kostyantyn; Petersen, Claus

waste. Although, food waste composition carries relative information, no attempt was made to analysis food waste composition as compositional data. Thus the relationship between food waste fractions has been analysed by mean of Pearson correlation test and log-ratio analysis. The food waste data...... household per week), (b) percentage composition of food waste based on the total food waste, and (c) percentage composition of food waste based on the total residual household waste. The Pearson correlation test showed different results when different datasets are used, whereas the log-ratio analysis showed...... was collected by sampling and sorting residual household waste in Denmark. The food waste was subdivided into three fractions: (1) avoidable vegetable food waste, (2) avoidable animal-derive food waste, and (3) avoidable food waste. The correlation was carried out using: (a) the amount of food waste (kg per...

Environmental and health impacts of using food waste as animal feed: a comparative analysis of food waste management options.

Science.gov (United States)

Salemdeeb, Ramy; Zu Ermgassen, Erasmus K H J; Kim, Mi Hyung; Balmford, Andrew; Al-Tabbaa, Abir

2017-01-01

The disposal of food waste is a large environmental problem. In the United Kingdom (UK), approximately 15 million tonnes of food are wasted each year, mostly disposed of in landfill, via composting, or anaerobic digestion (AD). European Union (EU) guidelines state that food waste should preferentially be used as animal feed though for most food waste this practice is currently illegal, because of disease control concerns. Interest in the potential diversion of food waste for animal feed is however growing, with a number of East Asian states offering working examples of safe food waste recycling - based on tight regulation and rendering food waste safe through heat treatment. This study investigates the potential benefits of diverting food waste for pig feed in the UK. A hybrid, consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to compare the environmental and health impacts of four technologies for food waste processing: two technologies of South Korean style-animal feed production (as a wet pig feed and a dry pig feed) were compared with two widespread UK disposal technologies: AD and composting. Results of 14 mid-point impact categories show that the processing of food waste as a wet pig feed and a dry pig feed have the best and second-best scores, respectively, for 13/14 and 12/14 environmental and health impacts. The low impact of food waste feed stems in large part from its substitution of conventional feed, the production of which has substantial environmental and health impacts. While the re-legalisation of the use of food waste as pig feed could offer environmental and public health benefits, this will require support from policy makers, the public, and the pig industry, as well as investment in separated food waste collection which currently occurs in only a minority of regions.

Smaller plates, less food waste

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Pelle Guldborg; Schmidt, Karsten; Skov, Laurits Rhoden

With roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption lost or wasted globally (about 1.3 billion tons per year), the impact on the environment cannot be anymore neglected. Actions at all points in the production chain are now urgent, including reductions in food waste at home, by retailers...... the hypothesis that dishware size plays an important role in the amount of food wasted among Danish adults in a self-service eating setting. This finding has PHN implications: slight changes in the foodscape can contribute to sustainable food consumption goals....

Urban environment and health: food security.

Science.gov (United States)

Galal, Osman; Corroon, Meghan; Tirado, Cristina

2010-07-01

The authors examine the impact of urbanization on food security and human health in the Middle East. Within-urban-population disparities in food security represent one of the most dramatic indicators of economic and health disparities. These disparities are reflected in a double burden of health outcomes: increasing levels of chronic disease as well as growing numbers of undernourished among the urban poor. These require further comprehensive solutions. Some of the factors leading to food insecurity are an overdependence on purchased food commodities, lack of sufficient livelihoods, rapid reductions in peripheral agricultural land, and adverse impacts of climate change. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Food Security Framework is used to examine and compare 2 cities in the Middle East: Amman, Jordan, and Manama, Bahrain.

Hidden linkages between urbanization and food systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Seto, Karen C; Ramankutty, Navin

2016-05-20

Global societies are becoming increasingly urban. This shift toward urban living is changing our relationship with food, including how we shop and what we buy, as well as ideas about sanitation and freshness. Achieving food security in an era of rapid urbanization will require considerably more understanding about how urban and food systems are intertwined. Here we discuss some potential understudied linkages that are ripe for further examination. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Aquaponics in Urban Agriculture: Social Acceptance and Urban Food Planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Georgia Pollard

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Aquaponics is emerging as a novel technology with particular potential for urban agriculture (UA. The social acceptance of aquaponics and its place in urban food planning has not previously been studied. This study used focus groups, key informant interviews, and scenario analyses to investigate the reactions of Adelaide’s urban food opinion leaders and local government area (LGA officials to aquaponics. Most of the focus group participants were unfamiliar with aquaponics. The perceived negatives of the technology received greater attention than the perceived benefits. Aquaponics was thought to be most competitive in either niche or wholesale markets, with a need for scaled guidelines from backyard to large-scale commercial production. For aquaponics in urban settings the influence of urban planning and policy is an important, but to date unstudied, consideration. The urban growers’ opinions of the overcomplicated nature of urban food planning corresponded with the mixed policy responses of the LGAs towards UA. This further supports the participants’ desire for a supportive State Government stance on UA to encourage consistency in LGAs.

Food waste from Danish households: Generation and composition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Edjabou, Maklawe Essonanawe; Petersen, Claus; Scheutz, Charlotte

2016-01-01

Sustainable solutions for reducing food waste require a good understanding of food waste generation and composition, including avoidable and unavoidable food waste. We analysed 12 tonnes of residual household waste collected from 1474 households, without source segregation of organic waste. Food...... waste was divided into six fractions according to avoidability, suitability for home-composting and whether or not it was cooked, prepared or had been served within the household. The results showed that the residual household waste generation rate was 434 ± 18 kg per household per year, of which 183...... ± 10 kg per year was food waste. Unavoidable food waste amounted to 80 ± 6 kg per household per year, and avoidable food waste was 103 ± 9 kg per household per year. Food waste mass was influenced significantly by the number of occupants per household (household size) and the housing type. The results...

FOOD DEMAND PATTERNS IN GHANAIAN URBAN HOUSEHOLDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernard SAKYIAMAH

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper analysed food consumption patterns in Ghanaian urban households by comparing food commodity budget shares and estimating price and expenditure elasticities for eleven food commodity groups across different income groups. The Linear Approximation Almost Ideal Demand System (LA/AIDS was applied to the data. Demand for most of the food commodity groups was found to be elastic. The study concluded that generally, across income groups, food commodities respond negatively to changes in food prices and that cereals/bread, roots/tubers, vegetables, meat and fish will remain an important component of urban household food expenditure. Generally, household demographic characteristics such as age, gender and household size had significant effects on urban food demand patterns.

Decentralized Urban Solid Waste Management in Indonesia | CRDI ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Urban areas of Indonesia generate about 55 000 tonnes of solid waste per day, ... four models of decentralized solid waste management in low-income urban ... En partenariat avec l'Organization for Women in Science for the Developing ...

Food waste reduction practices in German food retail.

Science.gov (United States)

Hermsdorf, David; Rombach, Meike; Bitsch, Vera

2017-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to investigate food retailers food waste reduction practices in Germany. The focus is on selling and redistributing agricultural produce with visual impairments and other surplus food items. In addition, drivers and barriers regarding the implementation of both waste reduction practices are explored. In total, 12 in-depth interviews with managerial actors in the food retail sector and a food bank spokesperson were recorded, transcribed and analyzed through a qualitative content analysis. In contrast to organic retailers, conventional retailers were reluctant to include agricultural produce with visual impairments in their product assortments, due to fears of negative consumer reactions. Another obstacle was EU marketing standards for specific produce. All retailers interviewed engaged in redistribution of surplus food. Logistics and the regulatory framework were the main barriers to food redistribution. The present study adds to the existing body of literature on food waste reduction practices as it explores selling produce with visual impairments and elaborates on the legal background of food redistribution in German retail. The results are the foundation for providing recommendations to policy makers and charitable food organizations.

The concern with the radioactive waste and the reality of the urban waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zancheta, Marcio Nestor; Jiurgiu, Paulo Adriano

2009-01-01

One of the greatest present urban challenges, faced by public administrators, legislators and technicians, is the management of urban waste. A significant part of it is still disposed of in an inadequate way that is aggressive to the environment and to society. Initially, this work starts with a brief history of aspects connected to urban waste, then, despite the lack of comprehensive information, quantities generated and associated factors, aspects and impacts referring to landfills, techniques related to the burning process and biological treatments, for specific types of waste, are analyzed. The final destination of almost the whole amount of waste collected worldwide is, also, approached herein. In parallel, after the discovery of radioactivity and its usage in different areas of activities, the destination of the radioactive waste, in a much smaller amount, however potentially much more dangerous, has also been an object of concern that is more in evidence than the problem related to urban waste, due to a strong negative media influence. After the comparison between volumes and impacts which are involved and considering that both represent environmental liability, a more detailed analysis of cases showing risks to the public should be initiated, showing the importance of the adequate management of both wastes and, mainly, the consequent real proportions regarding development, growth and demographic densification. The aim of this work is to analyze the present world situation regarding available information on the involved volumes in the process of urban waste disposal and its environmental impacts in medium and long terms, comparing these data to the same parameters applied to nuclear waste, showing that both activities present inherent risks and relevant impacts. (author)

Investigation of the available technologies and their feasibility for the conversion of food waste into fish feed in Hong Kong.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Jack Y K; Lo, Irene M C

2016-04-01

Food waste is the largest constituent of municipal solid waste in Hong Kong, but food waste recycling is still in its infancy. With the imminent saturation of all landfill sites by 2020, multiple technologies are needed to boost up the food waste recycling rate in Hong Kong. Conversion of food waste into animal feeds is prevalent in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, treating over 40 % of their recycled food waste. This direction is worth exploring in Hong Kong once concerns over food safety are resolved. Fortunately, while feeding food waste to pigs and chickens poses threats to public health, feeding it to fish is considered low risk. In order to examine the feasibility of converting food waste into fish feed in Hong Kong, this paper investigates the market demand, technical viability, feed quality, regulatory hurdles, and potential contribution. The results show that a significant amount of food waste can be recycled by converting it into fish feed due to the enormous demand from feed factories in mainland China. Two conversion technologies, heat drying and black soldier fly bioconversion, are studied extensively. Black soldier fly bioconversion is preferable because the end-product, insect powder, is anticipated to gain import approval from mainland China. The authors suggest further research efforts to speed up its application for food waste recycling in urban cities.

Aquaponics in Urban Agriculture: Social Acceptance and Urban Food Planning

OpenAIRE

Georgia Pollard; James D. Ward; Barbara Koth

2017-01-01

Aquaponics is emerging as a novel technology with particular potential for urban agriculture (UA). The social acceptance of aquaponics and its place in urban food planning has not previously been studied. This study used focus groups, key informant interviews, and scenario analyses to investigate the reactions of Adelaide’s urban food opinion leaders and local government area (LGA) officials to aquaponics. Most of the focus group participants were unfamiliar with aquaponics. The perceived neg...

Urban Wood Waste Resource Assessment; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiltsee, G.

1998-01-01

This study collected and analyzed data on urban wood waste resources in 30 randomly selected metropolitan areas in the United States. Three major categories wood wastes disposed with, or recovered from, the municipal solid waste stream; industrial wood wastes such as wood scraps and sawdust from pallet recycling, woodworking shops, and lumberyards; and wood in construction/demolition and land clearing debris

Incineration of urban solid waste containing radioactive sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ronchin, G.P., E-mail: giulio.ronchin@mail.polimi.i [Dipartimento di Energia (Sezione nucleare - Cesnef), Politecnico di Milano, Via Ponzio 34/3, 20133 Milano (Italy); Campi, F.; Porta, A.A. [Dipartimento di Energia (Sezione nucleare - Cesnef), Politecnico di Milano, Via Ponzio 34/3, 20133 Milano (Italy)

2011-01-15

Incineration of urban solid waste accidentally contaminated by orphan sources or radioactive material is a potential risk for environment and public health. Moreover, production and emission of radioactive fumes can cause a heavy contamination of the plant, leading to important economic detriment. In order to prevent such a hazard, in February 2004 a radiometric portal for detection of radioactive material in incoming waste has been installed at AMSA (Azienda Milanese per i Servizi Ambientali) 'Silla 2' urban solid waste incineration plant of Milan. Radioactive detections performed from installation time up to December 2006 consist entirely of low-activity material contaminated from radiopharmaceuticals (mainly {sup 131}I). In this work an estimate of the dose that would have been committed to population, due to incineration of the radioactive material detected by the radiometric portal, has been evaluated. Furthermore, public health and environmental effects due to incineration of a high-activity source have been estimated. Incineration of the contaminated material detected appears to have negligible effects at all; the evaluated annual collective dose, almost entirely conferred by {sup 131}I, is indeed 0.1 man mSv. Otherwise, incineration of a 3.7 x 10{sup 10} Bq (1 Ci) source of {sup 137}Cs, assumed as reference accident, could result in a light environmental contamination involving a large area. Although the maximum total dose, owing to inhalation and submersion, committed to a single individual appears to be negligible (less than 10{sup -8} Sv), the environmental contamination leads to a potential important exposure due to ingestion of contaminated foods. With respect to 'Silla 2' plant and to the worst meteorological conditions, the evaluated collective dose results in 0.34 man Sv. Performed analyses have confirmed that radiometric portals, which are today mainly used in foundries, represent a valid public health and environmental

INFORMAL AND FORMAL SECTORS PARTNERSHIP IN URBAN WASTE MANAGEMENT (Case Study: Non-Organic Waste Management in Semarang

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Djoko Indrosaptono

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false IN X-NONE X-NONE The urban waste management is still crucial issues in most regions in Indonesia. Urban waste is considered as a cultural issue because of its impact on various life factors , especially in big cities such as Jakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, Bandung, Palembang and Medan. Currently, the average productivity of the urban waste is 0.5 kg / capita / day. If this is multiplied by number of people in some cities in Java and Bali, the total waste will reach about 100,000 tons / day. This number will still increase by increasing population growth. Therefore, the urban waste management is very important for cities in Indonesia, alhough currently not many cities applied the urban waste management system. Urban waste management in Indonesia is not merely caused by formal sector, but it is also supported by informal sector in reducing daily production waste up to 30%. The informal sector management is mainly conducted by sorting the waste to recycleable or not. The recycleable waste is then sold back to the mills to be converted to other valuable products. This reserach was aimed to evaluate the partnership between formal and informal sector in reduction of waste production in Semarang city through urban waste management system. The research about informal sector was conducted by communal interaction and qualitative analysis focusing at Semarang City especially at Old Town area. The research has provided substantive knowledge of informal sector partnerships and formal sector in urban waste management with case inorganic waste management in the city of Semarang through 3R (recycle, reuse and reduce knwoledge management. Basic knowledge of the structure / surface is characterized by empirical knowledge which was easily caught by the direct perspective of human. Middle knowledge could be adjusted to different loci

Anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and dairy manure: effects of food waste particle size and organic loading rate.

Science.gov (United States)

Agyeman, Fred O; Tao, Wendong

2014-01-15

This study was to comprehensively evaluate the effects of food waste particle size on co-digestion of food waste and dairy manure at organic loading rates increased stepwise from 0.67 to 3 g/L/d of volatile solids (VS). Three anaerobic digesters were fed semi-continuously with equal VS amounts of food waste and dairy manure. Food waste was ground to 2.5 mm (fine), 4 mm (medium), and 8 mm (coarse) for the three digesters, respectively. Methane production rate and specific methane yield were significantly higher in the digester with fine food waste. Digestate dewaterability was improved significantly by reducing food waste particle size. Specific methane yield was highest at the organic loading rate of 2g VS/L/d, being 0.63, 0.56, and 0.47 L CH4/g VS with fine, medium, and coarse food waste, respectively. Methane production rate was highest (1.40-1.53 L CH4/L/d) at the organic loading rate of 3 g VS/L/d. The energy used to grind food waste was minor compared with the heating value of the methane produced. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Compositional data analysis of household food waste in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Edjabou, Vincent Maklawe Essonanawe; Pivnenko, Kostyantyn; Petersen, Claus

Food waste is a growing public concern because the food production and distribution exert enormous pressure on natural resources such as land, water and energy, and leads to significant environmental, societal and economic impacts. Thus, the European Commission has aimed to reduce to 50% the total...... amount of discarded edible food waste by 2020 within the European Union (EU) Member States. Reliable data on food waste and a better understanding of the food waste generation patterns are crucial for planning the avoidable food waste reduction and an environmental sound treatment of unavoidable food...... waste. Although, food waste composition carries relative information, no attempt was made to analysis food waste composition as compositional data. Thus the relationship between food waste fractions has been analysed by mean of Pearson correlation test and log-ratio analysis. The food waste data...

Food loss and waste management in Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Salihoglu, Guray; Salihoglu, Nezih Kamil; Ucaroglu, Selnur; Banar, Mufide

2018-01-01

Food waste can be an environmental and economic problem if not managed properly but it can meet various demands of a country if it is considered as a resource. The purpose of this report is to review the existing state of the field in Turkey and identify the potential of food waste as a resource. Food loss and waste (FLW) was examined throughout the food supply chain (FSC) and quantified using the FAO model. Edible FLW was estimated to be approximately 26milliontons/year. The amount of biodegradable waste was estimated based on waste statistics and research conducted on household food waste in Turkey. The total amount of biodegradable waste was found to be approximately 20milliontons/year, where more than 8.6milliontons/year of this waste is FLW from distribution and consumption in the FSC. Options for the end-of-life management of biodegradable wastes are also discussed in this review article. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Industrial and urban wastes in relation to Cadmium pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varavipour, M.; Akhondi, M.

2002-01-01

Disposal of urban, agricultural and industrial wastes is becoming a major problem in recent times. Ocean dumping, land fill applications and incineration are being considered as unsuitable. so application to agricultural lands is being increasingly used for this purpose. Application of wastes to soils can be beneficial in providing plant nutrients and organic matter. But, it also leads to harmful effects like introduction of heavy metals, toxic organics, danger of ground water pollution, etc. Cadmium buildup in soil and absorption into plants and then entering into food chain due to these wastes is of concern because of its higher mobility than most other heavy metals. Although discontinuation of sewage sludge disposal on crop land would stop further soil contamination, potential danger from metal accumulation by crops grown after termination of the practice is still a concern. Trace metals are relatively immobile in soil. Therefore, depending on biological and chemical equilibria established following terminal sludge application, sludge-borne Cd might change in plant availability with time

Attitudes and behaviour towards convenience food and food waste in the United Kingdom.

Science.gov (United States)

Mallinson, Lucy J; Russell, Jean M; Barker, Margo E

2016-08-01

Households in the UK discard much food. A reduction in such waste to mitigate environmental impact is part of UK government policy. This study investigated whether household food waste is linked to a lifestyle reliant on convenience food in younger consumers. A survey of 928 UK residents aged 18-40 years and responsible for the household food shopping (male n = 278; female n = 650) completed an online questionnaire designed to measure attitudes to convenience food and to quantify household food waste. Cluster analysis of 24 food-related lifestyle factors identified 5 consumer groups. General linear modelling techniques were used to test relationships between the purchase frequency of convenience food and household food waste. From the cluster analysis, five distinct convenience profiles emerged comprising: 'epicures' (n = 135), 'traditional consumers' (n = 255), 'casual consumers' (n = 246), 'food detached consumers' (n = 151) and 'kitchen evaders' (n = 141). Casual consumers and kitchen evaders were the most reliant on convenience food and notably were the most wasteful. The demographic profile of kitchen evaders matched the population groups currently targeted by UK food waste policy. Casual consumers represent a new and distinct group characterised by "buy a lot and waste a lot" behaviour. Household size, packaging format, price-awareness and marketing all appear to influence levels of food waste. However, it seems that subtle behavioural and sociocultural factors also have impact. Further research is needed to elucidate the factors that mediate the positive association between the purchase of convenience food and reported food waste in order to inform food waste policy and initiatives. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Hidden Burden of Food Waste: The Double Energy Waste in Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matteo Vittuari

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The energy intensity of modern food systems represents a major issue in a scenario of decreasing oil resources and increasing population. Beside the use of renewable energy, an increased efficiency in food systems could contribute to reduce fossil fuels dependence. In this sense, food losses and waste (FLW have crucial consequences on the energy balance. Based on the concept of “embodied energy”, food wastage can be framed as a double waste of energy, both in terms of non-consumed food energy and the inputs used for production. Secondary data regarding direct and indirect energy inputs and FLW have been collected for the Italian food chain to estimate the embodied energy of food waste. Since in 2011 the production and distribution of food implied the use of 822 PJ and 18 Mt of food was discarded, 67 PJ of food energy and 100 PJ of embodied energy were wasted. These figures are equivalent to 12.2% of the total nutritional energy output and to 1.3% of the final energy use in Italy, respectively. The concept of double energy waste sheds new light on the intertwined relationship between energy and food security, suggesting that appropriate food waste reduction policies could result in a higher food production level and relevant energy savings.

Socio-economic considerations of converting food waste into biogas on a household level in Indonesia: The case of the city of Bandung

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Amir, Encep; Hophmayer Tokich, Sharon; Kurnani, Tubagus Benito Achmad

2016-01-01

Household waste is a serious environmental problem in Indonesia, especially in urban areas. Since 2010, biogas production from food waste has been introduced to reduce waste and provided an alternative to liquid petroleum gas (LPG) as cooking fuel in a pilot project in Bandung. Although the produced

Harvesting biogas from wastewater sludge and food waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chua, K H; Cheah, W L; Leong, Y P; Tan, C F

2013-01-01

Wastewater sludge and food waste are good source of biogas. Anaerobic treatment of slude and food waste able to produce biogas which is a potential renewable energy source. This study looks into the potential biogas generation and the effects of temperature on biogas generation. A lab scale reactor was used to simulate the biogas generation. The results show that wastewater sludge able to produced upto 44.82 ml biogas/kg of sludge. When mixed with food waste at a ratio of 30:70 (food waste), the biogas generated were 219.07 ml/kg of waste. Anaerobic of food waste alone produced biogas amount to 59.75 ml/kg of food waste. Anaerobic treatment also reduces the volume of waste. The effect of temperature shows that higher temperature produces more biogas than lower temperature.

Household food waste to wastewater or to solid waste? That is the question.

Science.gov (United States)

Diggelman, Carol; Ham, Robert K

2003-12-01

Decision makers need sound analyses of economic and environmental impacts of options for managing household food waste. Food waste impacts public health (it rots, smells, and attracts rodents) and costs (it drives collection frequency). A life cycle inventory is used to quantify total materials, energy, costs and environmental flows for three municipal solid waste systems (collection followed by compost, waste-to-energy or landfill) and two wastewater systems (kitchen food waste disposer followed by rural on-site or municipal wastewater treatment) for food waste management. Inventory parameters are expressed per 100 kg of food waste (wet weight) to place data on a normalised basis for comparison. System boundaries include acquisition, use and decommissioning. Parameters include inputs (land, materials, water) and output emissions to air, water and land. Parameters are ranked simply from high to low. Ranking highest overall was the rural wastewater system, which has a high amount of food waste and carrier water relative to the total throughput over its design life. Waste-to-energy was second; burning food waste yields little exportable energy and is costly. Next, municipal wastewater tied with landfill. Municipal wastewater is low for land, material, energy and cost, but is highest for food waste by-product (sludge). Landfill ranks low for air emissions and cost. Compost ranks lowest; it has the lowest material and water inputs and generates the least wastewater and waterborne waste.

Analyzing Human Behaviour Toward Food Waste in Qatar

Science.gov (United States)

A Hussain, Shaema Mohd Hassan

Food waste is a major issue in many countries due to the impact of waste on the environment and the cost of producing food and water. Food waste not only constitutes a hazard to the environment through the emission of greenhouse gases, but billions of dollars are also lost as a result of production, distribution and waste management costs. In view of this, this study examined factors that have potential to influence intent to waste food and food waste behavior among consumers in Qatar. The main objective of the study was to find a suitable model that explains food waste behavior in Qatar and compare it to an international model in order to understand region specific factors and try to replicate a hypothesized model of the causal effects of some factors (i.e., subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and personal attitude) on intent to waste food and food waste behavior. Three research questions were developed and answers were provided by random selection of 139 respondents from the Qatar Foundation and Georgetown University Qatar databases gathered through a survey with 139 complete questionnaires in order to test the hypothesized model, which was created based on literature. The Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach was the main statistical tool of the investigation and was used to carry out the path analysis. The findings of the study revealed that factors, including, planning routine, Ramadan, gender task, and personal norm were strong predictors of intention to waste food and food waste behavior.

Urban Intensification and Expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa: Impacts on Urban Agriculture and Food Security

Science.gov (United States)

Uzokwe, V. N. E. N.; Muchelo, R. O.; Odeh, I. A.

2015-12-01

In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), urban intensification and expansion are increasing at alarming rates due to rapid population growth and rural-to-urban migration. This has led to the premise that the proportion of SSA urban residents most vulnerable to food insecurity is the highest in the world. Using a focused survey and multi-temporal (decadal) land use/cover classification of Landsat images, we explored the effect of urban intensification and expansion on urban agriculture and food security, focusing on a megacity and a regional center in Uganda: Kampala and Mbarara, respectively. We found that food insecurity arose due to a number of reasons, among which are: i) expansion and intensification of of urban settlements into previously productive agricultural lands in urban and peri-urban areas; ii) loss of predominantly young (rural agricultural) adult labor force to urban centers, leading to decline in rural food production; iii) lack of proper urban planning incorporating green and agricultural development leading to low productive market garden systems. We discussed these outcomes in light of existing studies which estimated that urban agriculture alone supports over 800 million people globally and accounts for 15-20% of world food supply. In spite of this relatively low contribution by urban/peri-urban agriculture, it probably accounts for higher proportion of food supply to urban poor in SSA and thus are most vulnerable to the loss of urban and peri-urban agricultural land. Further recommendations require policy makers and urban planners to team up to design a suitable framework for sustainable urban planning and development.

Consumer-Related Food Waste: Causes and Potential for Action

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessica Aschemann-Witzel

2015-05-01

Full Text Available In the past decade, food waste has received increased attention on both academic and societal levels. As a cause of negative economic, environmental and social effects, food waste is considered to be one of the sustainability issues that needs to be addressed. In developed countries, consumers are one of the biggest sources of food waste. To successfully reduce consumer-related food waste, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the factors influencing food waste-related consumer perceptions and behaviors. The present paper presents the results of a literature review and expert interviews on factors causing consumer-related food waste in households and supply chains. Results show that consumers’ motivation to avoid food waste, their management skills of food provisioning and food handling and their trade-offs between priorities have an extensive influence on their food waste behaviors. We identify actions that governments, societal stakeholders and retailers can undertake to reduce consumer-related food waste, highlighting that synergistic actions between all parties are most promising. Further research should focus on exploring specific food waste contexts and interactions more in-depth. Experiments and interventions in particular can contribute to a shift from analysis to solutions.

Domestic waste disposal practice and perceptions of private sector waste management in urban Accra.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoada, Ramatta Massa; Chirawurah, Dennis; Adongo, Philip Baba

2014-07-08

Waste poses a threat to public health and the environment if it is not stored, collected, and disposed of properly. The perception of waste as an unwanted material with no intrinsic value has dominated attitudes towards disposal. This study investigates the domestic waste practices, waste disposal, and perceptions about waste and health in an urban community. The study utilised a mixed-method approach. A cross-sectional survey questionnaire and in-depth interview were used to collect data. A total of 364 household heads were interviewed in the survey and six key informants were interviewed with the in-depth interviews. The results of the study revealed that 93.1% of households disposed of food debris as waste and 77.8% disposed of plastic materials as waste. The study also showed that 61.0% of the households disposed of their waste at community bins or had waste picked up at their homes by private contractors. The remaining 39.0% disposed of their waste in gutters, streets, holes and nearby bushes. Of those who paid for the services of private contractors, 62.9% were not satisfied with the services because of their cost and irregular collection. About 83% of the respondents were aware that improper waste management contributes to disease causation; most of the respondents thought that improper waste management could lead to malaria and diarrhoea. There was a general perception that children should be responsible for transporting waste from the households to dumping sites. Proper education of the public, the provision of more communal trash bins, and the collection of waste by private contractors could help prevent exposing the public in municipalities to diseases.

Domestic waste disposal practice and perceptions of private sector waste management in urban Accra

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Waste poses a threat to public health and the environment if it is not stored, collected, and disposed of properly. The perception of waste as an unwanted material with no intrinsic value has dominated attitudes towards disposal. This study investigates the domestic waste practices, waste disposal, and perceptions about waste and health in an urban community. Methods The study utilised a mixed-method approach. A cross-sectional survey questionnaire and in-depth interview were used to collect data. A total of 364 household heads were interviewed in the survey and six key informants were interviewed with the in-depth interviews. Results The results of the study revealed that 93.1% of households disposed of food debris as waste and 77.8% disposed of plastic materials as waste. The study also showed that 61.0% of the households disposed of their waste at community bins or had waste picked up at their homes by private contractors. The remaining 39.0% disposed of their waste in gutters, streets, holes and nearby bushes. Of those who paid for the services of private contractors, 62.9% were not satisfied with the services because of their cost and irregular collection. About 83% of the respondents were aware that improper waste management contributes to disease causation; most of the respondents thought that improper waste management could lead to malaria and diarrhoea. There was a general perception that children should be responsible for transporting waste from the households to dumping sites. Conclusion Proper education of the public, the provision of more communal trash bins, and the collection of waste by private contractors could help prevent exposing the public in municipalities to diseases. PMID:25005728

Reducing food waste through direct surplus food redistribution : the Norwegian case

OpenAIRE

Capodistrias, Paula

2015-01-01

Food waste is a global problem with significant economic and environmental consequences. Food waste management approaches include production of biogas, animal feed and compost and surplus food redistribution. From a sustainability point of view, surplus food redistribution is the most favorable approach. Surplus food redistribution can be either direct (between suppliers of surplus food and charity food services) or indirect (Through Food banks). This paper is a case study on direct surplus f...

Smaller plates, less food waste

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Pelle Guldborg; Schmidt, Karsten; Skov, Laurits Rhoden

and producers. Northern European consumers are among the most environmentally concerned consumers, however, their concerns do not always translate in more sustainable food-related behaviours. Furthermore, food choices are not always rational and could be non-reflective. Hence, the objective of this pilot study......With roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption lost or wasted globally (about 1.3 billion tons per year), the impact on the environment cannot be anymore neglected. Actions at all points in the production chain are now urgent, including reductions in food waste at home, by retailers...... was to investigate whether the size of the dishware would non-reflectively influence the amount of foods taken from an “ad-libitum” buffet and the resulting amount of waste. Sample consisted of Danish business leaders that took part in a congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Two buffet tables were set up on two separate...

Addressing food waste reduction in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Halloran, Afton Marina Szasz; Clement, Jesper; Kornum, Niels

2014-01-01

, improvements in technology have made it more efficient to utilize food waste for biogas and compost, which improves nutrient cycling through the food system. Major efforts to address food waste in Denmark have mainly been promoted through civil society groups with governmental support, as well as by industry...

Comparative Analysis of Households Solid Waste Management in Rural and Urban Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Boateng, Simon; Amoako, Prince; Appiah, Divine Odame; Poku, Adjoa Afriyie; Garsonu, Emmanuel Kofi

2016-01-01

The comparative analysis of solid waste management between rural and urban Ghana is largely lacking. This study investigated the solid waste situation and the organisation of solid waste management in both urban and rural settings from the perspective of households. The study employed cross-sectional survey covering both rural and urban districts in the Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions of Ghana. The study systematically sampled houses from which 400 households and respondents were randomly selected. Pearson's Chi square test was used to compare demographic and socioeconomic variables in rural and urban areas. Multivariate Test, Tests of Between-Subjects Effects, and Pair-Wise Comparisons were performed through one-way MANOVA to determine whether or not solid waste situations in rural and urban areas are significantly different. The results revealed that location significantly affects solid waste management in Ghana. Urban communities had lower mean scores than rural communities for poor solid waste situation in homes. However, urban communities had higher mean scores than rural communities for poor solid waste situation in principal streets and dumping sites. The study recommends that the local government authorities implement very comprehensive policies (sanitary inspection, infrastructure development, and community participation) that will take into consideration the specific solid waste management needs of both urban and rural areas.

Comparative Analysis of Households Solid Waste Management in Rural and Urban Ghana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon Boateng

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The comparative analysis of solid waste management between rural and urban Ghana is largely lacking. This study investigated the solid waste situation and the organisation of solid waste management in both urban and rural settings from the perspective of households. The study employed cross-sectional survey covering both rural and urban districts in the Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions of Ghana. The study systematically sampled houses from which 400 households and respondents were randomly selected. Pearson’s Chi square test was used to compare demographic and socioeconomic variables in rural and urban areas. Multivariate Test, Tests of Between-Subjects Effects, and Pair-Wise Comparisons were performed through one-way MANOVA to determine whether or not solid waste situations in rural and urban areas are significantly different. The results revealed that location significantly affects solid waste management in Ghana. Urban communities had lower mean scores than rural communities for poor solid waste situation in homes. However, urban communities had higher mean scores than rural communities for poor solid waste situation in principal streets and dumping sites. The study recommends that the local government authorities implement very comprehensive policies (sanitary inspection, infrastructure development, and community participation that will take into consideration the specific solid waste management needs of both urban and rural areas.

Comparative Analysis of Households Solid Waste Management in Rural and Urban Ghana

Science.gov (United States)

Appiah, Divine Odame; Poku, Adjoa Afriyie; Garsonu, Emmanuel Kofi

2016-01-01

The comparative analysis of solid waste management between rural and urban Ghana is largely lacking. This study investigated the solid waste situation and the organisation of solid waste management in both urban and rural settings from the perspective of households. The study employed cross-sectional survey covering both rural and urban districts in the Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions of Ghana. The study systematically sampled houses from which 400 households and respondents were randomly selected. Pearson's Chi square test was used to compare demographic and socioeconomic variables in rural and urban areas. Multivariate Test, Tests of Between-Subjects Effects, and Pair-Wise Comparisons were performed through one-way MANOVA to determine whether or not solid waste situations in rural and urban areas are significantly different. The results revealed that location significantly affects solid waste management in Ghana. Urban communities had lower mean scores than rural communities for poor solid waste situation in homes. However, urban communities had higher mean scores than rural communities for poor solid waste situation in principal streets and dumping sites. The study recommends that the local government authorities implement very comprehensive policies (sanitary inspection, infrastructure development, and community participation) that will take into consideration the specific solid waste management needs of both urban and rural areas. PMID:27807453

Characterizing Urban Household Waste Generation and Metabolism Considering Community Stratification in a Rapid Urbanizing Area of China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Lishan; Lin, Tao; Chen, Shaohua; Zhang, Guoqin; Ye, Zhilong; Yu, Zhaowu

2015-01-01

The relationship between social stratification and municipal solid waste generation remains uncertain under current rapid urbanization. Based on a multi-object spatial sampling technique, we selected 191 households in a rapidly urbanizing area of Xiamen, China. The selected communities were classified into three types: work-unit, transitional, and commercial communities in the context of housing policy reform in China. Field survey data were used to characterize household waste generation patterns considering community stratification. Our results revealed a disparity in waste generation profiles among different households. The three community types differed with respect to family income, living area, religious affiliation, and homeowner occupation. Income, family structure, and lifestyle caused significant differences in waste generation among work-unit, transitional, and commercial communities, respectively. Urban waste generation patterns are expected to evolve due to accelerating urbanization and associated community transition. A multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism approach was applied to waste metabolism linking it to particular socioeconomic conditions that influence material flows and their evolution. Waste metabolism, both pace and density, was highest for family structure driven patterns, followed by lifestyle and income driven. The results will guide community-specific management policies in rapidly urbanizing areas.

The potential of food preservation to reduce food waste

OpenAIRE

Martindale, Wayne

2016-01-01

While we state it seems unthinkable to throw away nearly a third of the food we produce, we still continue to overlook that we are all very much part of this problem because we all consume meals. The amount of food wasted clearly has an impact on our view of what we think a sustainable meal is and our research suggests food waste is a universal function that can help us determine the sustainability of diets. Achieving sustainability in food systems depends on the utilisation of both culinary ...

Urban Waste Grease Resource Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiltsee, G.

1999-03-17

This study collected and analyzed data on urban waste grease resources in 30 randomly selected metropolitan areas in the United States. Two major categories (yellow grease feedstock collected from restaurants by rendering companies; and grease trap wastes from restaurants, which can either be pumped into tank trucks for disposal or flow through municipal sewage systems into wastewater treatment plants) were considered in this study.

Considerations for reducing food system energy demand while scaling up urban agriculture

Science.gov (United States)

Mohareb, Eugene; Heller, Martin; Novak, Paige; Goldstein, Benjamin; Fonoll, Xavier; Raskin, Lutgarde

2017-12-01

There is an increasing global interest in scaling up urban agriculture (UA) in its various forms, from private gardens to sophisticated commercial operations. Much of this interest is in the spirit of environmental protection, with reduced waste and transportation energy highlighted as some of the proposed benefits of UA; however, explicit consideration of energy and resource requirements needs to be made in order to realize these anticipated environmental benefits. A literature review is undertaken here to provide new insight into the energy implications of scaling up UA in cities in high-income countries, considering UA classification, direct/indirect energy pressures, and interactions with other components of the food-energy-water nexus. This is followed by an exploration of ways in which these cities can plan for the exploitation of waste flows for resource-efficient UA. Given that it is estimated that the food system contributes nearly 15% of total US energy demand, optimization of resource use in food production, distribution, consumption, and waste systems may have a significant energy impact. There are limited data available that quantify resource demand implications directly associated with UA systems, highlighting that the literature is not yet sufficiently robust to make universal claims on benefits. This letter explores energy demand from conventional resource inputs, various production systems, water/energy trade-offs, alternative irrigation, packaging materials, and transportation/supply chains to shed light on UA-focused research needs. By analyzing data and cases from the existing literature, we propose that gains in energy efficiency could be realized through the co-location of UA operations with waste streams (e.g. heat, CO2, greywater, wastewater, compost), potentially increasing yields and offsetting life cycle energy demands relative to conventional approaches. This begs a number of energy-focused UA research questions that explore the

The Urban Food-Water Nexus: Modeling Water Footprints of Urban Agriculture using CityCrop

Science.gov (United States)

Tooke, T. R.; Lathuilliere, M. J.; Coops, N. C.; Johnson, M. S.

2014-12-01

Urban agriculture provides a potential contribution towards more sustainable food production and mitigating some of the human impacts that accompany volatility in regional and global food supply. When considering the capacity of urban landscapes to produce food products, the impact of urban water demand required for food production in cities is often neglected. Urban agricultural studies also tend to be undertaken at broad spatial scales, overlooking the heterogeneity of urban form that exerts an extreme influence on the urban energy balance. As a result, urban planning and management practitioners require, but often do not have, spatially explicit and detailed information to support informed urban agricultural policy, especially as it relates to potential conflicts with sustainability goals targeting water-use. In this research we introduce a new model, CityCrop, a hybrid evapotranspiration-plant growth model that incorporates detailed digital representations of the urban surface and biophysical impacts of the built environment and urban trees to account for the daily variations in net surface radiation. The model enables very fine-scale (sub-meter) estimates of water footprints of potential urban agricultural production. Results of the model are demonstrated for an area in the City of Vancouver, Canada and compared to aspatial model estimates, demonstrating the unique considerations and sensitivities for current and future water footprints of urban agriculture and the implications for urban water planning and policy.

Food waste management using an electrostatic separator with corona discharge

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Koonchun; Lim, Sooking; Teh, Pehchiong

2015-05-01

In Malaysia, municipal solid waste contains a high portion of organic matters, typically contributed by food waste. It is estimated that about 45% of the municipal waste are food waste, followed by the non-food waste such as plastics, metals, glass and others. Food waste, while being properly sorted and contamination free from non-food waste, can be reused (e.g. fertiliser) instead of being landfilled. Therefore, recycling of food waste is crucial not only from the view point of waste management, but also with respect to the reduction of resource losses and greenhouse gases emission. A new waste separation process involved food particles, non-food particles and electrostatic discharge was investigated in this study. The empirical results reveal that the corona electrostatic separation is an environmental-friendly way in recovering foods from municipal waste. The efficiency of the separator, under same operating conditions, varies with the particle size of the food and non-food particles. The highest efficiency of 82% is recorded for the particle sizes between 1.5 and 3.0 mm.

Food waste management using an electrostatic separator with corona discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lai, Koonchun; Teh, Pehchiong; Lim, Sooking

2015-01-01

In Malaysia, municipal solid waste contains a high portion of organic matters, typically contributed by food waste. It is estimated that about 45% of the municipal waste are food waste, followed by the non-food waste such as plastics, metals, glass and others. Food waste, while being properly sorted and contamination free from non-food waste, can be reused (e.g. fertiliser) instead of being landfilled. Therefore, recycling of food waste is crucial not only from the view point of waste management, but also with respect to the reduction of resource losses and greenhouse gases emission. A new waste separation process involved food particles, non-food particles and electrostatic discharge was investigated in this study. The empirical results reveal that the corona electrostatic separation is an environmental-friendly way in recovering foods from municipal waste. The efficiency of the separator, under same operating conditions, varies with the particle size of the food and non-food particles. The highest efficiency of 82% is recorded for the particle sizes between 1.5 and 3.0 mm

Food waste management using an electrostatic separator with corona discharge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lai, Koonchun; Teh, Pehchiong [Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Malaysia); Lim, Sooking [Faculty of Engineering and Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Malaysia)

2015-05-15

In Malaysia, municipal solid waste contains a high portion of organic matters, typically contributed by food waste. It is estimated that about 45% of the municipal waste are food waste, followed by the non-food waste such as plastics, metals, glass and others. Food waste, while being properly sorted and contamination free from non-food waste, can be reused (e.g. fertiliser) instead of being landfilled. Therefore, recycling of food waste is crucial not only from the view point of waste management, but also with respect to the reduction of resource losses and greenhouse gases emission. A new waste separation process involved food particles, non-food particles and electrostatic discharge was investigated in this study. The empirical results reveal that the corona electrostatic separation is an environmental-friendly way in recovering foods from municipal waste. The efficiency of the separator, under same operating conditions, varies with the particle size of the food and non-food particles. The highest efficiency of 82% is recorded for the particle sizes between 1.5 and 3.0 mm.

Consumer-Related Food Waste: Causes and Potential for Action

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica; Hooge, Ilona de; Amani, Pegah

2015-01-01

behaviors. We identify actions that governments, societal stakeholders and retailers can undertake to reduce consumer-related food waste, highlighting that synergistic actions between all parties are most promising. Further research should focus on exploring specific food waste contexts and interactions......In the past decade, food waste has received increased attention on both academic and societal levels. As a cause of negative economic, environmental and social effects, food waste is considered to be one of the sustainability issues that needs to be addressed. In developed countries, consumers...... are one of the biggest sources of food waste. To successfully reduce consumer-related food waste, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the factors influencing food waste-related consumer perceptions and behaviors. The present paper presents the results of a literature review and expert...

Composting of food wastes: Status and challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Cerda, Alejandra; Artola, Adriana; Font, Xavier; Barrena, Raquel; Gea, Teresa; Sánchez, Antoni

2018-01-01

This review analyses the main challenges of the process of food waste composting and examines the crucial aspects related to the quality of the produced compost. Although recent advances have been made in crucial aspects of the process, such composting microbiology, improvements are needed in process monitoring. Therefore, specific problems related to food waste composting, such as the presence of impurities, are thoroughly analysed in this study. In addition, environmental impacts related to food waste composting, such as emissions of greenhouse gases and odours, are discussed. Finally, the use of food waste compost in soil bioremediation is discussed in detail. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterizing Urban Household Waste Generation and Metabolism Considering Community Stratification in a Rapid Urbanizing Area of China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lishan Xiao

Full Text Available The relationship between social stratification and municipal solid waste generation remains uncertain under current rapid urbanization. Based on a multi-object spatial sampling technique, we selected 191 households in a rapidly urbanizing area of Xiamen, China. The selected communities were classified into three types: work-unit, transitional, and commercial communities in the context of housing policy reform in China. Field survey data were used to characterize household waste generation patterns considering community stratification. Our results revealed a disparity in waste generation profiles among different households. The three community types differed with respect to family income, living area, religious affiliation, and homeowner occupation. Income, family structure, and lifestyle caused significant differences in waste generation among work-unit, transitional, and commercial communities, respectively. Urban waste generation patterns are expected to evolve due to accelerating urbanization and associated community transition. A multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism approach was applied to waste metabolism linking it to particular socioeconomic conditions that influence material flows and their evolution. Waste metabolism, both pace and density, was highest for family structure driven patterns, followed by lifestyle and income driven. The results will guide community-specific management policies in rapidly urbanizing areas.

Food Sources and Accessibility and Waste Disposal Patterns across an Urban Tropical Watershed: Implications for the Flow of Materials and Energy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana C. Garcia-Montiel

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Appraising the social-ecological processes influencing the inflow, transformation, and storage of materials and energy in urban ecosystems requires scientific attention. This appraisal can provide an important tool for assessing the sustainability of cities. Socioeconomic activities are mostly responsible for these fluxes, which are well manifested in the household unit. Human behavior associated with cultural traditions, belief systems, knowledge, and lifestyles are important drivers controlling the transfer of materials throughout the urban environment. Within this context, we explored three aspects of household consumption and waste disposal activities along the Río Piedras Watershed in the San Juan metropolitan area of Puerto Rico. These included: the source of food consumed by residents, recycling activities, and trends in connection to the municipality's sewerage system. We randomly interviewed 440 households at 6 sites along the watershed. We also conducted analysis to estimate accessibility to commercial food services for residents in the study areas. Our surveys revealed that nearly all interviewed households (~97% consumed products from supermarkets. In neighborhoods of the upper portion of the watershed, where residential density is low with large areas of vegetative cover, more than 60% of residents consumed food items cultivated in their yards. Less than 36% of residents in the in densely urbanized parts of the lower portion of the watershed consumed items from their yards. Accessibility to commercial stores for food consumption contrasted among study sites. Recycling activities were mostly carried out by residents in the lower portion of the watershed, with better access to recycling programs provided by the municipality. The surveys also revealed that only 4 to 17% of residences in the upper watershed are connected to the sewerage system whereas the large majority uses septic tanks for septic water disposal. For these residents

Transforming Food Systems through Food Sovereignty: An Australian Urban Context

Science.gov (United States)

Davila, Federico; Dyball, Robert

2015-01-01

This article draws on La Via Campesina's definition of food sovereignty and its potential for reconceptualising food as a basic human right within the dominant Australian food discourse. We argue that the educative value that emerges from urban food production in Australia stems from the action of growing food and its capacity to transform…

Exploring Food Waste : The Role of Health Motivation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Drijfhout, Marit; van Doorn, Jenny; van Ittersum, Koert; Moreau, Page; Puntoni, Stefano

2016-01-01

One-third of all edible food products for human consumption is wasted or lost in the supply chain, with negative social, economic and environmental consequences. Although consumers are the single largest contributors to food waste in industrialized countries, food waste has not received much

Source segregation of food waste in office areas: Factors affecting waste generation rates and quality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Edjabou, Vincent Maklawe Essonanawe; Boldrin, Alessio; Scheutz, Charlotte

2015-01-01

Existing legislation mandates that the amount of waste being recycled should be increased. Among others, in its Resource Strategy Plan, the Danish Government decided that at least 60% of food waste generated by the service sector, including in office areas, should be source-sorted and collected...... separately by 2018. To assess the achievability of these targets, source-sorted food waste and residual waste from office areas was collected and weighed on a daily basis during 133 working days. Waste composition analyses were conducted every week to investigate the efficiency of the source-sorting campaign...... and the purity of the source-sorted food waste. The moisture content of source-sorted food waste and residual waste fractions, and potential methane production from source-sorted food waste, was also investigated.Food waste generation equated to 23. ±. 5. kg/employee/year, of which 20. ±. 5. kg...

Relationship between food waste, diet quality, and environmental sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Niles, Meredith T.; Neher, Deborah A.; Roy, Eric D.; Tichenor, Nicole E.; Jahns, Lisa

2018-01-01

Improving diet quality while simultaneously reducing environmental impact is a critical focus globally. Metrics linking diet quality and sustainability have typically focused on a limited suite of indicators, and have not included food waste. To address this important research gap, we examine the relationship between food waste, diet quality, nutrient waste, and multiple measures of sustainability: use of cropland, irrigation water, pesticides, and fertilizers. Data on food intake, food waste, and application rates of agricultural amendments were collected from diverse US government sources. Diet quality was assessed using the Healthy Eating Index-2015. A biophysical simulation model was used to estimate the amount of cropland associated with wasted food. This analysis finds that US consumers wasted 422g of food per person daily, with 30 million acres of cropland used to produce this food every year. This accounts for 30% of daily calories available for consumption, one-quarter of daily food (by weight) available for consumption, and 7% of annual cropland acreage. Higher quality diets were associated with greater amounts of food waste and greater amounts of wasted irrigation water and pesticides, but less cropland waste. This is largely due to fruits and vegetables, which are health-promoting and require small amounts of cropland, but require substantial amounts of agricultural inputs. These results suggest that simultaneous efforts to improve diet quality and reduce food waste are necessary. Increasing consumers’ knowledge about how to prepare and store fruits and vegetables will be one of the practical solutions to reducing food waste. PMID:29668732

Food waste generation and industrial uses: A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Girotto, Francesca; Alibardi, Luca; Cossu, Raffaello

2015-11-01

Food waste is made up of materials intended for human consumption that are subsequently discharged, lost, degraded or contaminated. The problem of food waste is currently on an increase, involving all sectors of waste management from collection to disposal; the identifying of sustainable solutions extends to all contributors to the food supply chains, agricultural and industrial sectors, as well as retailers and final consumers. A series of solutions may be implemented in the appropriate management of food waste, and prioritised in a similar way to waste management hierarchy. The most sought-after solutions are represented by avoidance and donation of edible fractions to social services. Food waste is also employed in industrial processes for the production of biofuels or biopolymers. Further steps foresee the recovery of nutrients and fixation of carbon by composting. Final and less desirable options are incineration and landfilling. A considerable amount of research has been carried out on food waste with a view to the recovery of energy or related products. The present review aims to provide an overview of current debate on food waste definitions, generation and reduction strategies, and conversion technologies emerging from the biorefinery concept. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Towards a More Sustainable Food Supply Chain: Opening up Invisible Waste in Food Service

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Belén Derqui

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Future challenges to the global food supply chain are complex. In order to embrace sustainability, companies should change their management practices towards more efficient resource use. Food waste being a misuse of resources, we identify its causes and possible ways of minimising it. To achieve this goal, we conducted explorative research with qualitative and quantitative data through in-depth semi-structured interviews and an open questionnaire with top Spanish food service companies. Results show that most businesses mainly tend to minimise food waste according to economic criteria, without taking into account the social, ethical or environmental factors. As a consequence, just “visible” food waste that has an economic impact on the results is minimised. Nevertheless, visibility of real waste is often low. At the same time, awareness of (and therefore initiatives to reduce food waste that does not directly affect a firm’s profit can be increased through multi-stakeholder collaboration. Opportunities for reducing food waste therefore arise from increasing the visibility of food that is discarded as well as addressing plate waste. We identify best practices that could lead to a reduction of the amount of food waste generated in the out of home channel in Spain.

Urban observatories opportunities for environmental monitoring: solid wastes.

Science.gov (United States)

Rojas-Caldelas, R I; Corona Zambrano, E A

2008-01-01

Towns concentrate around 50% of world-wide population and the trend is oriented to underscore an urban profile of population. In addition, towns have become important for their economic contribution to the Gross Internal Product. The negative side of towns is the environmental and social impacts as a result of productive and domestic activities, besides the lack of available data. In order to overcome these shortcomings, the United Nations has established a project of urban monitoring throughout the Global Network of Urban Observatories; Mexico joined the project in 2005. The Local Urban Observatory of Mexicali has the task to produce information about cities that is useful to design public policies. Some of this information deals with a set of environmental indicators in the United Nations Habitat Agenda, which includes solid wastes. Therefore, this paper deals with two main topics; firstly, from the Habitat Agenda, a comparative urban analysis of waste production and coverage of domestic waste collection services; secondly, from the Local Agenda, the identification and ranking of environmental problems according to public perception coming from people involved in the municipal planning and decision making process. Results will be used to develop local indicators and public environmental policies.

Book Review, Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal

Science.gov (United States)

Could curbing food waste significantly reduce world hunger and environmental pressures? Tristram Stuart argues cogently that it could in his book Waste, which details the global food-waste scandal and delves into questions such as how much food is available globally? How much is needed and used, a...

Food waste in the Swiss food service industry - Magnitude and potential for reduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Betz, Alexandra; Buchli, Jürg; Göbel, Christine; Müller, Claudia

2015-01-01

Food losses occur across the whole food supply chain. They have negative effects on the economy and the environment, and they are not justifiable from an ethical point of view. The food service industry was identified by Beretta et al. (2013) as the third largest source of food waste based on food input at each stage of the value added chain. The total losses are estimated 18% of the food input, the avoidable losses 13.5%. However, these estimations are related with considerable uncertainty. To get more reliable and detailed data of food losses in this sector, the waste from two companies (in the education and business sectors) was classified into four categories (storage losses, preparation losses, serving losses, and plate waste) and seven food classes and measured for a period of five days. A questionnaire evaluated customer reaction, and a material flow analysis was used to describe the mass and monetary losses within the process chain. The study found that in company A (education sector) 10.73% and in company B (business sector) 7.69% of the mass of all food delivered was wasted during the process chain. From this, 91.98% of the waste in company A and 78.14% in company B were classified as avoidable. The highest proportion of waste occurred from serving losses with starch accompaniments and vegetables being the most frequently wasted items. The quantities of waste per meal were 91.23 g (value CHF 0.74) and 85.86 g (value CHF 0.44) for company A and company B, respectively. The annual loss averaged 10.47 tonnes (value CHF 85,047) in company A and 16.55 tonnes (value CHF 85,169) in company B. The customer survey showed that 15.79% (n=356) of the respondents in company A and 18.32% (n=382) in company B produced plate waste. The main causes of plate waste cited were 'portion served by staff too large' and 'lack of hunger'. Sustainable measures need to be implemented in the food service industry to reduce food waste and to improve efficiency. Copyright © 2014

Improving food preservation to reduce food waste

OpenAIRE

Gronert, Alicja; Bikova, Borislava; Salce, Luca; Nogués, Marc; Batistelli, Patryk; Farid, Yomna

2014-01-01

The theme and issue of ‘Improving food preservation to reduce food waste’ is associated with all group members participating in this research project. This topic covers multiple processes including purchasing, preserving, preparing and storing food. The industry of fresh fruits and vegetables is an enormous market, which will not disappear any time soon. Food waste is mostly disregarded as fresh fruits and vegetables are mostly inexpensive. All group members believe that this mindset needs to...

Composition of Solid Waste in Al Jabal Al Akhdar, a Mountain Region Undergoing Rapid Urbanization in Northern Oman

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdullah I. Al-Mahrouqi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available There is a lack of data on the generation and composition of waste in rural areas worldwide. The present study analyzed the composition of solid waste in Al Jabal Al Akhdar, a rural mountain region in the Sultanate of Oman, which is presently experiencing a rapid rate of urbanization due to tourism development. The solid wastes here are generated by the municipality collecting waste from residential, commercial, institutional and recreational areas, the military from a training camp and a few non-governmental private companies from their camps and hotels. The whole load from each of the three sources was manually segregated each month from June 2013 – May 2014. The results indicated that plastic is the dominant category in the wastes collected by the municipality and accounts for 26.7%, followed by paper (17.9% and then food (14.4%. Food is the dominant category in the wastes collected by the military and private companies and accounts for 36.5% and 45.5% respectively. Management issues associated with solid waste are briefly considered. The study concluded that the municipality should implement an improved system for the collection of plastic waste and initiate a system for recycling it; the military and private companies should reduce the quantities of food waste by improved planning and management of the catering services.

Food Waste Composting Study from Makanan Ringan Mas

Science.gov (United States)

Kadir, A. A.; Ismail, S. N. M.; Jamaludin, S. N.

2016-07-01

The poor management of municipal solid waste in Malaysia has worsened over the years especially on food waste. Food waste represents almost 60% of the total municipal solid waste disposed in the landfill. Composting is one of low cost alternative method to dispose the food waste. This study is conducted to compost the food waste generation in Makanan Ringan Mas, which is a medium scale industry in Parit Kuari Darat due to the lack knowledge and exposure of food waste recycling practice. The aim of this study is to identify the physical and chemical parameters of composting food waste from Makanan Ringan Mas. The physical parameters were tested for temperature and pH value and the chemical parameter are Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium. In this study, backyard composting was conducted with 6 reactors. Tapioca peel was used as fermentation liquid and soil and coconut grated were used as the fermentation bed. Backyard composting was conducted with six reactors. The overall results from the study showed that the temperature of the reactors were within the range which are from 30° to 50°C. The result of this study revealed that all the reactors which contain processed food waste tend to produce pH value within the range of 5 to 6 which can be categorized as slightly acidic. Meanwhile, the reactors which contained raw food waste tend to produce pH value within the range of 7 to 8 which can be categorized as neutral. The highest NPK obtained is from Reactor B that process only raw food waste. The average value of Nitrogen is 48540 mg/L, Phosphorus is 410 mg/L and Potassium is 1550 mg/L. From the comparison with common chemical fertilizer, it shows that NPK value from the composting are much lower than NPK of the common chemical fertilizer. However, comparison with NPK of organic fertilizer shown only slightly difference value in NPK.

Food waste in South Africa: Opportunities and challenges

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Oelofse, Suzanna HH

2015-07-01

Full Text Available © CSIR 2014 www.csir.co.za Slide 2 • Food is treated as a disposable commodity • Food waste has a triple negative effect: • It impacts on food security • Resources used in food production and distribution are wasted... and stage of the supply chain © CSIR 2006 www.csir.co.za Slide 3 Estimated waste percentage for each commodity group in each step of the food supply chain for sub-Saharan Africa © CSIR 2014 www...

Economic evaluation of radiation processing in urban solid wastes treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Carassiti, F.; Lacquaniti, L.; Liuzzo, G.

During the last few years, quite a number of studies have been done, or are still in course, on disinfection of urban liquid wastes by means of ionizing radiations. The experience gained by SANDIA pilot plant of irradiation on dried sewage sludge, together with the recently presented conceptual design of another plant handling granular solids, characterized by high efficiency and simple running, have shown the possibility of extending this process to the treatment of urban solid wastes. As a matter of fact, the problems connected to the pathogenic aspects of sludge handling are often similar to those met during the disposal of urban solid wastes. This is even more so in the case of their reuse in agriculture and zootechny. The present paper introduces the results of an analysis carried out in order to evaluate the economical advantage of inserting irradiation treatment in some process scheme for management of urban solid wastes. Taking as an example a comprehensive pattern of urban solid wastes management which has been analysed and estimated economically in previous works, we first evaluated the extra capital and operational costs due to the irradiation and then analysed economical justification, taking into account the increasing commercial value of the by-products.

The Impact of Urban Solid Waste Management on Urban Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

خالد عبد الوهاب

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The growing population and the rising standard of living in cities as well as the increased commercial, industrial and agricultural activities around the world led to massive production of waste containing different materials and one of them is the municipal solid waste (MSW, so there is a major problem facing the cities around the world about the waste, how to collect, transfer it and how to discard it. Because the accumulation of wastes, whether in the city alleys or in its squares and especially in its residential areas affect the health of their populations besides this situation will be a major indication of the deteriorating quality of life in the city, as hygiene considered a fundamental criterion for the city beauty as well as an indication of the protection provided by the city to their environment and the level of protection provided to the health of city residence. The accumulated waste which is left in the city without treatment significantly affects the psychological behavior of the residence of these areas towards their community and environment and therefore their behavior towards their regions and their cities. From here emerged the general research problem concerning the modern civilization and its lifestyle that produced great amounts of (municipal solid waste, which became a big problem facing the modern cities concerning their collection, transportation and finally their disposal, how can these great amounts of waste be used whether by recycling, energy recovery or transferring to plant fertilizers ... etc. To serve the sustainable growth of these modern cities, this lead to the specific research problem concerning the lack of clarity concerning the impact of waste collection, transporting and treating and city urban environment and its townscape. Research Hypothesis: The process of collecting, transporting and. treating city solid waste or using it has a great impact on city urban environment and its townscape.

Exploitation of Food Industry Waste for High-Value Products.

Science.gov (United States)

Ravindran, Rajeev; Jaiswal, Amit K

2016-01-01

A growing global population leads to an increasing demand for food production and the processing industry associated with it and consequently the generation of large amounts of food waste. This problem is intensified due to slow progress in the development of effective waste management strategies and measures for the proper treatment and disposal of waste. Food waste is a reservoir of complex carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nutraceuticals and can form the raw materials for commercially important metabolites. The current legislation on food waste treatment prioritises the prevention of waste generation and least emphasises disposal. Recent valorisation studies for food supply chain waste opens avenues to the production of biofuels, enzymes, bioactive compounds, biodegradable plastics, and nanoparticles among many other molecules. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Buying less and wasting less food. Changes in household food energy purchases, energy intakes and energy density between 2007 and 2012 with and without adjustment for food waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Whybrow, Stephen; Horgan, Graham W; Macdiarmid, Jennie I

2017-05-01

Consumers in the UK responded to the rapid increases in food prices between 2007 and 2009 partly by reducing the amount of food energy bought. Household food and drink waste has also decreased since 2007. The present study explored the combined effects of reductions in food purchases and waste on estimated food energy intakes and dietary energy density. The amount of food energy purchased per adult equivalent was calculated from Kantar Worldpanel household food and drink purchase data for 2007 and 2012. Food energy intakes were estimated by adjusting purchase data for food and drink waste, using waste factors specific to the two years and scaled for household size. Scotland. Households in Scotland (n 2657 in 2007; n 2841 in 2012). The amount of food energy purchased decreased between 2007 and 2012, from 8·6 to 8·2 MJ/adult equivalent per d (Pfood waste, estimated food energy intake was not significantly different (7·3 and 7·2 MJ/adult equivalent per d for 2007 and 2012, respectively; P=0·186). Energy density of foods purchased increased slightly from 700 to 706 kJ/100 g (P=0·010). While consumers in Scotland reduced the amount of food energy that they purchased between 2007 and 2012, this was balanced by reductions in household food and drink waste over the same time, resulting in no significant change in net estimated energy intake of foods brought into the home.

Recovery of biomolecules from food wastes--a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Baiano, Antonietta

2014-09-17

Food wastes are produced by a variety of sources, ranging from agricultural operations to household consumption. About 38% occurs during food processing. At present, the European Union legislation encourages the exploitation of co-products. This valorisation can be achieved through the extraction of high-value components such as proteins, polysaccharides, fibres, flavour compounds, and phytochemicals, which can be re-used as nutritionally and pharmacologically functional ingredients. Extraction can proceed according to solid-liquid extraction, Soxhlet extraction, pressurized fluid extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, pulsed electric field extraction, and enzyme-assisted extraction. Nevertheless, these techniques cannot be used indiscriminately and their choice depends on the type of biomolecules and matrix, the scale processing (laboratory or industrial), the ratio between production costs and economic values of the compounds to be extracted. The vegetable wastes include trimmings, peelings, stems, seeds, shells, bran, residues remaining after extraction of oil, starch, sugar, and juice. The animal-derived wastes include wastes from bred animals, wastes from seafood, wastes from dairy processing. The recovered biomolecules and by-products can be used to produce functional foods or as adjuvants in food processing or in medicinal and pharmaceutical preparations. This work is an overview of the type and amounts of food wastes; food waste legislation; conventional and novel techniques suitable for extracting biomolecules; food, medicinal and pharmaceutical uses of the recovered biomolecules and by-products, and future trends in these areas.

Understanding the health impacts of urbanization in China: A living laboratory for urban biogeochemistry research

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Y. G.

2015-12-01

China has the largest population in the world, and by 2011, more than 50% of its population are now living in cities. This ongoing societal change has profound impacts on environmental quality and population health. In addition to intensive discharges of waste, urbanization is not only changing the land use and land cover, but also inducing fundamental changes in biogeochemical processes. Unlike biogeochemistry in non-urban environment, the biological component of urban biogeochemistry is dominated by direct human activities, such as air pollution derived from transport, wastewater treatment, garbage disposal and increase in impervious surface etc. Managing urban biogeochemistry will include source control over waste discharge, eco-infrastructure (such as green space and eco-drainage), resource recovery from urban waste stream, and integration with peri-urban ecosystem, particularly with food production system. The overall goal of managing urban biogeochemistry is for human health and wellbeing, which is a global challenge. In this paper, the current status of urban biogeochemistry research in China will be briefly reviewed, and then it will focus on nutrient recycling and waste management, as these are the major driving forces of environmental quality changes in urban areas. This paper will take a holistic view on waste management, covering urban metabolism analysis, technological innovation and integration for resource recovery from urban waste stream, and risk management related to waste recycling and recovery.

Fresh, frozen, or ambient food equivalents and their impact on food waste generation in Dutch households.

Science.gov (United States)

Janssen, Anke M; Nijenhuis-de Vries, Mariska A; Boer, Eric P J; Kremer, Stefanie

2017-09-01

In Europe, it is estimated that more than 50% of total food waste - of which most is avoidable - is generated at household level. Little attention has been paid to the impact on food waste generation of consuming food products that differ in their method of food preservation. This exploratory study surveyed product-specific possible impacts of different methods of food preservation on food waste generation in Dutch households. To this end, a food waste index was calculated to enable relative comparisons of the amounts of food waste from the same type of foods with different preservation methods on an annual basis. The results show that, for the majority of frozen food equivalents, smaller amounts were wasted compared to their fresh or ambient equivalents. The waste index (WI) proposed in the current paper confirms the hypothesis that it may be possible to reduce the amount of food waste at household level by encouraging Dutch consumers to use (certain) foods more frequently in a frozen form (instead of fresh or ambient). However, before this approach can be scaled to population level, a more detailed understanding of the underlying behavioural causes with regard to food provisioning and handling and possible interactions is required. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

URBAN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CAXIAS DO SUL/BRAZIL: PRACTICES AND CHALLENGES

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Matheus Poletto

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Solid waste management is becoming a challenge for the cities’ authorities in developing countries mainly due to the rapid economic growth and population increasing. In cities of the developing world, the informal sector plays an important role in the management of urban solid waste. This work examines the participation of scavengers in an integrated municipal solid waste management system. The paper is based on direct field observations, interviews with scavengers and characterization of the urban solid waste generated in Caxias do Sul. The partnership between municipal government and local scavengers were also evaluated as well as the contribution of the scavengers in the urban solid waste management system. The study reveals that it is necessary to realize a campaign for improving the waste segregation at source. The infrastructure of the scavengers associations need to be improved and finally the scavengers need to be more deeply involved in the policies associated with the urban solid waste management system adopted in the city.

Domestic food practices: A study of food management behaviors and the role of food preparation planning in reducing waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Romani, Simona; Grappi, Silvia; Bagozzi, Richard P; Barone, Ada Maria

2018-02-01

Recent research has started to show the key role of daily food provision practices in affecting household food waste. Building on and extending these previous contributions, the objective of this paper is to investigate how individuals' everyday practices regarding food (e.g., shopping, cooking, eating, etc.) lead to food waste, and how policy makers and the food industry can implement effective strategies to influence such practices and ultimately help consumers reduce food waste. The research performs three Studies; a critical incident qualitative study (Study 1; N = 514) and a quantitative, survey-based study (Study 2; N = 456) to identify and examine relevant food management behaviors associated with domestic waste. Lastly, findings from a field experiment (Study 3; N = 210) suggest that a specific educational intervention, directed at increasing consumers' perceived skills related to food preparation planning behaviors, reduces domestic food waste. Implications of the research for policy makers and the food industry are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Installation and Setup of Whole School Food Waste Composting Program

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, A.; Forder, S. E.

2014-12-01

Hong Kong, one of the busiest trading harbors in the world, is also a city of 8 million of people. The biggest problem that the government faces is the lack of solid waste landfill space. Hong Kong produces around 13,500 tons of waste per day. There are three landfills in Hong Kong in operation. These three landfills will soon be exhausted in around 2020, and the solid waste in Hong Kong is still increasing. Out of the 13,500 tons of solid waste, 9,000 tons are organic solid waste or food waste. Food waste, especially domestic waste, is recyclable. The Independent Schools Foundation Academy has a project to collect domestic food waste (from the school cafeteria) for decomposition. Our school produces around 15 tons of food waste per year. The project includes a sub-project in the Primary school, which uses the organic soil produced by an aerobic food waste machine, the Rocket A900, to plant vegetables in school. This not only helps our school to process the waste, but also helps the Primary students to study agriculture and have greater opportunities for experimental learning. For this project, two types of machines will be used for food waste processing. Firstly, the Dehydra made by Tiny Planet reduces the volume and the mass of the food waste, by dehydrating the food waste and separating the ground food waste and the excessive water inside machine for further decomposition. Secondly, the A900 Rocket, also made by Tidy Planet; this is used to process the dehydrated ground food waste for around 14 days thereby producing usable organic soil. It grinds the food waste into tiny pieces so that it is easier to decompose. It also separates the wood chips inside the ground food waste. This machine runs an aerobic process, which includes O2 and will produce CO2 during the process and is less harmful to the environment. On the other hand, if it is an anaerobic process occurs during the operation, it will produce a greenhouse gas- CH4 -and smells bad.

Reducing construction waste: A study of urban infrastructure projects.

Science.gov (United States)

de Magalhães, Ruane Fernandes; Danilevicz, Ângela de Moura Ferreira; Saurin, Tarcisio Abreu

2017-09-01

The construction industry is well-known for producing waste detrimental to the environment, and its impacts have increased with the development process of cities. Although there are several studies focused on the environmental impact of residential and commercial buildings, less knowledge is available regarding decreasing construction waste (CW) generation in urban infrastructure projects. This study presents best practices to reduce waste in the said projects, stressing the role of decision-making in the design stage and the effective management of construction processes in public sector. The best practices were identified from literature review, document analysis in 14 projects of urban infrastructure, and both qualitative and quantitative survey with 18 experts (architects and engineers) playing different roles on those projects. The contributions of these research are: (i) the identification of the main building techniques related to the urban design typologies analyzed; (ii) the identification of cause-effect relationships between the design choices and the CW generation diagnosis; (iii) the proposal of a checklist to support the decision-making process, that can be used as a control and evaluation instrument when developing urban infrastructure designs, focused on the construction waste minimization (CWM). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pilot-Plant for Energy Recovery from Tropical Waste Food Materials ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An experimental unit for obtaining gaseous methane from waste food materials is discussed and results are presented for experimental tests with animal wastes and tropical waste food materials. The tropical waste food considered include garri, boiled beans and plantains. As expected, the animal wastes produced higher ...

Chemical composition and methane potential of commercial food wastes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, Victoria M; De la Cruz, Florentino B; Barlaz, Morton A

2016-10-01

There is increasing interest in anaerobic digestion in the U.S. However, there is little information on the characterization of commercial food waste sources as well as the effect of waste particle size on methane yield. The objective of this research was to characterize four commercial food waste sources: (1) university dining hall waste, (2) waste resulting from prepared foods and leftover produce at a grocery store, (3) food waste from a hotel and convention center, and (4) food preparation waste from a restaurant. Each sample was tested in triplicate 8L batch anaerobic digesters after shredding and after shredding plus grinding. Average methane yields for the university dining, grocery store, hotel, and restaurant wastes were 363, 427, 492, and 403mL/dry g, respectively. Starch exhibited the most complete consumption and particle size did not significantly affect methane yields for any of the tested substrates. Lipids represented 59-70% of the methane potential of the fresh substrates. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Food waste in Central Europe - challenges and solutions

Science.gov (United States)

den Boer, Jan; Kobel, Przemysław; Dyjakon, Arkadiusz; Urbańska, Klaudia; Obersteiner, Gudrun; Hrad, Marlies; Schmied, Elisabeth; den Boer, Emilia

2017-11-01

Food waste is an important issue in the global economy. In the EU many activities aimed at this topic are carried out, however in Central Europe is still quite pristine. There is lack of reliable data on food waste quantities in this region, and not many preventive actions are taken. To improve this situation the STREFOWA (Strategies to Reduce and Manage Food Waste in Central Europe) was initiated. It is an international project (Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Poland), founded by the Interreg Central Europe programme, running from July 2016 to June 2019. Its main purpose is to provide solutions to prevent and manage food waste throughout the entire food supply chain. The results of STREFOWA will have positive economical, social and environmental impacts.

Glucoamylase production from food waste by solid state fermentation and its evaluation in the hydrolysis of domestic food waste

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esra Uçkun Kiran

2014-08-01

Full Text Available In this study, food wastes such as waste bread, savory, waste cakes, cafeteria waste, fruits, vegetables and potatoes were used as sole substrate for glucoamylase production by solid state fermentation. Response surface methodology was employed to optimize the fermentation conditions for improving the production of high activity enzyme. It was found that waste cake was the best substrate for glucoamylase production. Among all the parameters studied, glucoamylase activity was significantly affected by the initial pH and incubation time. The highest glucoamylase activity of 108.47 U/gds was achieved at initial pH of 7.9, moisture content of 69.6% wt., inoculum loading of 5.2×105 cells/gram substrate (gs and incubation time of 6 d. The enzyme preparation could effectively digest 50% suspension of domestic food waste in 24 h with an almost complete saccharification using an enzyme dose of only 2U/g food waste at 60°C.

Anaerobic digestion of food waste - Challenges and opportunities.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Fuqing; Li, Yangyang; Ge, Xumeng; Yang, Liangcheng; Li, Yebo

2018-01-01

The disposal of large amounts of food waste has caused significant environmental pollution and financial costs globally. Compared with traditional disposal methods (i.e., landfilling, incineration, and composting), anaerobic digestion (AD) is a promising technology for food waste management, but has not yet been fully applied due to a few technical and social challenges. This paper summarizes the quantity, composition, and methane potential of various types of food waste. Recent research on different strategies to enhance AD of food waste, including co-digestion, addition of micronutrients, control of foaming, and process design, is discussed. It is envisaged that AD of food waste could be combined with an existing AD facility or be integrated with the production of value-added products to reduce costs and increase revenue. Further understanding of the fundamental biological and physicochemical processes in AD is required to improve the technology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Overview of Food Loss and Waste: why does it Matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Ghosh, Purabi R.; Sharma, Shashi B.; Haigh, Yvonne T.; Evers, A. L. Barbara; Ho, Goen

2015-10-01

This paper provides an overview of food waste in the context of food security, resources management and environment health. It compares approaches taken by various governments, community groups, civil societies and private sector organisations to reduce food waste in the developed and developing countries. What constitutes ‘food waste’ is not as simple as it may appear due to diverse food waste measurement protocols and different data documentation methods used worldwide. There is a need to improve food waste data collection methods and implementation of effective strategies, policies and actions to reduce food waste. Global initiatives are urgently needed to: enhance awareness of the value of food; encourage countries to develop policies that motivate community and businesses to reduce food waste; encourage and provide assistance to needy countries for improving markets, transport and storage infrastructure to minimise food waste across the value chain; and, develop incentives that encourage businesses to donate food. In some countries, particularly in Europe, initiatives on food waste management have started to gain momentum. Food waste is a global problem and it needs urgent attention and integrated actions of stakeholders across the food value chain to develop global solutions for the present and future generations.

The impact of urbanization on the community food environment in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yang; Xue, Hong; Wang, Huijun; Su, Chang; Du, Shufa; Wang, Youfa

2017-05-01

Research on how urbanization has influenced the food environment in China is limited. The study aimed to examine the impact of urbanization on the food environment in China. Longitudinal data collected during 1989-2009 from the China Health and Nutrition Survey were used, which covered 9 provinces in China. Urbanicity index (0-10) was assessed using an urbanicity scale. Final analyses included 216 communities. Random-effect models were used in analyses. Urbanization (higher urbanicity index) increased the odds of having fast food restaurants (OR=2.78, 95% CI: 2.18-3.54) and other indoor restaurants (OR=2.93, 95% CI: 2.28-3.76) within the community, the odds of having supermarkets (OR=2.43, 95% CI: 2.04-2.89) and free markets (OR=2.56, 95% CI: 1.77-3.70) within 30 minutes' bus ride from the community. Food prices for apples (β=0.06, 95% CI: 0.04-0.08) and lean pork (β =0.02, 95% CI: 0.01-0.03) increased with urbanicity, while prices for other food did not. Urbanicity was positively associated with community norms for fast food consumption (RR=1.28, 95% CI: 1.22-1.33), fast food preferences (RR=1.09, 95% CI: 1.06-1.12) and nutrition knowledge (RR=1.02, 95% CI: 1.01-1.03). Urbanization is associated with food environment in China. The findings provide insight for future economic development and public health efforts related to urbanization.

Comparison of high-solids to liquid anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and green waste

OpenAIRE

Sanati, Mehri; Chen, Xiang; Yan, Wei

2014-01-01

Co-digestion of food waste and green waste was conducted with six feedstock mixing ratios to evaluate biogas production. Increasing the food waste percentage in the feedstock resulted in an increased methane yield, while shorter retention time was achieved by increasing the green waste percentage. Food waste/green waste ratio of 40:60 was determined as preferred ratio for optimal biogas production. About 90% of methane yield was obtained after 24.5 days of digestion, with total methane yield ...

Food Security and Productivity among Urban Farmers in Kaduna ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

User

Food Security and Productivity among Urban Farmers in Kaduna State, Nigeria https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jae.v22i1.15. Saleh, M.K. ... increase income of urban farmers in the area. Keywords: Food security, urban agricultural productivity, farming household. ..... Access to Bank loans. 8. Factors Affecting Entrepreneurial and ...

Environmental-benefit analysis of two urban waste collection systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Aranda Usón, Alfonso; Ferreira, Germán; Zambrana Vásquez, David; Zabalza Bribián, Ignacio; Llera Sastresa, Eva

2013-10-01

Sustainable transportation infrastructure and travel policies aim to optimise the use of transportation systems to achieve economic and related social and environmental goals. To this end, a novel methodology based on life cycle assessment (LCA) has been developed in this study, with the aim of quantifying, in terms of CO2 emissions equivalent, the impact associated with different alternatives of waste collection systems in different urban typologies. This new approach is focussed on saving energy and raw materials and reducing the environmental impact associated with the waste collection system in urban areas, as well as allowing the design and planning of the best available technologies and most environment-friendly management. The methodology considers a large variety of variables from the point of view of sustainable urban transport such as the location and size of the urban area, the amount of solid waste generated, the level of social awareness on waste separation procedures, the distance between houses and waste collection points and the distance from the latter to the possible recovery plants and/or landfills, taking into account the material and energy recovery ratio within an integrated waste management system. As a case study, two different waste collection systems have been evaluated with this methodology in the ecocity Valdespartera located in Zaragoza, Spain, consisting of approximately 10,000 homes: (i) a system based on traditional truck transportation and manual collection, and (ii) a stationary vacuum waste collection system. Results show that, when operating at loads close to 100%, the stationary collection system has the best environmental performance in comparison with the conventional system. In contrast, when operating at load factors around 13% the environmental benefits in terms of net CO2-eq. emissions for the stationary collection system are around 60% lower in comparison with the conventional one. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All

Surveying the Environmental Footprint of Urban Food Consumption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Goldstein, Benjamin Paul; Birkved, Morten; Fernandez, John

2017-01-01

Assessments of urban metabolism (UM) are well situated to identify the scale, components, and direction of urban and energy flows in cities and have been instrumental in benchmarking and monitoring the key levers of urban environmental pressure, such as transport, space conditioning......, and electricity. Hitherto, urban food consumption has garnered scant attention both in UM accounting (typically lumped with “biomass”) and on the urban policy agenda, despite its relevance to local and global environmental pressures. With future growth expected in urban population and wealth, an accounting...... of the environmental footprint from urban food demand (“foodprint”) is necessary. This article reviews 43 UM assessments including 100 cities, and a total of 132 foodprints in terms of mass, carbon footprint, and ecological footprint and situates it relative to other significant environmental drivers (transport...

Co-management of domestic wastewater and food waste: A life cycle comparison of alternative food waste diversion strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Adilson M; Yu, Kevin; Stadler, Lauren B; Smith, Adam L

2017-01-01

Food waste is increasingly viewed as a resource that should be diverted from landfills. This study used life cycle assessment to compare co-management of food waste and domestic wastewater using anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) against conventional activated sludge (CAS) and high rate activated sludge (HRAS) with three disposal options for food waste: landfilling (LF), anaerobic digestion (AD), and composting (CP). Based on the net energy balance (NEB), AnMBR and HRAS/AD were the most attractive scenarios due to cogeneration of produced biogas. However, cogeneration negatively impacted carcinogenics, non-carcinogenics, and ozone depletion, illustrating unavoidable tradeoffs between energy recovery from biogas and environmental impacts. Fugitive emissions of methane severely increased global warming impacts of all scenarios except HRAS/AD with AnMBR particularly affected by effluent dissolved methane emissions. AnMBR was also most sensitive to food waste diversion participation, with 40% diversion necessary to achieve a positive NEB at the current state of development. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bioenergy Potential from Food Waste in California.

Science.gov (United States)

Breunig, Hanna M; Jin, Ling; Robinson, Alastair; Scown, Corinne D

2017-02-07

Food waste makes up approximately 15% of municipal solid waste generated in the United States, and 95% of food waste is ultimately landfilled. Its bioavailable carbon and nutrient content makes it a major contributor to landfill methane emissions, but also presents an important opportunity for energy recovery. This paper presents the first detailed analysis of monthly food waste generation in California at a county level, and its potential contribution to the state's energy production. Scenarios that rely on excess capacity at existing anaerobic digester (AD) and solid biomass combustion facilities, and alternatives that allow for new facility construction, are developed and modeled. Potential monthly electricity generation from the conversion of gross food waste using a combination of AD and combustion varies from 420 to 700 MW, averaging 530 MW. At least 66% of gross high moisture solids and 23% of gross low moisture solids can be treated using existing county infrastructure, and this fraction increases to 99% of high moisture solids and 55% of low moisture solids if waste can be shipped anywhere within the state. Biogas flaring practices at AD facilities can reduce potential energy production by 10 to 40%.

Quantifying food losses in South Africa and the costs of household food waste

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Oelofse, Suzanna HH

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Food waste is problematic for a number of reasons, including the loss of a potentially valuable food source or resource for use in other processes (e.g. energy generation or composting); wasted resources and emissions in the food supply chain...

Development of a Novel Food Waste Collection Kiosk and Waste-to-Energy Business Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Franchetti

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The U.S. generates more than 37 million metric tons of food waste each year, and over 95% of it is disposed of at U.S. landfills. This paper describes the development of a novel food waste collection kiosk and business model called “Greenbox” that will collect and store food waste from households and restaurants with incentives for user participation to spur food waste-to-energy production in a local community. Greenbox offers a low-cost collection point to divert food waste from landfills, reduce greenhouse gases from decomposition, and aid in generating cleaner energy. A functional prototype was successfully developed by a team of engineering students and a business model was created as part of a senior design capstone course. Each Greenbox unit has the potential to reduce 275 metric tons of food waste per year, remove 1320 kg of greenhouse gases, and create 470,000 liters of methane gas while providing a payback period of 4.2 years and a rate of return of 14.9%.

The Hidden Burden of Food Waste: The Double Energy Waste in Italy

OpenAIRE

Matteo Vittuari; Fabio De Menna; Marco Pagani

2016-01-01

The energy intensity of modern food systems represents a major issue in a scenario of decreasing oil resources and increasing population. Beside the use of renewable energy, an increased efficiency in food systems could contribute to reduce fossil fuels dependence. In this sense, food losses and waste (FLW) have crucial consequences on the energy balance. Based on the concept of “embodied energy”, food wastage can be framed as a double waste of energy, both in terms of non-consumed food energ...

Can we always ignore ship-generated food waste?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polglaze, John

2003-01-01

Considerable quantities of food waste can be generated at a rapid rate in ships, particularly those with large numbers of people onboard. By virtue of the amounts involved and its nature, food waste is potentially the most difficult to manage component of a ship's garbage stream, however, in most sea areas it may be dealt with by the simple expedient of direct discharge to sea. As a consequence, only minimal attention is paid to food waste management by many ship and port operators and advisory bodies, and there is a paucity of information in the available literature. The determination that management of ships' food waste is inconsequential is, however, incorrect in many circumstances. Disposal to sea is not always possible due to restrictions imposed by MARPOL 73/78 and other marine pollution control instruments. Effective management of food waste can be critical for ships that operate in areas where disposal is restricted or totally prohibited

Food losses and waste in the context of sustainable food systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Timmermans, A.J.M.; Ambuko, J.; Belik, W.; Huang, Jikun

2014-01-01

The issue of global food losses and waste has recently received much attention and has been given high visibility. According to FAO, almost one-third of food produced for human consumption – approximately 1.3 billion tonnes per year – is either lost or wasted globally: their reduction is now

Food Waste in School Catering: An Italian Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luca Falasconi

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Food losses and waste are currently at the heart of academic debates, civil society initiatives, and political agendas. This paper investigates food waste in school catering services focusing on six schools located in the municipality of Verona (Italy. It aims to quantify food waste, as a measure of food catering inefficiency, to identify the main causes, and to suggest a set of prevention and reduction interventions. For these purposes food waste is defined as all the products discarded from the food chain while still preserving their nutritional value and complying with safety standards. The work shows a significant level of inefficiency in the school catering services, measured by the amount of food processed and still perfectly edible, but not served during the meals. On average more than 15% of the overall processed food is wasted. Among the causes identified in this study, four of them were more relevant than others because of their implications and impact on prevention: the lack of attention to dietary habits, the rigid food procurement specifications, the menu composition, and the meal presentation.

A Feasibility Study on District Heating and Cooling Business Using Urban Waste Heat

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Sang Joon; Choi, Byoung Youn; Lee, Kyoung Ho; Lee, Jae Bong [Korea Electric Power Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Yoo, Jae In; Yoon, Jae Ho; Oh, Myung Do; Park, Moon Su; Kang, Han Kee; Yoo, Kyeoung Hoon; Bak, Jong Heon; Kim, Sun Chang; Park, Heong Kee; Bae, Tae Sik [Korea Academy of Industrial Technology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1996-12-31

Investigation of papers related to waste heat utilization using heat pump. Estimate of various kinds of urban waste heat in korea. Investigation and study on optimal control of district heating and cooling system. Prediction of energy saving and environmental benefits when the urban waste heat will be used as heat source and sink of heat pump for district heating and cooling. Estimation of economic feasibility on district heating and cooling project utilizing urban waste heat. (author). 51 refs., figs

Life cycle assessment on food waste and its application in China

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Si; Bao, Jingling; Liu, Xiaojie; Stenmarck, Asa

2018-01-01

Food waste causes tremendous problems in terms of environment and economy, twined with big social influence, thus studies on food waste are essential and meanwhile very complicated According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 1.3 billion ton/year of food are wasted globally, which has a total carbon footprint of 4.4 GtCO2 eq per year with a cost of USD 411 billion. According to statistics, China has roughly 195 million tons food waste per year, which is huge. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which is an internationally standardized method by ISO for assessment of product and process, has been applied in food sectors to evaluate the different environmental influence, energy use etc. This paper analyzed some of the LCA application on the different parts of the food supply chain (production, post-harvest handling, the storage and transportation, processing, the retail, and consumption) where food waste is generated and on the food waste disposal stage, looked into what has been studied in the context of China, and gave recommendations for LCA application for Chinese food waste problems: 1) More application of LCA on food waste should be made on the early stage of the food cycle rather than just the kitchen waste; 2) Besides global warming potentials, other environmental influences should be studied more at the same time; 3) Food waste treatment can be studied using LCA broadly considering mixture with other substrates and using different recycling methods; 4) LCA based on a local context with local data/inventory are strongly needed; 5) further more detailed studies to support an elevated food waste management, such as food waste profile can be developed.

Minimising food waste: a call for multidisciplinary research.

Science.gov (United States)

Alamar, Maria Del Carmen; Falagán, Natalia; Aktas, Emel; Terry, Leon A

2018-01-01

Food losses and waste have always been a significant global problem for mankind, and one which has become increasingly recognised as such by policy makers, food producers, processors, retailers, and consumers. It is, however, an emotive subject whereby the extent, accuracy and resolution of available data on postharvest loss and waste are questionable, such that key performance indicators on waste can be misinformed. The nature and extent of food waste differ among developed economies, economies in transition and developing countries. While most emphasis has been put on increasing future crop production, far less resource has been and is still channelled towards enabling both established and innovative food preservation technologies to reduce food waste while maintaining safety and quality. Reducing food loss and waste is a more tractable problem than increasing production in the short to medium term, as its solution is not directly limited, for instance, by available land and water resources. Here we argue the need for a paradigm shift of current funding strategies and research programmes that will encourage the development, implementation and translation of collective biological, engineering and management solutions to better preserve and utilise food. Such multidisciplinary thinking across global supply chains is an essential element in the pursuit of achieving sustainable food and nutritional security. The implementation of allied technological and management solutions is reliant on there being sufficient skilled human capital and resources. There is currently a lack of robust postharvest research networks outside of the developed world, and insufficient global funding mechanisms that can support such interdisciplinary collaborations. There is, thus, a collective need for schemes that encourage inter-supply chain research, knowledge exchange and capacity building to reduce food losses and waste. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical

Behavioral approach to food waste: an experiment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jagau, H.; Vyrastekova, J.

2017-01-01

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of behavioral interventions and nudging in dealing with the food waste problem. In particular, the authors implement an information campaign aiming to increase consumers’ awareness of the food waste problem. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH:

Systematic Quantification of Biogas Potential in Urban Organic Waste

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fitamo, Temesgen Mathewos

incubation tests, and monitoring of production in laboratory reactors, for example, is considerably time-consuming and lasts from 30 up to 90 days, or sometimes even longer. Analytical and modelling methods were combined to develop a rapid, reliable and robust method for the BMP prediction of urban organic...... waste sources. In total, the methane potentials of 87 urban organic waste samples were determined. In addition, 88 plant biomass samples were included in the dataset used for building a combined methane prediction model based on near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS). The model was moderately...... successful in predicting the BMP of urban organic waste sources and could potentially replace traditional techniques currently employed for BMP measurement. The model provides firsthand estimations of BMP and biochemical transformation in fewer than 72 hours, and it could provide support to biogas plant...

Rheological characterisation of biologically treated and non-treated putrescible food waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Baroutian, Saeid; Munir, M T; Sun, Jiyang; Eshtiaghi, Nicky; Young, Brent R

2018-01-01

Food waste is gaining increasing attention worldwide due to growing concerns over its environmental and economic costs. Understanding the rheological behaviour of food waste is critical for effective processing so rheological measurements were carried out for different food waste compositions at 25, 35 and 45 °C. Food waste samples of various origins (carbohydrates, vegetables & fruits, and meat), anaerobically digested and diluted samples were used in this study. The results showed that food waste exhibits shear-thinning flow behaviour and viscosity of food waste is a function of temperature and composition. The composition of food waste affected the flow properties. Viscosity decreased at a given temperature as the proportion of carbohydrate increased. This may be due to the high water content of vegetable & fruits as the total solids fraction is likely to be a key controlling factor of the rheology. The Herschel-Bulkley model was used successfully to model food waste flow behaviour. Also, a higher strain was needed to break down the structure of the food waste as digestion time increased. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

URBAN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OF GUWAHATI CITY IN NORTH-EAST INDIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prasanta Kumar Pradhan

2012-12-01

Full Text Available In recent years municipal solid waste (MSW management has been one of the most environmental concerns for all urban areas of India. Most of the urban centers have neither adequate land nor any facility for MSW disposal. In view of scarcity of lands for making landfill sites, solid wastes can be used for energy recovery resulting in volume reduction, thus requires less area for its disposal. Guwahati is one such city of North-East India, having the potential to recover the energy from solid wastes and at the same time the waste management system of the city can be improved. This paper attempts to characterize the urban solid waste of the city as well as its energy potential for various uses. Results showed that the average generation rate of MSW was 0.7 kg/capita/day and the city has the potential to generate the power of 30 MW from the solid waste.

URBAN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OF GUWAHATI CITY IN NORTH-EAST INDIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. K. Pradhan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years municipal solid waste (MSW management has been one of the most environmental concerns for all urban areas of India. Most of the urban centers have neither adequate land nor any facility for MSW disposal. In view of scarcity of lands for making landfill sites, solid wastes can be used for energy recovery resulting in volume reduction, thus requires less area for its disposal. Guwahati is one such city of North-East India, having the potential to recover the energy from solid wastes and at the same time the waste management system of the city can be improved. This paper attempts to characterize the urban solid waste of the city as well as its energy potential for various uses. Results showed that the average generation rate of MSW was 0.7 kg/capita/day and the city has the potential to generate the power of 30 MW from the solid waste.

Quantifying and analysing food waste generated by Indonesian undergraduate students

Science.gov (United States)

Mandasari, P.

2018-03-01

Despite the fact that environmental consequences derived from food waste have been widely known, studies on the amount of food waste and its influencing factors have relatively been paid little attention. Addressing this shortage, this paper aimed to quantify monthly avoidable food waste generated by Indonesian undergraduate students and analyse factors influencing the occurrence of avoidable food waste. Based on data from 106 undergraduate students, descriptive statistics and logistic regression were applied in this study. The results indicated that 4,987.5 g of food waste was generated in a month (equal to 59,850 g yearly); or 47.05 g per person monthly (equal to 564.62 g per person per a year). Meanwhile, eating out frequency and gender were found to be significant predictors of food waste occurrence.

Estimating household food waste in Denmark:case study of single family households

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Edjabou, Vincent Maklawe Essonanawe; Petersen, C.; Scheutz, Charlotte

and determine potential improvements. In Denmark, although many sorting campaigns involving household waste has been conducted, little attention has been placed on food waste. Comparison of recent studies made for examples in Austria, and the UK suggests that quantity and material composition of food waste vary...... waste and non-avoidable vegetable food waste. Furthermore, avoidable vegetable and animal food waste were the primary source of household food waste. Statistical analysis found a positive linear relationship between household size and the amount of the household food waste suggesting the amount...

New paradigms on how to achieve zero food waste in future cities : Optimizing food use by waste prevention and valorization

OpenAIRE

Redlingshofer, Barbara; Guilbert, Stéphane; Fuentes, Claire; Gracieux, Mélanie

2015-01-01

Cities currently manage uneaten food and other food system based biowaste quite inefficiently. The organic compound, despite its high nutriment value, is only to a small extent recycled and returned to farm soil and therefore, does not contribute to closing ecological nutrient cycles and to supporting sustainable food production [1]. In the US, over 97% of food waste is estimated to be buried in landfills [2]. Forkes has shown for Toronto that only 4.7% at most of food waste nitrogen (includi...

Urban solid waste management in Chongqing: Challenges and opportunities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan Hui; Wang Li'ao; Su Fenwei; Hu Gang

2006-01-01

The dual influences of the resource supply and protection in ecological environments will pose a significant challenge to China's sustainable development. Solid waste management offers opportunities to improve profits by conserving resources and improving environmental performance. This paper examines municipal solid waste (MSW) management in urban Chongqing, the nation's fourth largest municipality after Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. In this paper, we will provide information on the quantity and composition of MSW, as well as give an overview of different methods for collection, transport, treatment and disposal of MSW. At present the daily amount of MSW generated per person is about 1.08 kg; food waste accounts for about 59% of total MSW. MSW in Chongqing has a higher moisture content (64.1%) and a lower LHV (3728 kJ/kg) than other cities in Asia, which is an obstruction for incineration. Landfills are the main method of disposal in Chongqing, but pollution caused by simple landfills and lack of backup MSW disposal capacity are becoming major problems in the main districts of Chongqing. In this paper, the challenges being faced and opportunities to MSW in Chongqing are analyzed and some suggestions are given for improving the MSW system in the future

Geographic patterns of cigarette butt waste in the urban environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Marah, Maacah; Novotny, Thomas E

2011-05-01

This reports the initial phase of a study to quantify the spatial pattern of cigarette butt waste in an urban environment. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was used to create a weighted overlay analysis model which was then applied to the locations of businesses where cigarettes are sold or are likely to be consumed and venues where higher concentrations of butts may be deposited. The model's utility was tested using a small-scale litter audit in three zip codes of San Diego, California. We found that cigarette butt waste is highly concentrated around businesses where cigarettes are sold or consumed. The mean number of butts for predicted high waste sites was 38.1 (SD 18.87), for predicted low waste sites mean 4.8 (SD 5.9), psales and consumption. A GIS and weighted overlay model may be a useful tool in predicting urban locations of greater and lesser amounts of cigarette butt waste. These data can in turn be used to develop economic cost studies and plan mitigation strategies in urban communities.

Recovery of Biomolecules from Food Wastes — A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonietta Baiano

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Food wastes are produced by a variety of sources, ranging from agricultural operations to household consumption. About 38% occurs during food processing. At present, the European Union legislation encourages the exploitation of co-products. This valorisation can be achieved through the extraction of high-value components such as proteins, polysaccharides, fibres, flavour compounds, and phytochemicals, which can be re-used as nutritionally and pharmacologically functional ingredients. Extraction can proceed according to solid-liquid extraction, Soxhlet extraction, pressurized fluid extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, pulsed electric field extraction, and enzyme-assisted extraction. Nevertheless, these techniques cannot be used indiscriminately and their choice depends on the type of biomolecules and matrix, the scale processing (laboratory or industrial, the ratio between production costs and economic values of the compounds to be extracted. The vegetable wastes include trimmings, peelings, stems, seeds, shells, bran, residues remaining after extraction of oil, starch, sugar, and juice. The animal-derived wastes include wastes from bred animals, wastes from seafood, wastes from dairy processing. The recovered biomolecules and by-products can be used to produce functional foods or as adjuvants in food processing or in medicinal and pharmaceutical preparations. This work is an overview of the type and amounts of food wastes; food waste legislation; conventional and novel techniques suitable for extracting biomolecules; food, medicinal and pharmaceutical uses of the recovered biomolecules and by-products, and future trends in these areas.

Environmental-benefit analysis of two urban waste collection systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aranda Usón, Alfonso; Ferreira, Germán; Zambrana Vásquez, David; Zabalza Bribián, Ignacio; Llera Sastresa, Eva

2013-01-01

Sustainable transportation infrastructure and travel policies aim to optimise the use of transportation systems to achieve economic and related social and environmental goals. To this end, a novel methodology based on life cycle assessment (LCA) has been developed in this study, with the aim of quantifying, in terms of CO 2 emissions equivalent, the impact associated with different alternatives of waste collection systems in different urban typologies. This new approach is focussed on saving energy and raw materials and reducing the environmental impact associated with the waste collection system in urban areas, as well as allowing the design and planning of the best available technologies and most environment-friendly management. The methodology considers a large variety of variables from the point of view of sustainable urban transport such as the location and size of the urban area, the amount of solid waste generated, the level of social awareness on waste separation procedures, the distance between houses and waste collection points and the distance from the latter to the possible recovery plants and/or landfills, taking into account the material and energy recovery ratio within an integrated waste management system. As a case study, two different waste collection systems have been evaluated with this methodology in the ecocity Valdespartera located in Zaragoza, Spain, consisting of approximately 10,000 homes: (i) a system based on traditional truck transportation and manual collection, and (ii) a stationary vacuum waste collection system. Results show that, when operating at loads close to 100%, the stationary collection system has the best environmental performance in comparison with the conventional system. In contrast, when operating at load factors around 13% the environmental benefits in terms of net CO 2 -eq. emissions for the stationary collection system are around 60% lower in comparison with the conventional one. - Highlights: • A comprehensive

Environmental-benefit analysis of two urban waste collection systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aranda Usón, Alfonso, E-mail: alaranda@unizar.es; Ferreira, Germán; Zambrana Vásquez, David; Zabalza Bribián, Ignacio; Llera Sastresa, Eva

2013-10-01

Sustainable transportation infrastructure and travel policies aim to optimise the use of transportation systems to achieve economic and related social and environmental goals. To this end, a novel methodology based on life cycle assessment (LCA) has been developed in this study, with the aim of quantifying, in terms of CO{sub 2} emissions equivalent, the impact associated with different alternatives of waste collection systems in different urban typologies. This new approach is focussed on saving energy and raw materials and reducing the environmental impact associated with the waste collection system in urban areas, as well as allowing the design and planning of the best available technologies and most environment-friendly management. The methodology considers a large variety of variables from the point of view of sustainable urban transport such as the location and size of the urban area, the amount of solid waste generated, the level of social awareness on waste separation procedures, the distance between houses and waste collection points and the distance from the latter to the possible recovery plants and/or landfills, taking into account the material and energy recovery ratio within an integrated waste management system. As a case study, two different waste collection systems have been evaluated with this methodology in the ecocity Valdespartera located in Zaragoza, Spain, consisting of approximately 10,000 homes: (i) a system based on traditional truck transportation and manual collection, and (ii) a stationary vacuum waste collection system. Results show that, when operating at loads close to 100%, the stationary collection system has the best environmental performance in comparison with the conventional system. In contrast, when operating at load factors around 13% the environmental benefits in terms of net CO{sub 2}-eq. emissions for the stationary collection system are around 60% lower in comparison with the conventional one. - Highlights: • A

Progress towards Sustainable Utilisation and Management of Food Wastes in the Global Economy.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghosh, Purabi R; Fawcett, Derek; Sharma, Shashi B; Poinern, Gerrard Eddy Jai

2016-01-01

In recent years, the problem of food waste has attracted considerable interest from food producers, processors, retailers, and consumers alike. Food waste is considered not only a sustainability problem related to food security, but also an economic problem since it directly impacts the profitability of the whole food supply chain. In developed countries, consumers are one of the main contributors to food waste and ultimately pay for all wastes produced throughout the food supply chain. To secure food and reduce food waste, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of the various sources of food wastes throughout the food supply chain. The present review examines various reports currently in the literature and quantifies waste levels and examines the trends in wastage for various food sectors such as fruit and vegetable, fisheries, meat and poultry, grain, milk, and dairy. Factors contributing to food waste, effective cost/benefit food waste utilisation methods, sustainability and environment considerations, and public acceptance are identified as hurdles in preventing large-scale food waste processing. Thus, we highlight the need for further research to identify and report food waste so that government regulators and food supply chain stakeholders can actively develop effective waste utilisation practices.

Household capacities, vulnerabilities and food insecurity: Shifts in food insecurity in urban and rural Ethiopia during the 2008 food crisis

Science.gov (United States)

Hadley, Craig; Linzer, Drew A.; Belachew, Tefera; Mariam, Abebe Gebre; Tessema, Fasil; Lindstrom, David

2014-01-01

The global food crisis of 2008 led to renewed interest in global food insecurity and how macro-level food prices impact household and individual level wellbeing. There is debate over the extent to which food price increases in 2008 eroded food security, the extent to which this effect was distributed across rural and urban locales, and the extent to which rural farmers might have benefited. Ethiopia’s food prices increased particularly dramatically between 2005 and 2008 and here we ask whether there was a concomitant increase in household food insecurity, whether this decline was distributed equally across rural, urban, and semi-urban locales, and to what extent pre-crisis household capacities and vulnerabilities impacted 2008 household food insecurity levels. Data are drawn from a random sample of 2610 households in Southwest Ethiopia surveyed 2005/6 and again in mid to late 2008. Results show broad deterioration of household food insecurity relative to baseline but declines were most pronounced in the rural areas. Wealthier households and those that were relatively more food secure in 2005/6 tended to be more food secure in 2008, net of other factors, and these effects were most pronounced in urban areas. External shocks, such as a job loss or loss of crops, experienced by households were also associated with worse food insecurity in 2008 but few other household variables were associated with 2008 food insecurity. Our results also showed that rural farmers tended to produce small amounts for sale on markets, and thus were not able to enjoy the potential benefits that come from greater crop prices. We conclude that poverty, and not urban/rural difference, is the important variable for understanding the risk of food insecurity during a food crisis and that many rural farmers are too poor to take advantage of rapid rises in food prices. PMID:21996022

Household capacities, vulnerabilities and food insecurity: shifts in food insecurity in urban and rural Ethiopia during the 2008 food crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hadley, Craig; Linzer, Drew A; Belachew, Tefera; Mariam, Abebe Gebre; Tessema, Fasil; Lindstrom, David

2011-11-01

The global food crisis of 2008 led to renewed interest in global food insecurity and how macro-level food prices impact household and individual level wellbeing. There is debate over the extent to which food price increases in 2008 eroded food security, the extent to which this effect was distributed across rural and urban locales, and the extent to which rural farmers might have benefited. Ethiopia's food prices increased particularly dramatically between 2005 and 2008 and here we ask whether there was a concomitant increase in household food insecurity, whether this decline was distributed equally across rural, urban, and semi-urban locales, and to what extent pre-crisis household capacities and vulnerabilities impacted 2008 household food insecurity levels. Data are drawn from a random sample of 2610 households in Southwest Ethiopia surveyed 2005/6 and again in mid to late 2008. Results show broad deterioration of household food insecurity relative to baseline but declines were most pronounced in the rural areas. Wealthier households and those that were relatively more food secure in 2005/6 tended to be more food secure in 2008, net of other factors, and these effects were most pronounced in urban areas. External shocks, such as a job loss or loss of crops, experienced by households were also associated with worse food insecurity in 2008 but few other household variables were associated with 2008 food insecurity. Our results also showed that rural farmers tended to produce small amounts for sale on markets, and thus were not able to enjoy the potential benefits that come from greater crop prices. We conclude that poverty, and not urban/rural difference, is the important variable for understanding the risk of food insecurity during a food crisis and that many rural farmers are too poor to take advantage of rapid rises in food prices. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factors Influencing Household Solid Waste Management in Urban ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The main objective of this study was to determine factors that influence household solid waste management practices in urban Nyeri Municipality. Descriptive cross- sectional ... Results from the survey showed that 26.2% of households practiced correct methods of household solid waste management. The percentage of ...

Boulder Food Rescue: An Innovative Approach to Reducing Food Waste and Increasing Food Security.

Science.gov (United States)

Sewald, Craig A; Kuo, Elena S; Dansky, Hana

2018-05-01

Food waste and food insecurity are both significant issues in communities throughout the U.S., including Boulder, Colorado. As much as 40% of the food produced in the U.S. goes uneaten and ends up in landfills. Nearly 13% of people in the Boulder region experience some level of food insecurity. Founded in 2011, Boulder Food Rescue supports community members to create their own food security through a participatory approach to an emergency food system. The organization uses a web-application "robot" to manage a schedule of volunteers. They coordinate with individuals at low-income senior housing sites, individual housing sites, family housing sites, after-school programs, and pre-schools to set up no-cost grocery programs stocked with food from local markets and grocers that would otherwise go to waste. Each site coordinator makes decisions about how, when, and where food delivery and distribution will occur. The program also conducts robust, real-time data collection and analysis. Boulder Food Rescue is a member and manager of the Food Rescue Alliance, and its model has been replicated and adapted by other cities, including Denver, Colorado Springs, Seattle, Jackson Hole, Minneapolis, Binghamton, and in the Philippines. Information for this special article was collected through key informant interviews with current and former Boulder Food Rescue staff and document review of Boulder Food Rescue materials. Boulder Food Rescue's open source software is available to other communities; to date, 40 cities have used the tool to start their own food rescue organizations. Boulder Food Rescue hopes to continue spreading this model to other cities that are considering ways to reduce food waste and increase food security. This article is part of a supplement entitled Building Thriving Communities Through Comprehensive Community Health Initiatives, which is sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, Community Health. Copyright © 2018 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by

Getting a taste for food waste: a mixed methods ethnographic study into hospital food waste before patient consumption conducted at three New Zealand foodservice facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Goonan, Sarah; Mirosa, Miranda; Spence, Heather

2014-01-01

Foodservice organizations, particularly those in hospitals, are large producers of food waste. To date, research on waste in hospitals has focused primarily on plate waste and the affect of food waste on patient nutrition outcomes. Less focus has been placed on waste generation at the kitchen end of the hospital food system. We used a novel approach to understand reasons for hospital food waste before consumption and offer recommendations on waste minimization within foodservices. A mixed methods ethnographic research approach was adopted. Three New Zealand hospital foodservices were selected as research sites, all of which were contracted to an external foodservice provider. Data collection techniques included document analyses, observations, focus groups with kitchen staff, and one-on-one interviews with managers. Thematic analysis was conducted to generate common themes. Most food waste occurred during service and as a result of overproduction. Attitudes and habits of foodservice personnel were considered influential factors of waste generation. Implications of food waste were perceived differently by different levels of staff. Whereas managers raised discussion from a financial perspective, kitchen staff drew upon social implications. Organizational plans, controls, and use of pre-prepared ingredients assisted in waste minimization. An array of factors influenced waste generation in hospital foodservices. Exploring attitudes and practices of foodservice personnel allowed an understanding of reasons behind hospital food waste and ways in which it could be minimized. This study provides a foundation for further research on sustainable behavior within the wider foodservice sector and dietetics practice. Copyright © 2014 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

THE IMPACT OF FOOD WASTE DISCHARGE INTO THE MUNICIPAL SEWERAGE ON COD CONCENTRATION IN URBAN WASTEWATER IN OLSZTYN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wojciech Janczukowicz

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The operators of wastewater treatment plants in Poland have been observing an increase in the concentration of raw sewage for several years. In particular for organic substances. This is the effect of water consumption reduction, restoration of the sewerage networks, growing wealth, widespread waste of food. The most serious adverse, influencing on the municipal wastewater composition is colloid mills application in gastronomical objects and the discharge of shredded food waste to sewer. That widespread behavior has been noticed and negated, in 2010 year, by the common position of GIS and the ME. Far too late, which confirms the situation observed at the Olsztyn wastewater treatment plant, where the biggest increase of COD values ​​was observed in 2008–2010. The average concentration of COD of sewage in the period 2011–2014 was almost twice higher than in 1996, real PE is close to the design value, despite the fact that the hydraulic load of the object slightly exceeded 50% of design value. Removing such large organic pollutant loads generates high costs, that could be avoided by reasonable food waste management.

Co-digestion of food and garden waste with mixed sludge from wastewater treatment in continuously stirred tank reactors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fitamo, Temesgen Mathewos; Boldrin, Alessio; Boe, Kanokwan

2016-01-01

Co-digestions of urban organic waste were conducted to investigate the effect of the mixing ratio between sludge, food waste, grass clippings and green waste at different hydraulic retention times (HRTs). Compared to the digestion of 100% sludge, the methane yield increased by 48% and 35%, when co...... days. However, the methane yield dropped significantly to 356 (R1) and 315 (R2) NmL CH4/g VS when reducing the HRT to 10 days, indicating that the process was stressed. Since the methane production rate improved significantly with decreasing HRT, the trade-off between yield and productivity...

Progress towards Sustainable Utilisation and Management of Food Wastes in the Global Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Purabi R. Ghosh

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the problem of food waste has attracted considerable interest from food producers, processors, retailers, and consumers alike. Food waste is considered not only a sustainability problem related to food security, but also an economic problem since it directly impacts the profitability of the whole food supply chain. In developed countries, consumers are one of the main contributors to food waste and ultimately pay for all wastes produced throughout the food supply chain. To secure food and reduce food waste, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of the various sources of food wastes throughout the food supply chain. The present review examines various reports currently in the literature and quantifies waste levels and examines the trends in wastage for various food sectors such as fruit and vegetable, fisheries, meat and poultry, grain, milk, and dairy. Factors contributing to food waste, effective cost/benefit food waste utilisation methods, sustainability and environment considerations, and public acceptance are identified as hurdles in preventing large-scale food waste processing. Thus, we highlight the need for further research to identify and report food waste so that government regulators and food supply chain stakeholders can actively develop effective waste utilisation practices.

Progress towards Sustainable Utilisation and Management of Food Wastes in the Global Economy

Science.gov (United States)

Ghosh, Purabi R.; Fawcett, Derek; Sharma, Shashi B.

2016-01-01

In recent years, the problem of food waste has attracted considerable interest from food producers, processors, retailers, and consumers alike. Food waste is considered not only a sustainability problem related to food security, but also an economic problem since it directly impacts the profitability of the whole food supply chain. In developed countries, consumers are one of the main contributors to food waste and ultimately pay for all wastes produced throughout the food supply chain. To secure food and reduce food waste, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of the various sources of food wastes throughout the food supply chain. The present review examines various reports currently in the literature and quantifies waste levels and examines the trends in wastage for various food sectors such as fruit and vegetable, fisheries, meat and poultry, grain, milk, and dairy. Factors contributing to food waste, effective cost/benefit food waste utilisation methods, sustainability and environment considerations, and public acceptance are identified as hurdles in preventing large-scale food waste processing. Thus, we highlight the need for further research to identify and report food waste so that government regulators and food supply chain stakeholders can actively develop effective waste utilisation practices. PMID:27847805

Household food waste in Nordic countries: Estimations and ethical implications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mickey Gjerris

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This study focuses on food waste generated by households in four Nordic countries: Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Based on existing literature we present (A comparable data on amounts and monetary value of food waste; (B explanations for food waste at household level; (C a number of public and private initiatives at national levels aiming to reduce food waste; and (D a discussion of ethical issues related to food waste with a focus on possible contributions from ecocentric ethics. We argue that reduction of food waste at household level, which has an impact on issues such as climate change and unjust distribution of food resources, needs to be based on an appreciative and relational understanding of nature and food and not only on economic and moralizing arguments. This is done by drawing on an ecocentric perspective where food is seen as one of the areas where new narratives need to be developed to establish cultural habits replacing a focus on affluence and individual choice with a focus on participatory embeddedness in a more-than-human lifeworld.http://dx.doi.org/10.5324/eip.v7i1.1786

Food waste in Central Europe – challenges and solutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

den Boer Jan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Food waste is an important issue in the global economy. In the EU many activities aimed at this topic are carried out, however in Central Europe is still quite pristine. There is lack of reliable data on food waste quantities in this region, and not many preventive actions are taken. To improve this situation the STREFOWA (Strategies to Reduce and Manage Food Waste in Central Europe was initiated. It is an international project (Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Poland, founded by the Interreg Central Europe programme, running from July 2016 to June 2019. Its main purpose is to provide solutions to prevent and manage food waste throughout the entire food supply chain. The results of STREFOWA will have positive economical, social and environmental impacts.

Batch dark fermentation from enzymatic hydrolyzed food waste for hydrogen production.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Wei; Ye, Min; Zhu, Ai Jun; Zhao, Hong Ting; Li, Yong Feng

2015-09-01

A combination bioprocess of solid-state fermentation (SSF) and dark fermentative hydrogen production from food waste was developed. Aspergillus awamori and Aspergillus oryzae were utilized in SSF from food waste to generate glucoamylase and protease which were used to hydrolyze the food waste suspension to get the nutrients-rich (glucose and free amino nitrogen (FAN)) hydrolysate. Both glucose and FAN increased with increasing of food waste mass ratio from 4% to 10% (w/v) and the highest glucose (36.9 g/L) and FAN (361.3mg/L) were observed at food waste mass ratio of 10%. The food waste hydrolysates were then used as the feedstock for dark fermentative hydrogen production by heat pretreated sludge. The best hydrogen yield of 39.14 ml H2/g food waste (219.91 ml H2/VSadded) was achieved at food waste mass ratio of 4%. The proposed combination bioprocess could effectively accelerate the hydrolysis rate, improve raw material utilization and enhance hydrogen yield. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Household food waste separation behavior and the importance of convenience.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernstad, Anna

2014-07-01

Two different strategies aiming at increasing household source-separation of food waste were assessed through a case-study in a Swedish residential area (a) use of written information, distributed as leaflets amongst households and (b) installation of equipment for source-segregation of waste with the aim of increasing convenience food waste sorting in kitchens. Weightings of separately collected food waste before and after distribution of written information suggest that this resulted in neither a significant increased amount of separately collected food waste, nor an increased source-separation ratio. After installation of sorting equipment in households, both the amount of separately collected food waste as well as the source-separation ratio increased vastly. Long-term monitoring shows that results where longstanding. Results emphasize the importance of convenience and existence of infrastructure necessary for source-segregation of waste as important factors for household waste recycling, but also highlight the need of addressing these aspects where waste is generated, i.e. already inside the household. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Waste management to improve food safety and security for health advancement.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Angela Yu-Chen; Huang, Susana Tzy-Ying; Wahlqvist, Mark L

2009-01-01

Economic growth inevitably influences the food chain. Growing demand with changes in lifestyle and health consciousness encourage use of packaged and pre-prepared foods. The needs of environmental protection from waste generated are largely overlooked, and a lack of knowledge about the impact on the environment and its health effects constitute food security/safety problems. Food production and waste generation directly affect resource (i.e., energy and water) consumption and often contaminate the environment. More pressure on food production has inculcated the use of pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics and chemical fertilizers which add to current global pollution. At least half of food grown is discarded before and after it reaches consumers. It is estimated that one third to half of landfill waste comes from the food sector. This landfill releases green house gases (GHG) as well as leachate which worsen soil and water quality and safety. Pharmaceutical and chemical contaminations from residential, industrial and agricultural sources make their way into nearby water and soil and can eventually affect our food systems. Phthalates, PFOA, BPA, commonly used in plastics and personal care products, are found in unacceptable concentrations in Taiwanese waters. They, too, contribute to food contamination and long-term health risk. Existing waste management strategies warrant more stringent norms for waste reduction at source. Awareness through education could reduce food waste and its consequences. This review encompasses impacts of food production systems on the environment, pollution which results from food waste, costs and economic advantages in food waste management, and health consequences of waste.

An assessment of management practices of wood and wood-related wastes in the urban environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-02-01

The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that yard waste{sup 1} accounts for approximately 16% of the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream (US EPA, 1994). Until recently, specific data and related information on this component of the (MSW) stream has been limited. The purposes of this study, phase two of the three-phase assessment of urban wood waste issues, are to assess and describe current alternatives to landfills for urban wood waste management; provide guidance on the management of urban wood waste to organizations that produce or manage wood waste; and clarify state regulatory and policy positions affecting these organizations. For this study, urban wood waste is defined as solid waste generated by tree and landscape maintenance services (public and private). Urban wood waste includes the following materials: unchipped mixed wood, unchipped logs, and unchipped tops and brush; clearing and grubbing waste; fall leaves and grass clippings; and chips and whole stumps. Construction and demolition debris and consumer-generated yard waste are not included in this study. Generators of urban wood waste include various organizations; municipal, county, and commercial tree care divisions; nurseries, orchards, and golf courses; municipal park and recreation departments; and electric and telephone utility power line maintenance, excavator and land clearance, and landscape organizations. (1) US EPA defines yard waste as ''yard trimmings'' which includes ''grass, leaves and tree brush trimmings from residential, institutional, and commercial sources.''

Exergetic comparison of food waste valorization in industrial bread production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zisopoulos, F.K.; Moejes, S.N.; Rossier Miranda, F.J.; Goot, van der A.J.; Boom, R.M.

2015-01-01

This study compares the thermodynamic performance of three industrial bread production chains: one that generates food waste, one that avoids food waste generation, and one that reworks food waste to produce new bread. The chemical exergy flows were found to be much larger than the physical exergy

City Level of Income and Urbanization and Availability of Food Stores and Food Service Places in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Chunxiao; Tan, Yayun; Wu, Chaoqun; Wang, Shengfeng; Yu, Canqing; Cao, Weihua; Gao, Wenjing; Lv, Jun; Li, Liming

2016-01-01

The contribution of unhealthy dietary patterns to the epidemic of obesity has been well recognized. Differences in availability of foods may have an important influence on individual eating behaviors and health disparities. This study examined the availability of food stores and food service places by city characteristics on city level of income and urbanization. The cross-sectional survey was comprised of two parts: (1) an on-site observation to measure availability of food stores and food service places in 12 cities of China; (2) an in-store survey to determine the presence of fresh/frozen vegetables or fruits in all food stores. Trained investigators walked all the streets/roads within study tracts to identify all the food outlets. An observational survey questionnaire was used in all food stores to determine the presence of fresh/frozen vegetables or fruits. Urbanization index was determined for each city using a principal components factor analysis. City level of income and urbanization and numbers of each type of food stores and food service places were examined using negative binomial regression models. Large-sized supermarkets and specialty retailers had higher number of fresh/frozen vegetables or fruits sold compared to small/medium-sized markets. High-income versus low-income, high urbanized versus low urbanized areas had significantly more large-sized supermarkets and fewer small/medium-sized markets. In terms of restaurants, high urbanized cities had more western fast food restaurants and no statistically significant difference in the relative availability of any type of restaurants was found between high- and low-income areas. The findings suggested food environment disparities did exist in different cities of China.

City Level of Income and Urbanization and Availability of Food Stores and Food Service Places in China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chunxiao Liao

Full Text Available The contribution of unhealthy dietary patterns to the epidemic of obesity has been well recognized. Differences in availability of foods may have an important influence on individual eating behaviors and health disparities. This study examined the availability of food stores and food service places by city characteristics on city level of income and urbanization.The cross-sectional survey was comprised of two parts: (1 an on-site observation to measure availability of food stores and food service places in 12 cities of China; (2 an in-store survey to determine the presence of fresh/frozen vegetables or fruits in all food stores. Trained investigators walked all the streets/roads within study tracts to identify all the food outlets. An observational survey questionnaire was used in all food stores to determine the presence of fresh/frozen vegetables or fruits. Urbanization index was determined for each city using a principal components factor analysis. City level of income and urbanization and numbers of each type of food stores and food service places were examined using negative binomial regression models.Large-sized supermarkets and specialty retailers had higher number of fresh/frozen vegetables or fruits sold compared to small/medium-sized markets. High-income versus low-income, high urbanized versus low urbanized areas had significantly more large-sized supermarkets and fewer small/medium-sized markets. In terms of restaurants, high urbanized cities had more western fast food restaurants and no statistically significant difference in the relative availability of any type of restaurants was found between high- and low-income areas.The findings suggested food environment disparities did exist in different cities of China.

City Level of Income and Urbanization and Availability of Food Stores and Food Service Places in China

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Chunxiao; Tan, Yayun; Wu, Chaoqun; Wang, Shengfeng; Yu, Canqing; Cao, Weihua; Gao, Wenjing; Lv, Jun; Li, Liming

2016-01-01

Objective The contribution of unhealthy dietary patterns to the epidemic of obesity has been well recognized. Differences in availability of foods may have an important influence on individual eating behaviors and health disparities. This study examined the availability of food stores and food service places by city characteristics on city level of income and urbanization. Methods The cross-sectional survey was comprised of two parts: (1) an on-site observation to measure availability of food stores and food service places in 12 cities of China; (2) an in-store survey to determine the presence of fresh/frozen vegetables or fruits in all food stores. Trained investigators walked all the streets/roads within study tracts to identify all the food outlets. An observational survey questionnaire was used in all food stores to determine the presence of fresh/frozen vegetables or fruits. Urbanization index was determined for each city using a principal components factor analysis. City level of income and urbanization and numbers of each type of food stores and food service places were examined using negative binomial regression models. Results Large-sized supermarkets and specialty retailers had higher number of fresh/frozen vegetables or fruits sold compared to small/medium-sized markets. High-income versus low-income, high urbanized versus low urbanized areas had significantly more large-sized supermarkets and fewer small/medium-sized markets. In terms of restaurants, high urbanized cities had more western fast food restaurants and no statistically significant difference in the relative availability of any type of restaurants was found between high- and low-income areas. Conclusions The findings suggested food environment disparities did exist in different cities of China. PMID:26938866

Assessment of radiological properties of wastes from urban decontamination procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Da Silva, D.N.G.; Guimarães, J.R.D.; Rochedo, E.R.R.; Rochedo, P.R.R.; De Luca, C.

2015-01-01

One important activity associated to urban areas contaminated from accidental releases to the atmosphere of nuclear power plants is the management of radioactive wastes generated from decontamination procedures. This include the collection, conditioning, packing, transport and temporary/final disposition. The final destination is defined usually through a political decision. Thus, transport of packed radioactive wastes shall depend on decisions not just under the scope of radiological protection issues. However, the simulations performed to assess doses for the public and decontamination workers allows the estimate of radiological aspects related to the waste generated and these characteristics may be included in a multi-criteria decision tool aiming to support, under the radiological protection point of view, the decision-making process on post-emergency procedures. Important information to decision makers are the type, amount and activity concentration of wastes. This work describes the procedures to be included in the urban area model to account for the assessment of qualitative and quantitative description of wastes. The results will allow the classification of different procedures according to predefined criteria that shall then feed the multi-criteria assessment tool, currently under development, considering basic radiological protection aspects of wastes generated by the different available cleanup procedures on typical tropical urban environments. (authors)

Modeling of urban solid waste management system: The case of Dhaka city

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sufian, M.A.; Bala, B.K.

2007-01-01

This paper presents a system dynamics computer model to predict solid waste generation, collection capacity and electricity generation from solid waste and to assess the needs for waste management of the urban city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Simulated results show that solid waste generation, collection capacity and electricity generation potential from solid waste increase with time. Population, uncleared waste, untreated waste, composite index and public concern are projected to increase with time for Dhaka city. Simulated results also show that increasing the budget for collection capacity alone does not improve environmental quality; rather an increased budget is required for both collection and treatment of solid wastes of Dhaka city. Finally, this model can be used as a computer laboratory for urban solid waste management (USWM) policy analysis

Modeling of urban solid waste management system: the case of Dhaka city

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sufian, M.A.; Bala, B.K.

2005-01-01

This paper presents a system dynamics computer model to predict solid waste generation, collection capacity and electricity generation from solid waste and to assess the needs for waste management of the urban city Dhaka Bangladesh. Simulated results show that solid waste generation, collection capacity and electricity generation potential from solid waste increase with time. Population, uncleared waste, untreated waste, composite index and public concern are increasing with time for Dhaka city. Simulated results also show that increasing the budge for collection capacity alone does not improve the environmental quality rather increased budget is required for both collection and treatment of solid wastes of Dhaka city. Finally, this model can be used as a compute laboratory for urban solid waste management (USWM) policy analysis. (author)

Food Desertification: Situating Choice and Class Relations within an Urban Political Economy of Declining Food Access

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melanie Bedore

2014-05-01

Full Text Available While food deserts create whole sets of tangible consequences for people living within them, the problem has yet to be the subject of much normative, in-depth evaluation as an urban political economy of food access. This paper provides a critical analysis of a specific food desert and its responses, drawing on a case study of the low-income, spatially segregated North End of the small city of Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The main thrust of the paper is that the food desert remains a useful yet underexplored phenomenon through which to reveal the complexities and tensions surrounding the treatment of “choice” in a classed society. Understood as an urban political economy of declining food access, the food desert phenomenon reveals capital’s complex role in the promotion or violation of dignity through the urban geographies of acquiring food for oneself, family, or household. Through the data presented here, the article also argues for a collective pause among critical scholars to radicalize, rather than reject, the role of consumer choice in a more just food system, and for further normative engagement with urban landscapes of retail consolidation.

The costs of household food waste in South Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Nahman, Anton

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Food waste is problematic for a number of reasons, including the loss of a potentially valuable food source or resource for use in other processes (e.g. energy generation or composting), wasted resources and emissions in the food supply chain...

Analytical methods for waste minimisation in the convenience food industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Darlington, R; Staikos, T; Rahimifard, S

2009-04-01

Waste creation in some sectors of the food industry is substantial, and while much of the used material is non-hazardous and biodegradable, it is often poorly dealt with and simply sent to landfill mixed with other types of waste. In this context, overproduction wastes were found in a number of cases to account for 20-40% of the material wastes generated by convenience food manufacturers (such as ready-meals and sandwiches), often simply just to meet the challenging demands placed on the manufacturer due to the short order reaction time provided by the supermarkets. Identifying specific classes of waste helps to minimise their creation, through consideration of what the materials constitute and why they were generated. This paper aims to provide means by which food industry wastes can be identified, and demonstrate these mechanisms through a practical example. The research reported in this paper investigated the various categories of waste and generated three analytical methods for the support of waste minimisation activities by food manufacturers. The waste classifications and analyses are intended to complement existing waste minimisation approaches and are described through consideration of a case study convenience food manufacturer that realised significant financial savings through waste measurement, analysis and reduction.

Comparison of high-solids to liquid anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and green waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xiang; Yan, Wei; Sheng, Kuichuan; Sanati, Mehri

2014-02-01

Co-digestion of food waste and green waste was conducted with six feedstock mixing ratios to evaluate biogas production. Increasing the food waste percentage in the feedstock resulted in an increased methane yield, while shorter retention time was achieved by increasing the green waste percentage. Food waste/green waste ratio of 40:60 was determined as preferred ratio for optimal biogas production. About 90% of methane yield was obtained after 24.5 days of digestion, with total methane yield of 272.1 mL/g VS. Based the preferred ratio, effect of total solids (TS) content on co-digestion of food waste and green waste was evaluated over a TS range of 5-25%. Results showed that methane yields from high-solids anaerobic digestion (15-20% TS) were higher than the output of liquid anaerobic digestion (5-10% TS), while methanogenesis was inhibited by further increasing the TS content to 25%. The inhibition may be caused by organic overloading and excess ammonia. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Promoting Productive Urban Green Open Space Towards Food Security: Case Study Taman Sari, Bandung

Science.gov (United States)

Ridwan, M.; Sinatra, Fran; Natalivan, Petrus

2017-10-01

The common trend of urban population has been growing significantly in Indonesia for decades, are affected by urban green space conversion. Generally, this area is utilized for urban infrastructures and residences. Furthermore, urban area has grown uncontrollably that could enhance the phenomenon of urban sprawl. The conversion of green urban area and agricultural area will significantly decrease urban food security and quality of urban environment. This problem becomes a serious issue for urban sustainability. Bandung is a city with dense population where there are many poor inhabitants. Families living in poverty are subjected to food insecurity caused by the rise of food prices. Based on the urgency of urban food security and urban environment quality the local government has to achieve comprehensive solutions. This research aims to formulate the policy of productive green open space towards food security for poor people in Bandung. This research not only examines the role played by productive green open space to supply food for the urban poor but also how to govern urban areas sustainably and ensure food security. This research uses descriptive explanatory methodology that describes and explains how to generate policy and strategic planning for edible landscape to promote urban food security. Taman Sari is the location of this research, this area is a populous area that has amount of poor people and has a quite worse quality of urban environment. This study shows that urban green open space has the potential to be utilized as an urban farming land, which poor inhabitants could be main actors to manage urban agriculture to provide their food. Meanwhile, local government could contribute to subsidize the financial of urban farming activities.

Barriers to Food Security and Community Stress in an Urban Food Desert

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessica Crowe

2018-05-01

Full Text Available By analyzing data from focus groups in a poor, mostly African American neighborhood in a large U.S. city, we describe how residents in urban food deserts access food, the barriers they experience in accessing nutritious, affordable food, and how community food insecurity exacerbates prior social, built, and economic stressors. Provided the unwillingness of supermarkets and supercenters to locate to poor urban areas and the need for nutritious, affordable food, it may be more efficient and equitable for government programs to financially partner with ethnic markets and smaller locally-owned grocery stores to increase the distribution and marketing of healthy foods rather than to spend resources trying to entice a large supermarket to locate to the neighborhood. By focusing on improving the conditions of the neighborhood and making smaller grocery stores and markets more affordable and produce more attractive to residents, the social, built, and economic stressors experienced by residents will be reduced, thereby possibly improving overall mental and physical health.

‘Smart food city’: conceptual relations between smart city planning, urban food systems and innovation theory

OpenAIRE

Maye, Damian

2018-01-01

This paper develops a conceptual link between smart city planning and urban food systems research in terms of governance and innovation. The ‘smart city’ concept is linked to an urban research agenda which seeks to embed advances in technology and data collection into the infrastructures of urban environments. Through this neoliberal framework, market-led and technological solutions to city governance and development are prioritised. The urban food movement has a different trajectory compared...

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF FOOD SECTOR AND LIMITATIONS OF FOOD LOSSES AND ITS WASTE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beata Bilska

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Globally is wasted about one third of total food produced per year. The losses are borne along the entire food chain from “farm to fork”. The phenomenon requires an analysis and monitoring of the impact due to continuous development of food sector. Food losses and its waste have an impact on the sustainability of food systems in all three dimensions: economic, social and environmental. Irrational use of food beyond the amount of losses, is a threat to our environment because of excessive consumption of natural resources and is a causes of unmet nutritional needs of societies. The aim of the study was to determine the causes of losses and wastage in the food chain and categorization as well as taking into account recovery capabilities. As follows from the analysis presented in the work some of the reasons for food losses and waste are well known, possible limitations. Therefore, we should seek ways of recovering of food products and using them as intended. One way may be the transfer of food for social purposes, which also affects the sustainability of development in this sector due to social aspects.

School Lunch Waste among Middle School Students: Implications for Nutrients Consumed and Food Waste Costs

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Juliana F.W.; Richardson, Scott; Austin, S. Bryn; Economos, Christina D.; Rimm, Eric B.

2013-01-01

Background The National School Lunch Program has been guided by modest nutrient standards, and the palatability of meals, which drives consumption, receives inadequate attention. School food waste can have important nutritional and cost implications for policy makers, students, and their families. Purpose Nutrient losses and economic costs associated with school meal waste were examined. The study also assessed if school foods served were valid proxies for foods consumed by students. Methods Plate waste measurements were collected from middle school students in Boston attending two Chef Initiative schools (n=1609) and two control schools (n=1440) during a two-year pilot study (2007-2009) where a professional chef trained cafeteria staff to make healthier school meals. The costs associated with food waste were calculated and the percent of foods consumed was compared with a gold standard of 85% consumption. Analyses were conducted in 2010-2011. Results Overall, students consumed less than the required/recommended levels of nutrients. An estimated $432,349 of food (26.1% of the total food budget) was discarded by middle school students annually at lunch in Boston middle schools. For most meal components, significantly less than 85% was consumed. Conclusions There is substantial food waste among middle school students in Boston. Overall, students' nutrient consumption levels were below school meal standards and foods served were not valid proxies for foods consumed. The costs associated with discarded foods are high; if translated nationally for school lunches, roughly $1,238,846,400 annually is wasted. Students would benefit if additional focus was given to the quality and palatability of school meals. PMID:23332326

Reducing ethylene levels along the food supply chain: a key to reducing food waste?

Science.gov (United States)

Blanke, Michael M

2014-09-01

Excessive waste along the food supply chain of 71 (UK, Netherlands) to 82 (Germany) kg per head per year sparked widespread criticism of the agricultural food business and provides a great challenge and task for all its players and stakeholders. Origins of this food waste include private households, restaurants and canteens, as well as supermarkets, and indicate that 59-65% of this food waste can be avoided. Since ∼50% of the food waste is fruit and vegetables, monitoring and control of their natural ripening gas - ethylene - is suggested here as one possible key to reducing food waste. Ethylene accelerates ripening of climacteric fruits, and accumulation of ethylene in the supply chain can lead to fruit decay and waste. While ethylene was determined using a stationary gas chromatograph with gas cylinders, the new generation of portable sensor-based instruments now enables continuous in situ determination of ethylene along the food chain, a prerequisite to managing and maintaining the quality and ripeness of fruits and identifying hot spots of ethylene accumulation along the supply chain. Ethylene levels were measured in a first trial, along the supply chain of apple fruit from harvest to the consumer, and ranged from 10 ppb in the CA fruit store with an ethylene scrubber, 70 ppb in the fruit bin, to 500 ppb on the sorting belt in the grading facility, to ppm levels in perforated plastic bags of apples. This paper also takes into account exogenous ethylene originating from sources other than the fruit itself. Countermeasures are discussed, such as the potential of breeding for low-ethylene fruit, applications of ethylene inhibitors (e.g. 1-MCP) and absorber strips (e.g. 'It's Fresh', Ryan'), packages (e.g. 'Peakfresh'), both at the wholesale and retail level, vents and cooling for the supply chain, sale of class II produce ('Wunderlinge'), collection (rather than waste) of produce on the 'sell by' date ('Die Tafel') and whole crop purchase (WCP) to aid reducing

Lost water and nitrogen resources due to EU consumer food waste

Science.gov (United States)

Vanham, D.; Bouraoui, F.; Leip, A.; Grizzetti, B.; Bidoglio, G.

2015-08-01

The European Parliament recently called for urgent measures to halve food waste in the EU, where consumers are responsible for a major part of total waste along the food supply chain. Due to a lack of data on national food waste statistics, uncertainty in (consumer) waste quantities (and the resulting associated quantities of natural resources) is very high, but has never been previously assessed in studies for the EU. Here we quantify: (1) EU consumer food waste, and (2) associated natural resources required for its production, in term of water and nitrogen, as well as estimating the uncertainty of these values. Total EU consumer food waste averages 123 (min 55-max 190) kg/capita annually (kg/cap/yr), i.e. 16% (min 7-max 24%) of all food reaching consumers. Almost 80%, i.e. 97 (min 45-max 153) kg/cap/yr is avoidable food waste, which is edible food not consumed. We have calculated the water and nitrogen (N) resources associated with avoidable food waste. The associated blue water footprint (WF) (the consumption of surface and groundwater resources) averages 27 litre per capita per day (min 13-max 40 l/cap/d), which slightly exceeds the total blue consumptive EU municipal water use. The associated green WF (consumptive rainwater use) is 294 (min 127-max 449) l/cap/d, equivalent to the total green consumptive water use for crop production in Spain. The nitrogen (N) contained in avoidable food waste averages 0.68 (min 0.29-max 1.08) kg/cap/yr. The food production N footprint (any remaining N used in the food production process) averages 2.74 (min 1.02-max 4.65) kg/cap/yr, equivalent to the use of mineral fertiliser by the UK and Germany combined. Among all the food product groups wasted, meat accounts for the highest amounts of water and N resources, followed by wasted cereals. The results of this study provide essential insights and information on sustainable consumption and resource efficiency for both EU policies and EU consumers.

Food Waste Drivers in Europe, from Identification to Possible Interventions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Massimo Canali

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The growing volumes of food globally lost or wasted and implications for food security and sustainability have raised the concern of researchers, governments, international organizations and grass-root movements. Much research and experiences investigating food waste causes and drivers focus on one specific segment of the food supply chain and limit the analysis to the situation of one or few countries, while the few studies of wider geographical scope also target other relevant and diversified objectives (e.g., food waste definition, quantification, environmental and economic impacts, and recommendations for interventions. This study, carried out by a network of European institutions involved in research and initiatives against food waste, focuses on the analysis of a broad area, Europe, through a wide and systematic literature review and consultation with stakeholders in international focus groups. The food supply chain was divided into seven segments and three main contexts were defined for the examination of food waste sources: Technological, Institutional (related to organisational factors, i.e., business management, economy, legislation, and policy, and Social (related to consumers’ behaviours and lifestyles. Results suggest a wide and multifaceted problem, interconnected across all stages of the food supply chain, from primary production, to final consumption. Within each context, the identified drivers have been grouped according to the possibilities and the type of interventions for food waste reduction. A final cross-contextual prioritization distinguished food waste sources related to (A inherent characteristics of food; (B social and economic factors; (C individual non-readily changeable behaviours; (D other priorities targeted by private and public stakeholders; (E diversified factors, such as mismanagement, inefficient legislation, lack of awareness or information; and sub-optimal use of available technologies, which could be

An urban food store intervention positively affects food-related psychosocial variables and food behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Gittelsohn, Joel; Song, Hee-Jung; Suratkar, Sonali; Kumar, Mohan B; Henry, Elizabeth G; Sharma, Sangita; Mattingly, Megan; Anliker, Jean A

2010-06-01

Obesity and other diet-related chronic diseases are more prevalent in low-income urban areas, which commonly have limited access to healthy foods. The authors implemented an intervention trial in nine food stores, including two supermarkets and seven corner stores, in a low-income, predominantly African American area of Baltimore City, with a comparison group of eight stores in another low-income area of the city. The intervention (Baltimore Healthy Stores; BHS) included an environmental component to increase stocks of more nutritious foods and provided point-of-purchase promotions including signage for healthy choices and interactive nutrition education sessions. Using pre- and postassessments, the authors evaluated the impact of the program on 84 respondents sampled from the intervention and comparison areas. Exposure to intervention materials was modest in the intervention area, and overall healthy food purchasing scores, food knowledge, and self-efficacy did not show significant improvements associated with intervention status. However, based on adjusted multivariate regression results, the BHS program had a positive impact on healthfulness of food preparation methods and showed a trend toward improved intentions to make healthy food choices. Respondents in the intervention areas were significantly more likely to report purchasing promoted foods because of the presence of a BHS shelf label. This is the first food store intervention trial in low-income urban communities to show positive impacts at the consumer level.

Wild inside: Urban wild boar select natural, not anthropogenic food resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Stillfried, Milena; Gras, Pierre; Busch, Matthias; Börner, Konstantin; Kramer-Schadt, Stephanie; Ortmann, Sylvia

2017-01-01

Most wildlife species are urban avoiders, but some became urban utilizers and dwellers successfully living in cities. Often, they are assumed to be attracted into urban areas by easily accessible and highly energetic anthropogenic food sources. We macroscopically analysed stomachs of 247 wild boar (Sus scrofa, hereafter WB) from urban areas of Berlin and from the surrounding rural areas. From the stomach contents we determined as predictors of food quality modulus of fineness (MOF,), percentage of acid insoluble ash (AIA) and macronutrients such as amount of energy and percentage of protein, fat, fibre and starch. We run linear mixed models to test: (1) differences in the proportion of landscape variables, (2) differences of nutrients consumed in urban vs. rural WB and (3) the impact of landscape variables on gathered nutrients. We found only few cases of anthropogenic food in the qualitative macroscopic analysis. We categorized the WB into five stomach content categories but found no significant difference in the frequency of those categories between urban and rural WB. The amount of energy was higher in stomachs of urban WB than in rural WB. The analysis of landscape variables revealed that the energy of urban WB increased with increasing percentage of sealing, while an increased human density resulted in poor food quality for urban and rural WB. Although the percentage of protein decreased in areas with a high percentage of coniferous forests, the food quality increased. High percentage of grassland decreased the percentage of consumed fat and starch and increased the percentage of fibre, while a high percentage of agricultural areas increased the percentage of consumed starch. Anthropogenic food such as garbage might serve as fallback food when access to natural resources is limited. We infer that urban WB forage abundant, natural resources in urban areas. Urban WB might use anthropogenic resources (e.g. garbage) if those are easier to exploit and more abundant

An environmental analysis of options for utilising wasted food and food residue.

Science.gov (United States)

Oldfield, Thomas L; White, Eoin; Holden, Nicholas M

2016-12-01

The potential environmental impact of wasted food minimisation versus its utilisation in a circular bioeconomy is investigated based on a case study of Ireland. The amount of wasted food and food residue (WFFR) produced in 2010 was used for business-as-usual, (a) and four management options were assessed, (b) minimisation, (c) composting, (d) anaerobic digestion and (e) incineration. The environmental impacts Global Warming Potential (GWP), Acidification Potential (AP) and Eutrophication Potential (EP) were considered. A carbon return on investment (CRoI) was calculated for the three processing technologies (c-e). The results showed that a minimisation strategy for wasted food would result in the greatest reduction of all three impacts, -4.5 Mt CO 2 -e (GWP), -11.4 kt PO 4 3 -e (EP) and -43.9 kt SO 2 -e (AP) compared to business as usual. For WFFR utilisation in the circular bioeconomy, anaerobic digestion resulted in the lowest environmental impact and best CRoI of -0.84 kg CO 2 -e per Euro. From an economic perspective, for minimisation to be beneficial, 0.15 kg of wasted food would need to be reduced per Euro spent. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

More value from food waste

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kim, Mi Sun; Na, Jeong-Geol; Lee, Mo-Kwon

2016-01-01

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is one of the traditional technologies for treating organic solid wastes, but its economic benefit is sometimes questioned. To increase the economic feasibility of the treatment process, the aim of this study was to recover not only biogas from food waste but lactic acid...... the supernatant by the combined process of nanofiltration and water-splitting electrodialysis. The process could recover highly purified LA by removing 85% of mineral ions such as Naþ, Kþ, Mg2þ, and Ca2þ and 90% of residual carbohydrates. Meanwhile, the solid residue remained after centrifugation was further...... (LA) as well. At first, LA fermentation of food waste (FW) was conducted using an indigenous mixed culture. During the operation, temperature was gradually increased from 35 C to 55 C, with the highest performance attained at 50 C. At 50 C and hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 1.0 d, LA concentration...

Determinants of Household Food Security in Urban Areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Ayu Mutiah

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Food security at household level is a very important precondition to foster the national and regional food security. Many people migrate to urban areas in the hope of improving their welfare. Generally people think that in the city there are more opportunities, but the opposite is true. The problem is more complex in the city especially for people who do not have adequate skills and education. This study aims to address whether  age of household head, household size, education level of household head, income, and distribution of subsidized rice policy affect the food security of urban poor households in Purbalingga district. A hundred respondents were selected from four top villages in urban areas of Purbalingga with the highest level of poverty. Using binary logistic regression, this study finds significant positive effect of education of household head and household income and significant negative effect of household size and raskin on household food security, while age of household head has no significant effect on household food security. The results imply the need for increased awareness of family planning, education, improved skills, and increased control of the implementation of subsidized rice for the poor.

Importance of storage time in mesophilic anaerobic digestion of food waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Lü, Fan; Xu, Xian; Shao, Liming; He, Pinjing

2016-07-01

Storage was used as a pretreatment to enhance the methanization performance of mesophilic anaerobic digestion of food waste. Food wastes were separately stored for 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 12days, and then fed into a methanogenic reactor for a biochemical methane potential (BMP) test lasting up to 60days. Relative to the methane production of food waste stored for 0-1day (285-308mL/g-added volatile solids (VSadded)), that after 2-4days and after 5-12days of storage increased to 418-530 and 618-696mL/g-VSadded, respectively. The efficiency of hydrolysis and acidification of pre-stored food waste in the methanization reactors increased with storage time. The characteristics of stored waste suggest that methane production was not correlated with the total hydrolysis efficiency of organics in pre-stored food waste but was positively correlated with the storage time and acidification level of the waste. From the results, we recommend 5-7days of storage of food waste in anaerobic digestion treatment plants. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

From Short Food Supply Chains to Sustainable Agriculture in Urban Food Systems: Food Democracy as a Vector of Transition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuna Chiffoleau

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In industrialized nations, local food networks have generally been analyzed through alternative food systems, in spite of the fact that they are much more diverse than this would imply. In France, ‘short food chains’ are both a continuation of a long tradition and a recent trend which now extends beyond activists, to consumers and producers as well. This paper will explore the conditions under which these chains can change the practices and knowledge of ordinary actors in urban food systems, from producers to urban consumers and policy-makers, in the area of agriculture and sustainability. It will consider the case study of the creation and development of an urban open-air market which has been analyzed using intervention research with input from economic sociology. We will highlight how personal relations, which are encouraged by a participatory context, support the evolution of practices and knowledge. We will also illustrate how a system of produce labelling has emerged as a mediation resource, and has increased changes as well as participation within the re-territorialization of the urban food system. By describing a concrete expression of food democracy which is spreading in France via a free collective trademark, and by showing its role in the transition of ‘ordinary’ actors towards a more sustainable agriculture, this paper will shine new light onto local food chains as well as traditional short food chains, and will call for more research on the subject.

CONSUMER ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS FOOD WASTE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monika Radzymińska

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the attitudes and behaviour of young consumers towards food waste based on a pilot qualitative research and data published in the literature. Qualitative research was conducted with the use of focus grou p method, with approximately 8–10 selected students per group. Four focus group sessions were held, with open discussion led by a moderator and the scenario containing problematic issues. The study included a total of thirty-seven students, aged 22– 25 years. Studies have shown that negative attitude of household towards food waste is not frequently refl ected in consumers’ behaviour, despite their fundamental knowledge on how to reduce food waste. Respondents emphasized the need for educational campaigns. Properly selected and presented information will stimulate both consumer’s attitude and behaviour.

Aerobic Food Waste Composting: Measurement of Green House Gases

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, J.

2016-12-01

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are a major cause of global warming. While food waste composting can reduce the amount of waste being sent to traditional landfills, it also produces GHGs during the process. The objective of this research is to evaluate the GHGs emitted from an aerobic food composting machine, which is used in ISF. The Independent Schools Foundation Academy is a private independent school in Hong Kong with approximately 1500 students. Each academic year, the school produces 27 metric tons of food waste. In November 2013, the school installed a food waste composting system. Over the past 3 years, various improvements, such as installing a bio-filter to reduce the smell of the compost, have been made to the composting process. Meanwhile the compost is used by the primary students, as part of their experiential learning curriculum and organic farming projects. The composting process employs two machines: the Dehydra and A900 Rocket. The Dehydra reduces the mass of the food waste by separating the ground food waste and excessive water. The A900 Rocket, a composter made by Tidy Planet, processes food waste into compost in 14 days. This machine runs in an aerobic process, in which oxygen is used as an input gas and gases, such as carbon dioxide, are released. Carbon Dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases (GHGs). This research focuses on GHGs that are emitted from the A900 Rocket. The data is collected by the Gasmet DX 4015, a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) multi gas analyser. This equipment measures the concentration (ppm) of different GHGs, including N2O, CO2, CH4, NH3 and CO.

Food Store Choice Among Urban Slum Women Is Associated With Consumption of Energy-Dense Food.

Science.gov (United States)

Anggraini, Roselynne; Februhartanty, Judhiastuty; Bardosono, Saptawati; Khusun, Helda; Worsley, Anthony

2016-07-01

The aim of this study was to examine the associations of food store choice with food consumption among urban slum women. A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 188 urban slum women (19-50 years old) in Jakarta, Indonesia. A semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to assess food consumption. Associations between food consumption and food store choice were tested by linear regression. This study found that frequencies of buying food from small shops (warung), street food vendors, and modern food stores were significantly associated with consumption of snacks, mixed dishes, and fruit respectively. In addition, buying food from traditional markets and small cafes (warung makan) was not significantly associated with particular types of food consumption. As modern food stores are rarely utilized by these women, small shops (warung) and street food vendors are likely to be important channels to improve slum dwellers' diet. © 2016 APJPH.

Alternative approaches to food: Community supported agriculture in urban China

OpenAIRE

Krul, K.; Ho, P.P.S.

2017-01-01

One of the most remarkable features of China's development path is its large-scale and fast-paced urbanization. As cities already accommodate more than half of China's population, new challenges to urban food systems have emerged concurrently. Concerns over environmental degradation and food safety have provoked growing dissatisfaction with China's food regime. Amidst these concerns, the aim of this paper is to study the role of new and alternative approaches to food, focusing in on the quest...

Involving Extension in Urban Food Systems: An Example from California

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucy Diekmann

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Nationwide, Extension is increasingly involved in local food system work. In cities, initiatives to improve the local food system often include urban agriculture, which has attracted the attention of diverse stakeholders for its many potential social, health, economic, and environmental impacts. This article illustrates how Extension in the San Francisco Bay Area is developing urban agriculture programming and engaging in food-system-related partnerships. It also shares lessons learned from these efforts. In this metropolitan region, Extension practice aligns well with research findings on Extension involvement in local food systems, particularly with the emphasis on providing educational opportunities and resources adapted to unique needs of city residents and working collaboratively with community and government partners to facilitate broader food system change. The results of this case study will be useful for Extension personnel in designing and implementing programs related to urban food systems.

Challenges in packaging waste management in the fast food industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aarnio, Teija [Digita Oy, P.O. Box 135, FI-00521 Helsinki (Finland); Haemaelaeinen, Anne [Department of Energy and Environmental Technology, Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, FI-53851 Lappeenranta (Finland)

2008-02-15

The recovery of solid waste is required by waste legislation, and also by the public. In some industries, however, waste is mostly disposed of in landfills despite of its high recoverability. Practical experiences show that the fast food industry is one example of these industries. A majority of the solid waste generated in the fast food industry is packaging waste, which is highly recoverable. The main research problem of this study was to find out the means of promoting the recovery of packaging waste generated in the fast food industry. Additionally, the goal of this article was to widen academic understanding on packaging waste management in the fast food industry, as the subject has not gained large academic interest previously. The study showed that the theoretical recovery rate of packaging waste in the fast food industry is high, 93% of the total annual amount, while the actual recovery rate is only 29% of the total annual amount. The total recovery potential of packaging waste is 64% of the total annual amount. The achievable recovery potential, 33% of the total annual amount, could be recovered, but is not mainly because of non-working waste management practices. The theoretical recovery potential of 31% of the total annual amount of packaging waste cannot be recovered by the existing solid waste infrastructure because of the obscure status of commercial waste, the improper operation of producer organisations, and the municipal autonomy. The research indicated that it is possible to reach the achievable recovery potential in the existing solid waste infrastructure through new waste management practices, which are designed and operated according to waste producers' needs and demands. The theoretical recovery potential can be reached by increasing the consistency of the solid waste infrastructure through governmental action. (author)

Alternative approaches to food : Community supported agriculture in urban China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krul, K.; Ho, P.P.S.

2017-01-01

One of the most remarkable features of China's development path is its large-scale and fast-paced urbanization. As cities already accommodate more than half of China's population, new challenges to urban food systems have emerged concurrently. Concerns over environmental degradation and food

Food waste-to-energy conversion technologies: current status and future directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Pham, Thi Phuong Thuy; Kaushik, Rajni; Parshetti, Ganesh K; Mahmood, Russell; Balasubramanian, Rajasekhar

2015-04-01

Food waste represents a significantly fraction of municipal solid waste. Proper management and recycling of huge volumes of food waste are required to reduce its environmental burdens and to minimize risks to human health. Food waste is indeed an untapped resource with great potential for energy production. Utilization of food waste for energy conversion currently represents a challenge due to various reasons. These include its inherent heterogeneously variable compositions, high moisture contents and low calorific value, which constitute an impediment for the development of robust, large scale, and efficient industrial processes. Although a considerable amount of research has been carried out on the conversion of food waste to renewable energy, there is a lack of comprehensive and systematic reviews of the published literature. The present review synthesizes the current knowledge available in the use of technologies for food-waste-to-energy conversion involving biological (e.g. anaerobic digestion and fermentation), thermal and thermochemical technologies (e.g. incineration, pyrolysis, gasification and hydrothermal oxidation). The competitive advantages of these technologies as well as the challenges associated with them are discussed. In addition, the future directions for more effective utilization of food waste for renewable energy generation are suggested from an interdisciplinary perspective. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prevention of Waste in the Circular Economy: Analysis of Strategies and Identification of Sustainable Targets - The food waste example

OpenAIRE

CRISTOBAL GARCIA JORGE; VILA Marta; GIAVINI Michele; TORRES DE MATOS CRISTINA; MANFREDI SIMONE

2016-01-01

This report continues and further advances the work conducted by the JRC in the field of sustainable management of food waste, which resulted in the publication of the 2015 report “Improving Sustainability and Circularity of European Food Waste Management with a Life Cycle Approach”. It focuses on the broad European waste management context and, in particular, provides insight and analysis on the sustainability of food waste prevention strategies. Among other municipal waste streams, food ...

Who owns urban waste? Appropriation conflicts in emerging countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavé, Jérémie

2014-09-01

Managing solid waste in developing cities is not an easy task and many public policies have failed to bring the expected results. It is here argued that comprehending the solid waste handling in the South implies reconsidering the proper definition of waste. Where does the product end and where does rubbish begin? The answer to this question is far from being obvious. Solid waste appears as a blurred concept. Such a thorny issue is all the more relevant today, as municipal solid waste management approaches in the developing world are being reformulated: dumping sites are banned, sanitary landfills are imposed, and separate collection is being introduced. The current sector transformations are here analysed through a novel theoretical analysis combined with an original qualitative and quantitative empirical work. Through two case-studies of one-million inhabitant cities from emerging countries, it is shown that if appropriation conflicts arise that is because the urban solid waste deposit in Southern countries can be defined as an impure public good. This issue does not only involve private service operators and informal wastepickers; several other actors covet the urban solid waste deposit's cream, that is, recyclable items. In emerging countries, huge industrial groups are starting to target domestic recyclable waste as an alternative for raw materials, which costs are increasing ever more. © The Author(s) 2014.

Urban versus conventional agriculture, taxonomy of resource profiles: a review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Goldstein, Benjamin Paul; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Fernandez, John

2016-01-01

Urban agriculture appears to be a means to combat the environmental pressure of increasing urbanization and food demand. However, there is hitherto limited knowledge of the efficiency and scaling up of practices of urban farming. Here, we review the claims on urban agriculture’s comparative...... performance relative to conventional food production. Our main findings are as follows: (1) benefits, such as reduced embodied greenhouse gases, urban heat island reduction, and storm water mitigation, have strong support in current literature. (2) Other benefits such as food waste minimization and ecological...... footprint reduction require further exploration. (3) Urban agriculture benefits to both food supply chains and urban ecosystems vary considerably with system type. To facilitate the comparison of urban agriculture systems we propose a classification based on (1) conditioning of the growing space and (2...

"Something good can grow here": chicago urban agriculture food projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Hatchett, Lena; Brown, Loretta; Hopkins, Joan; Larsen, Kelly; Fournier, Eliza

2015-01-01

Food security is a challenge facing many African-American low-income communities nationally. Community and university partners have established urban agriculture programs to improve access to high quality affordable fruits and vegetables by growing, distributing, and selling food in urban neighborhoods. While the challenge of food security is within communities of color, few studies have described these urban agriculture programs and documented their impact on the crew members who work in the programs and live in the low-income communities. More information is needed on the program impact for crew and community health promotion. Using a survey and focus group discussion from the crew and staff we describe the program and activities of four Chicago Urban Agriculture programs. We summarized the impact these programs have on crew members' perception of urban agriculture, health habits, community engagement, and community health promotion in low-income African-American neighborhoods.

An Urban Food Store Intervention Positively Affects Food-Related Psychosocial Variables and Food Behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

Gittelsohn, Joel; Song, Hee-Jung; Suratkar, Sonali; Kumar, Mohan B.; Henry, Elizabeth G.; Sharma, Sangita; Mattingly, Megan; Anliker, Jean A.

2010-01-01

Obesity and other diet-related chronic diseases are more prevalent in low-income urban areas, which commonly have limited access to healthy foods. The authors implemented an intervention trial in nine food stores, including two supermarkets and seven corner stores, in a low-income, predominantly African American area of Baltimore City, with a…

Repurposing Waste Streams: Lessons on Integrating Hospital Food Waste into a Community Garden.

Science.gov (United States)

Galvan, Adri M; Hanson, Ryan; George, Daniel R

2018-04-06

There have been increasing efforts in recent decades to divert institutional food waste into composting programs. As major producers of food waste who must increasingly demonstrate community benefit, hospitals have an incentive to develop such programs. In this article, we explain the emerging opportunity to link hospitals' food services to local community gardens in order to implement robust composting programs. We describe a partnership model at our hospital in central Pennsylvania, share preliminary outcomes establishing feasibility, and offer guidance for future efforts. We also demonstrate that the integration of medical students in such efforts can foster systems thinking in the development of programs to manage hospital waste streams in more ecologically-friendly ways.

FOOD QUALITY AND SAFETY ASSURANCE IN TERMS OF LOSS AND WASTE LIMITATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Śmiechowska

2016-06-01

Full Text Available One of the greatest challenges of 21st century is satisfying the food needs of the fast growing population of the world. Food must fulfill quality and safety standards.  The access to safe and appropriate food is not the same everywhere.  Food excess and, in consequence, food waste is present in many regions of the world. This study is meant to explain the causes of food waste on the basis of the author’s own research and study results of other scientists. The lack of authenticity and falsification belong to the new factors endangering food safety and food waste related thereto. This analysis proves that the authenticity of food improves its safety through the implementation of quality management systems, the appropriate system of food labelling and food identification by means of applicable law regulations, supervision and control systems. Main aim of this study is to address why, even though there are so many quality standards and systems, a significant problem with food loss and waste constantly occurs. Waste-causing factors have been determined on the example of bread and the handling of unconsumed bread has been attempted in this study. Waste limiting actions are necessary as food production is significantly overburdening the natural environment and generating increasing amount of waste, hazardous to the clean air. 

A holistic approach to the environmental evaluation of food waste prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Salemdeeb, Ramy; Font Vivanco, David; Al-Tabbaa, Abir; Zu Ermgassen, Erasmus K H J

2017-01-01

The environmental evaluation of food waste prevention is considered a challenging task due to the globalised nature of the food supply chain and the limitations of existing evaluation tools. The most significant of these is the rebound effect: the associated environmental burdens of substitutive consumption that arises as a result of economic savings made from food waste prevention. This study introduces a holistic approach to addressing these challenges, with a focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from household food waste in the UK. It uses a hybrid life-cycle assessment model coupled with a highly detailed multi-regional environmentally extended input output analysis to capture environmental impacts across the global food supply chain. The study also takes into consideration the rebound effect, which was modelled using a linear specification of an almost ideal demand system. The study finds that food waste prevention could lead to substantial reductions in GHG emissions in the order of 706-896kg CO 2 -eq. per tonne of food waste, with most of these savings (78%) occurring as a result of avoided food production overseas. The rebound effect may however reduce such GHG savings by up to 60%. These findings provide a deeper insight into our understanding of the environmental impacts of food waste prevention: the study demonstrates the need to adopt a holistic approach when developing food waste prevention policies in order to mitigate the rebound effect and highlight the importance of increasing efficiency across the global food supply chain, particularly in developing countries. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Carbon footprint associated with four disposal scenarios for urban pruning waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Araújo, Yuri Rommel Vieira; de Góis, Monijany Lins; Junior, Luiz Moreira Coelho; Carvalho, Monica

2018-01-01

The inadequate disposal of urban pruning residues can cause significant environmental impacts. The objective of the study presented herein was to quantify the carbon footprint and analyze four disposal scenarios for the urban pruning waste of the city of Joao Pessoa (Northeast Brazil). Software SimaPro was utilized for the quantification of the carbon footprint, with the IPCC 2013 GWP 100y impact evaluation method. The end-of-life treatments considered were sanitary landfilling (with and without collection of methane), simple municipal incineration, and reutilization of wood (transformation into briquettes). The results indicated that simple disposal in sanitary landfill generated 136.34 kg CO 2 /t urban pruning waste collected (highest carbon footprint), sanitary landfill with methane collection emitted 113.43 kg CO 2 /t waste, municipal incineration generated 71.31 kg CO 2 /t waste, and reutilization of woody residues was the scenario with the lowest carbon footprint, with 27.82 kg CO 2 /t waste. This study demonstrated that reutilization of biomass, besides being environmentally viable, presents the potential to contribute to the city's environmental quality, including the possibility of being used to obtain carbon credits.

Estimating the magnitude of food waste generated in South Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Oelofse, Suzanna HH

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Throughout the developed world, food is treated as a disposable commodity. Between one third and half of all food produced for human consumption globally is estimated to be wasted. However, attempts to quantify the actual magnitude of food wasted...

Food waste drivers in Europe, from identification to possible interventions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Canali, Massimo; Amani, Pegah; Aramyan, Lusine; Gheoldus, Manuela; Moates, Graham; Östergren, Karin; Silvennoinen, Kirsi; Waldron, Keith; Vittuari, Matteo

2017-01-01

The growing volumes of food globally lost or wasted and implications for food security and sustainability have raised the concern of researchers, governments, international organizations and grass-root movements. Much research and experiences investigating food waste causes and drivers focus on

Landfill gas from solid urban waste - an opportunity evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gramatikov, Plamen; Kovachev, Vassil; Gramatikova, Marija

2004-01-01

The problems (technical, economic, social etc.) which have to be solved by municipal waste treatment, especially in Central/East European towns, are discussed in this work. Percentages of products and calorific values of the main solid organic wastes are estimated. Different urban waste utilisation methods - Landfills Anaerobic digestion, Incineration, Refuse-derived fuels, Pyrolysis and Gasification are comment in this paper. These methods are compared using the town of Blagoevgrad (Bulgaria) as an example. It is round that a well established landfill gas production technology offers simplicity of collection (such as is practised in most of low and moderately developed countries like Bulgaria), relatively simple operation and maintenance, improvement of the environmental protection and of the energy production (based on the local disposal and renewable energy sources) and is more feasible for the East European urban concentrations. (Author)

Measuring the food and built environments in urban centres

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pomerleau, Joceline; Knai, Cecile; McKee, M

2013-01-01

Objectives: The authors designed an instrument to measure objectively aspects of the built and food environments in urban areas, the EURO-PREVOB Community Questionnaire, within the EU-funded project ‘Tackling the social and economic determinants of nutrition and physical activity for the prevention...... of obesity across Europe’ (EURO-PREVOB). This paper describes its development, reliability, validity, feasibility and relevance to public health and obesity research. Study design: The Community Questionnaire is designed to measure key aspects of the food and built environments in urban areas of varying...... levels of affluence or deprivation, within different countries. The questionnaire assesses (1) the food environment and (2) the built environment. Methods: Pilot tests of the EURO-PREVOB Community Questionnaire were conducted in five to 10 purposively sampled urban areas of different socio...

Discounting and dynamic shelf life to reduce fresh food waste at retailers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buisman, M.E.; Haijema, R.; Bloemhof-Ruwaard, J.M.

2017-01-01

Approximately 89 million of tonnes of food is wasted every year in the EU along the whole food supply chain. The reasons for food waste by retailers include inappropriate quality control, overstocking and inaccurate forecasting. This study shows that food wasted by retailers can be reduced by

Long-term anaerobic digestion of food waste stabilized by trace elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Lei; Jahng, Deokjin

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Korean food waste was found to contain low level of trace elements. ► Stable anaerobic digestion of food waste was achieved by adding trace elements. ► Iron played an important role in anaerobic digestion of food waste. ► Cobalt addition further enhanced the process performance in the presence of iron. - Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine if long-term anaerobic digestion of food waste in a semi-continuous single-stage reactor could be stabilized by supplementing trace elements. Contrary to the failure of anaerobic digestion of food waste alone, stable anaerobic digestion of food waste was achieved for 368 days by supplementing trace elements. Under the conditions of OLR (organic loading rates) of 2.19–6.64 g VS (volatile solid)/L day and 20–30 days of HRT (hydraulic retention time), a high methane yield (352–450 mL CH 4 /g VS added ) was obtained, and no significant accumulation of volatile fatty acids was observed. The subsequent investigation on effects of individual trace elements (Co, Fe, Mo and Ni) showed that iron was essential for maintaining stable methane production. These results proved that the food waste used in this study was deficient in trace elements.

Food in the City: Review of Psychological Impact of Growing Food in Urban Spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Surabhika Maheshwari

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The activity of growing food is an integral part of human civilization and survival. The present paper attempts at exploring the psychological impact of growing edible greens in the context of urban environment. The review focuses on the impact of growing food, with primary focus on psychological impact and mental health. The findings indicate an encouraging trend in urban farming, though research activity and academic interest in the area of psychological impact of growing food seems limited. Additionally, the review throws light on the sparse research in developing countries on the said topic.

An eco friendly solution to the food waste disposal

Science.gov (United States)

Babu, G. Reddy; Kumar, G. Madhav

2017-07-01

In recent years, waste disposal at workmen camp is one of the major problems being faced by many nations across the world. In the workmen colony at Chittapur, a series of kitchens were built for cooking purpose and a number of small canteens are also functioning. Considerable quantity of food waste is collected daily from these eateries and disposed at a faraway place. Food waste is highly degradable in nature, if not disposed properly it causes problems related to environmental pollution. Hence, it is very important to identify an environment friendly process rather than opt for land filling or any disposal method. We worked together to find a suitable eco-friendly solution for the food waste disposal at Chittapur site and suggested that biogas production through anaerobic digestion is a solution for the disposal and utilization of food waste for better purpose. This resulted in setting up a 500 kg per day food waste treatment biogas plant at Chittapur. This establishment is the first time in the construction industry at workmen camp in India. Anaerobic Digestion has been recognized as one of the best options that is available for treating food waste, as it generates two valuable end products, biogas and compost. Biogas is a mixture of CH4 and CO2 about (55:45). Biogas generated can be used for thermal applications such as cooking or for generating electricity. The digested slurry is a well stabilized organic manure and can be used as soil fertilizer. Plant design is to handle 500 kg of food waste /day. 27 kg LPG is obtained from 500kg of kitchen waste. The Value of 27 kg of LPG is Rs.2700/day. Daily 1000 litres of digested effluent was obtained. It is good organic manure with plant micro nutrients and macro nutrients. This can be used for growing plants and in agriculture. The value of manure per day is Rs.250/-. The annual revenue is Rs.10.62 lakhs and the annual expenditure is 1.8 lakhs. The net benefit is 8.82 lakhs. Payback period is 2.1 years. This process

Urban strategies for Waste Management in Tourist Cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

de Luca, Claudia; Perello, Michelle; Romein, Arie

2017-01-01

, tourism industry operators and tourists. The questionnaires directed to waste workers and tourism workers mostly aimed at understanding the influence of tourism in waste production and management of the pilot cases included in the URBANWASTE analysis. The analysis of this data will feed the urban......To further explore tourists’ waste behaviours and to contribute to fill this knowledge gap, the URBANWASTE project developed and circulated three surveys targeting three different categories considered relevant for providing a significant insight on waste and tourism value chains: waste workers...... metabolism analysis that is taking place in parallel within WP2 and will contribute to provide a comprehensive overview of the state of the art in terms of waste and tourism in the 11 pilots considered in URBANWASTE. Moreover, this integrated analysis will contribute to identify relations and pinpoint...

Prioritizing and optimizing sustainable measures for food waste prevention and management.

Science.gov (United States)

Cristóbal, Jorge; Castellani, Valentina; Manfredi, Simone; Sala, Serenella

2018-02-01

Food waste has gained prominence in the European political debate thanks to the recent Circular Economy package. Currently the waste hierarchy, introduced by the Waste Framework Directive, has been the rule followed to prioritize food waste prevention and management measures according to the environmental criteria. But when considering other criteria along with the environmental one, such as the economic, other tools are needed for the prioritization and optimization. This paper addresses the situation in which a decision-maker has to design a food waste prevention programme considering the limited economic resources in order to achieve the highest environmental impact prevention along the whole food life cycle. A methodology using Life Cycle Assessment and mathematical programing is proposed and its capabilities are shown through a case study. Results show that the order established in the waste hierarchy is generally followed. The proposed methodology revealed to be especially helpful in identifying "quick wins" - measures that should be always prioritized since they avoid a high environmental impact at a low cost. Besides, in order to aggregate the environmental scores related to a variety of impact categories, different weighting sets were proposed. In general, results show that the relevance of the weighting set in the prioritization of the measures appears to be limited. Finally, the correlation between reducing food waste generation and reducing environmental impact along the Food Supply Chain has been studied. Results highlight that when planning food waste prevention strategies, it is important to set the targets at the level of environmental impact instead of setting the targets at the level of avoided food waste generation (in mass). Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Global change, urban livelihoods and food security; presentation

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Murambadoro, M

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Food security research and policy have focused more on the rural poor where the incidence and depth of poverty is more pronounced. Urban livelihoods are based on cash income and many people in urban areas are employed in the informal sector which...

Conversion of Food waste to Single Cell Protein using Aspergillus ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The utilization of food waste into products like single cell protein is an alternative solution to global protein shortage and to alleviate pollution problems. This investigation was carried out with food wastes such as orange, pineapple, banana, watermelon and cucumber waste as growth media for A. niger using standard ...

Food Insecurity in Urban and Rural Areas in Central Brazil: Transition from Locally Produced Foods to Processed Items.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodrigues, Livia Penna Firme; Carvalho, Raissa Costa; Maciel, Agatha; Otanasio, Polyanna Nunes; Garavello, Maria Elisa de Paula Eduardo; Nardoto, Gabriela Bielefeld

2016-01-01

Aiming to investigate the effect of diet and food consumption with regard to health, environment, and economy in light of nutrition ecology, we studied the dimensions of nutrition and food security in urban and rural settings in the region of Chapada dos Veadeiros, Central Brazil. We tracked diet and food consumption through carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios in fingernails of these inhabitants together with food intake data as a proxy for their diet patterns. We estimated household food insecurity by using the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. Nutrition and food insecurity was observed in both urban and rural areas, but was accentuated in rural settings. The diet pattern had high δ(13)C values in fingernails and low δ(15)N. Both urban and rural areas have diets with low diversity and relying on low-quality processed food staples at the same time that nutrition and food insecurity is quite high in the region.

[An approach to food consumption in an urban environment. The case of west Africa].

Science.gov (United States)

Ag Bendech, M; Gerbouin-Rerolle, P; Chauliac, M; Malvy, D

1996-01-01

West Africa has undergone rapid economic and political changes during the last 20 years. After the failure of economic policies implemented since independence, programs for structural adjustment have strongly influenced the economy. Food problems affect each country differently. The Sahel has experienced food shortages and starvation whereas in forested countries the food supply has remained stable. Nevertheless, food policies have not succeeded in contributing to urban and rural development. The rate of urbanization in west Africa is generally low but the rate of urban population growth is particularly high, much more than the growth rates of industry and infrastructure. Although metropolitan areas are affected by poverty, they offer more hope and opportunities than rural areas. Urban markets have expanded and diversified as social differences have also increased and contributed to changes in consumption structure. Urban growth has contributed to the increase of imported food: this is indicated by both the strong dependency and the change of food habits towards western food patterns. Recently however, west African urban dwellers are still preferring local items if they are affordable. When imported products are used, they are integrated within a stable meal plan consisting of a single dish with a base and a sauce, which is typical of African food preparation. Surveys of consumption-budgets are still only available on a national scale. These can provide accurate information about food consumption patterns of families, particularly for significant trends. However, they do not provide information about the dynamics of food consumption, neither for urban areas or the individual. Now a significant proportion of individual food consumption occurs outside of the home, mainly with food provided by street vendors. This new consumption habit is a response to the urban food crisis. Consumption of street-vendor-food comprises one component but this cannot be dissociated from

Consumer-Related Food Waste: Causes and Potential for Action

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aschemann-Witzel, J.; Hooge, de I.E.; Amani, P.; Bech-Larsen, T.; Oostindjer, M.

2015-01-01

In the past decade, food waste has received increased attention on both academic and societal levels. As a cause of negative economic, environmental and social effects, food waste is considered to be one of the sustainability issues that needs to be addressed. In developed countries, consumers are

A simple awareness campaign to promote food waste reduction in a University canteen.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinto, Renata Soares; Pinto, Renata Machado Dos Santos; Melo, Felipe Fochat Silva; Campos, Suzana Santos; Cordovil, Cláudia Marques-Dos-Santos

2018-03-01

Food waste has important environmental, social and economic impacts and increasing attention has been given lately to the unparalleled scale of food waste in the food supply chain worldwide. An initiative aiming to reduce food waste was tested at the School of Agriculture canteen (University of Lisbon, Portugal). The "Clean dish, clean conscience!" initiative consisted of a simple and inexpensive education campaign to raise awareness of reducing plate waste, by establishing the connection between food waste and personal behaviour. As a first stage plate waste from canteen users was measured over a 10 day period. After this period, a waste consumption index and per capita waste consumption were calculated to evaluate the level of satisfaction of the consumer and the related concern about food wastage, and was classified as Bad. After this first stage it was concluded that the users did not have strong convictions about avoiding food waste. During the second stage of the project an education campaign was implemented with plate waste being monitored for a further 16 days to assess the effectiveness of the campaign. The approach consisted of displaying simple and affordable informative posters in strategic areas of the canteen with simple messages reminding not to accept food they knew they would not eat. This led to a mean reduction in the waste consumption index of ∼15%. A parallel action encouraging separation of organic and inorganic waste was implemented as well, with an active participation of >70% of the users. The initiative achieved its objective of reducing plate waste by raising awareness of the daily food waste problem at the institution's canteen and by suggesting "how-to" actions for reducing such waste. This study showed how avoidable waste can be reduced simply by making students aware of the topic of food waste. Simple strategies may be useful to improve behaviours and increase sustainability of the canteens at Universities although this proved

Quantification of food waste in public catering services - A case study from a Swedish municipality.

Science.gov (United States)

Eriksson, Mattias; Persson Osowski, Christine; Malefors, Christopher; Björkman, Jesper; Eriksson, Emelie

2017-03-01

Food waste is a major problem that must be reduced in order to achieve a sustainable food supply chain. Since food waste valorisation measures, like energy recovery, have limited possibilities to fully recover the resources invested in food production, there is a need to prevent food waste. Prevention is most important at the end of the value chain, where the largest number of sub-processes have already taken place and occur in vain if the food is not used for its intended purpose, i.e. consumption. Catering facilities and households are at the very end of the food supply chain, and in Sweden the public catering sector serves a large number of meals through municipal organisations, including schools, preschools and elderly care homes. Since the first step in waste reduction is to establish a baseline measurement in order to identify problems, this study sought to quantify food waste in schools, preschools and elderly care homes in one municipality in Sweden. The quantification was conducted during three months, spread out over three semesters, and was performed in all 30 public kitchen units in the municipality of Sala. The kitchen staff used kitchen scales to quantify the mass of wasted and served food divided into serving waste (with sub-categories), plate waste and other food waste. The food waste level was quantified as 75g of food waste per portion served, or 23% of the mass of food served. However, there was great variation between kitchens, with the waste level ranging from 33g waste per portion served (13%) to 131g waste per portion served (34%). Wasted food consisted of 64% serving waste, 33% plate waste and 3% other food waste. Preschools had a lower waste level than schools, possibly due to preschool carers eating together with the children. Kitchens that received warm food prepared in another kitchen (satellite kitchens) had a 42% higher waste level than kitchens preparing all food themselves (production units), possibly due to the latter having higher

The shelf space and strategic placement of healthy and discretionary foods in urban, urban-fringe and rural/non-metropolitan Australian supermarkets.

Science.gov (United States)

Cameron, Adrian J

2018-02-01

Supermarkets are a key influence on eating behaviours, but it is unknown if the promotion of food within stores varies on a geographic gradient from urban, to urban-fringe and non-metropolitan areas. The present study aimed to assess the shelf space and strategic placement of healthy and discretionary foods in each of urban, urban-fringe and non-metropolitan Australian supermarkets. Design/Setting In-store audits were conducted in stores from one of the two major Australian supermarket chains in urban (n 19), urban-fringe (n 20) and non-metropolitan (n 26) areas of Victoria. These audits examined selected food items (crisps/chips, chocolate, confectionery, soft drinks/sodas, fruits and vegetables) and measured the shelf space and the proportion of end-of-aisle and cash register displays containing these products. Store size was measured as the sum of aisle length. Differences in the supermarket food environment with respect to location were assessed, before and after adjustment for neighbourhood socio-economic position. The strategic placement of discretionary foods was commonly observed in all supermarkets. Adjusting for store size (larger in urban-fringe and rural areas), urban stores had greater shelf space devoted to fruits and vegetables, and less checkouts with soft drinks, than urban-fringe and rural/non-metropolitan areas. Differences remained following adjustment for neighbourhood socio-economic position. No clear pattern was observed for end-of-aisle displays, or the placement of chocolate and confectionery at checkouts. The shelf space of healthy and discretionary foods in urban-fringe and rural stores parallels the prevalence of overweight and obesity in these areas. Interventions in urban-fringe and rural stores targeting the shelf space of healthy foods and the placement of soft drinks at key displays may be useful obesity prevention initiatives.

Reuse and Upcycling of Municipal Waste for ZEB Envelope Design in European Urban Areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elisa Pennacchia

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Building energy efficiency and urban waste management are two focal issues for improving environmental status and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The main aim of this paper is to compare economic costs of new building envelope structures designed by authors reusing and upcycling municipal waste in order to decrease energy demand from the building sector and, at the same time, improve eco-friendly waste management at the local scale. The reuse of waste for building envelope structures is one of the main principles of the Earthship buildings model, based on the use of passive solar principles in autonomous earth-sheltered homes. This Earthship principle has been analyzed in order to optimize buildings’ energy performance and reuse municipal waste for new building envelope structures in urban areas. Indeed, the elaborated structures have been designed for urban contexts, with the aim of reuse waste coming from surrounding landfills. The methods include an analysis of thermal performance of urban waste for designing new building envelope structures realized by assembling waste and isolating materials not foreseen in Earthship buildings. The reused materials are: cardboard tubes, automobile tires, wood pallets, and plastic and glass bottles. Finally, comparing economic costs of these new building envelope structures, the obtained results highlight their economic feasibility compared to a traditional structure with similar thermal transmittance.

Unsustainability of Obesity: Metabolic Food Waste

Science.gov (United States)

Serafini, Mauro; Toti, Elisabetta

2016-01-01

The obesity burden, with 1.5 billion overweight (OW) and 500 million obese (OB) worldwide, significantly increased the risk of degenerative diseases. Excessive consumption of foods that are energy dense lead to obesity, which represents a titanic cost for not only the world’s health systems but also a substantial ecological cost to the environment. The waste of resources and the unnecessary green house gas emissions (GHGs) emission, due to “obesigen” consumption of foods, have been ignored so far in practical assessments of ecological impacts. Our position is that food eaten above physiological needs, manifesting as obesity, should be considered waste. In this study, we developed a new indicator, metabolic food waste [MFW(kg of food)], corresponding to the amount of food leading to excess body fat and its impact on environment expressed as carbon [MFW(kgCO2eq)], water [MFW(×10 L)], and land footprint [MFW(×10m2)]. Results shows that the average amount of MFW(kg of food) was of 63.1 and 127.2 kg/capita in a observational study on 60 OW and OB subjects. Animal products contributed mostly to MFW(kg of food) in both OW (24.3 kg) and OB (46.5 kg), followed by cereals, legumes and starchy roots (19.4 kg OW; 38.9 kg OB), sugar and sweets (9.0 kg OW; 16.4 kg OB), and alcoholic beverages (7.5 kg OW; 20.1 kg OB). When dietary intake corresponding to MFW was transformed in ecological indexes, animal products displayed the highest values for carbon emissions, water consumption, and land use in both OW and OB followed by cereals, legumes, and starchy roots. The estimated MFW(kg of food) of the Italian population resulted to be 2.081 million kilograms of food for OB and OW. Reducing obesity will make a contribution toward achieving sustainable and functional diets, preserving and re-allocating natural resources for fighting hunger and malnutrition, and reducing GHGs emissions. Although further evidences in epidemiological studies are needed, MFW

The significance of avoiding household food waste - A means-end-chain approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Richter, Beate; Bokelmann, Wolfgang

2018-04-01

Many humans suffer from hunger, while edible food is discarded. This study aims at showing the importance of avoiding food waste in households and its causes by applying the means-end-chain analysis. Additional the means-end-chain approach should be examined in how far the method is suitable to get insights towards this topic. Consumer backgrounds in terms of feelings and attitudes regarding food waste should be shown, with the particular question why food waste personally is important. The data collection occurred utilizing the hard laddering method within a quantitative online survey. The results indicate that avoiding food waste is important for the greater part of consumers, as many claim to have a bad conscience, seeing it as morally wrong and reprehensible to waste food. A sample breakdown of gender, age and income points differences among these groups in regards to psychological consequences and value systems. Financial and environmental aspects have a lesser impact on attitudes and feelings regarding food waste in households. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The grumpy bin : reducing food waste through playful social interactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Altarriba, F.; Funk, M.; Lanzani, S.E.; Torralba, A.

2017-01-01

Domestic food waste is a world-wide problem that is complex and difficult to tackle as it touches diverse habits and social behaviors. This paper introduces the Grumpy Bin, a smart food waste bin designed for the context of student housing. The Grumpy Bin1 contributes to the state of the art of food

Conceptual framework for the study of food waste generation and prevention in the hospitality sector.

Science.gov (United States)

Papargyropoulou, Effie; Wright, Nigel; Lozano, Rodrigo; Steinberger, Julia; Padfield, Rory; Ujang, Zaini

2016-03-01

Food waste has significant detrimental economic, environmental and social impacts. The magnitude and complexity of the global food waste problem has brought it to the forefront of the environmental agenda; however, there has been little research on the patterns and drivers of food waste generation, especially outside the household. This is partially due to weaknesses in the methodological approaches used to understand such a complex problem. This paper proposes a novel conceptual framework to identify and explain the patterns and drivers of food waste generation in the hospitality sector, with the aim of identifying food waste prevention measures. This conceptual framework integrates data collection and analysis methods from ethnography and grounded theory, complemented with concepts and tools from industrial ecology for the analysis of quantitative data. A case study of food waste generation at a hotel restaurant in Malaysia is used as an example to illustrate how this conceptual framework can be applied. The conceptual framework links the biophysical and economic flows of food provisioning and waste generation, with the social and cultural practices associated with food preparation and consumption. The case study demonstrates that food waste is intrinsically linked to the way we provision and consume food, the material and socio-cultural context of food consumption and food waste generation. Food provisioning, food consumption and food waste generation should be studied together in order to fully understand how, where and most importantly why food waste is generated. This understanding will then enable to draw detailed, case specific food waste prevention plans addressing the material and socio-economic aspects of food waste generation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Household-level dynamics of food waste production and related beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours in Guelph, Ontario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parizeau, Kate; Massow, Mike von; Martin, Ralph

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We combined household waste stream weights with survey data. • We examine relationships between waste and food-related practices and beliefs. • Families and large households produced more total waste, but less waste per capita. • Food awareness and waste awareness were related to reduced food waste. • Convenience lifestyles were differentially associated with food waste. - Abstract: It has been estimated that Canadians waste $27 billion of food annually, and that half of that waste occurs at the household level (Gooch et al., 2010). There are social, environmental, and economic implications for this scale of food waste, and source separation of organic waste is an increasingly common municipal intervention. There is relatively little research that assesses the dynamics of household food waste (particularly in Canada). The purpose of this study is to combine observations of organic, recyclable, and garbage waste production rates to survey results of food waste-related beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours at the household level in the mid-sized municipality of Guelph, Ontario. Waste weights and surveys were obtained from 68 households in the summer of 2013. The results of this study indicate multiple relationships between food waste production and household shopping practices, food preparation behaviours, household waste management practices, and food-related attitudes, beliefs, and lifestyles. Notably, we observed that food awareness, waste awareness, family lifestyles, and convenience lifestyles were related to food waste production. We conclude that it is important to understand the diversity of factors that can influence food wasting behaviours at the household level in order to design waste management systems and policies to reduce food waste

Household-level dynamics of food waste production and related beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours in Guelph, Ontario

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parizeau, Kate, E-mail: kate.parizeau@uoguelph.ca [Department of Geography, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON (Canada); Massow, Mike von [School of Hospitality, Food, and Tourism Management, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON (Canada); Martin, Ralph [Plant Agriculture Department, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON (Canada)

2015-01-15

Highlights: • We combined household waste stream weights with survey data. • We examine relationships between waste and food-related practices and beliefs. • Families and large households produced more total waste, but less waste per capita. • Food awareness and waste awareness were related to reduced food waste. • Convenience lifestyles were differentially associated with food waste. - Abstract: It has been estimated that Canadians waste $27 billion of food annually, and that half of that waste occurs at the household level (Gooch et al., 2010). There are social, environmental, and economic implications for this scale of food waste, and source separation of organic waste is an increasingly common municipal intervention. There is relatively little research that assesses the dynamics of household food waste (particularly in Canada). The purpose of this study is to combine observations of organic, recyclable, and garbage waste production rates to survey results of food waste-related beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours at the household level in the mid-sized municipality of Guelph, Ontario. Waste weights and surveys were obtained from 68 households in the summer of 2013. The results of this study indicate multiple relationships between food waste production and household shopping practices, food preparation behaviours, household waste management practices, and food-related attitudes, beliefs, and lifestyles. Notably, we observed that food awareness, waste awareness, family lifestyles, and convenience lifestyles were related to food waste production. We conclude that it is important to understand the diversity of factors that can influence food wasting behaviours at the household level in order to design waste management systems and policies to reduce food waste.

Discovering the energy, economic and environmental potentials of urban wastes: An input–output model for a metropolis case

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Junnian; Yang, Wei; Li, Zhaoling; Higano, Yoshiro; Wang, Xian’en

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A waste-to-energy system is constructed incorporating various urban wastes and technologies. • Waste-to-energy industries are formed and introduced into current socioeconomic system. • A novel input–output simulation model is developed and applied to a metropolis. • Complete energy, economic and environmental potentials of urban wastes are discovered. - Abstract: Tremendous amounts of wastes are generated in urban areas due to accelerating industrialization and urbanization. The current unreasonable waste disposal patterns and potential energy value of urban wastes necessitates the promotion of waste-to-energy implementation. This study is intent on discovering the complete energy, economic and environmental potentials of urban wastes taking municipal solid wastes, waste oil, organic wastewater and livestock manure into consideration. A waste-to-energy system is constructed incorporating these wastes and five waste-to-energy technologies. A novel input–output simulation model is developed and applied to a metropolis to introduce the waste-to-energy system into the current socioeconomic system and form five waste-to-energy industries. The trends in waste generation and energy recovery potential, economic benefits and greenhouse gas mitigation contribution for the study area are estimated and explored from 2011 to 2025. By 2025, biodiesel production and power generation could amount to 72.11 thousand t and 1.59 billion kW h respectively. Due to the highest energy recovery and the most subsidies, the organic wastewater biogas industry has the highest output and net profit, followed by the waste incineration power generation industry. In total 17.97 million t (carbon dioxide-equivalent) accumulative greenhouse gas emission could be mitigated. The organic wastewater biogas industry and waste incineration power generation industry are more advantageous for the study area in terms of better energy, economic and environmental performances. The

Multifunctional Peri-Urban Agriculture and Local Food Access in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shreema Rana

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Based on the threatening global challenge of increasing urban population with decreasing resources to feed them, the existing literature is reviewed in this paper to highlight; i the urban food supply chain, and ii food security as a benefit of Peri-Urban Agriculture. This is deployed to fit the context of the developing regions of the world where urbanization does not occur in an organized manner. It is known that food grown in peri-urban areas (defined as the fastest growing areas that surround cities but are neither urban nor rural in the conventional sense is easily available to urban inhabitants. Such peri-urban areas have the least adverse effects on the environment from a food transportation perspective and are more resilient in times of uncertain physical (disaster and socioeconomic (fuel and food price rise pressures. Today, much fertile peri-urban land is converted haphazardly without considering its environmental value and agricultural potential. Likewise, peri-urban agriculture is still in the process of being acknowledged by both locals and policy-makers despite being an accepted mode of achieving food security. Therefore, this paper seeks to orient the review literature and underline the gaps that prevail at the grass-roots level of local preferences and values and at the policy-maker level. Using extensive literature review as the methodology, this study draws recent ideas on the multi-functionality of peri-urban agriculture and the sustainable contribution it makes to both developed and developing countries around the world. The findings of the review highlight the significance of peri-urban areas in the Kathmandu Valley for a sustainable and a reliable food chain. It also shows the existing but unrecognized features of peri-urban agriculture both at local and policy-making levels. It discusses the point of interest and possible extension of the multifunctional peri-urban agriculture for local food access, inviting further

Lost food, wasted resources: global food supply chain losses and their impacts on freshwater, cropland, and fertiliser use.

Science.gov (United States)

Kummu, M; de Moel, H; Porkka, M; Siebert, S; Varis, O; Ward, P J

2012-11-01

Reducing food losses and waste is considered to be one of the most promising measures to improve food security in the coming decades. Food losses also affect our use of resources, such as freshwater, cropland, and fertilisers. In this paper we estimate the global food supply losses due to lost and wasted food crops, and the resources used to produce them. We also quantify the potential food supply and resource savings that could be made by reducing food losses and waste. We used publically available global databases to conduct the study at the country level. We found that around one quarter of the produced food supply (614 kcal/cap/day) is lost within the food supply chain (FSC). The production of these lost and wasted food crops accounts for 24% of total freshwater resources used in food crop production (27 m(3)/cap/yr), 23% of total global cropland area (31 × 10(-3)ha/cap/yr), and 23% of total global fertiliser use (4.3 kg/cap/yr). The per capita use of resources for food losses is largest in North Africa & West-Central Asia (freshwater and cropland) and North America & Oceania (fertilisers). The smallest per capita use of resources for food losses is found in Sub-Saharan Africa (freshwater and fertilisers) and in Industrialised Asia (cropland). Relative to total food production, the smallest food supply and resource losses occur in South & Southeast Asia. If the lowest loss and waste percentages achieved in any region in each step of the FSC could be reached globally, food supply losses could be halved. By doing this, there would be enough food for approximately one billion extra people. Reducing the food losses and waste would thus be an important step towards increased food security, and would also increase the efficiency of resource use in food production. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characterizing food waste substrates for co-digestion through biochemical methane potential (BMP) experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Lisboa, Maria Sol; Lansing, Stephanie

2013-12-01

Co-digestion of food waste with dairy manure is increasingly utilized to increase energy production and make anaerobic digestion more affordable; however, there is a lack of information on appropriate co-digestion substrates. In this study, biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests were conducted to determine the suitability of four food waste substrates (meatball, chicken, cranberry and ice cream processing wastes) for co-digestion with flushed dairy manure at a ratio of 3.2% food waste and 96.8% manure (by volume), which equated to 14.7% (ice-cream) to 80.7% (chicken) of the VS being attributed to the food waste. All treatments led to increases in methane production, ranging from a 67.0% increase (ice cream waste) to a 2940% increase (chicken processing waste) compared to digesting manure alone, demonstrating the large potential methane production of food waste additions compared to relatively low methane production potential of the flushed dairy manure, even if the overall quantity of food waste added was minimal. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Decentralized Urban Solid Waste Management in Indonesia | IDRC ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Urban areas of Indonesia generate about 55 000 tonnes of solid waste per day, an amount that ... The lessons learned and best (and worst) practices will be compiled, ... development and production to benefit farmers across the Global South.

Simulating sanitation and waste flows and their environmental impacts in East African urban centres

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oyoo, R.

2014-01-01

Simulating Sanitation and Waste Flows and their Environmental Impacts in East African Urban Centres

Abstract

If improperly managed, urban waste flows can pose a significant threat to the quality of both the natural environment and public health.

Urban food-energy-water nexus: a case study of Beijing

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Z.; Shao, L.

2017-12-01

The interactions between the food, energy and water sectors are of great importance to urban sustainable development. This work presents a framework to analyze food-energy-water (FEW) nexus of a city. The method of multi-scale input-output analysis is applied to calculate consumption-based energy and water use that is driven by urban final demand. It is also capable of accounting virtual energy and water flows that is embodied in trade. Some performance indicators are accordingly devised for a comprehensive understanding of the urban FEW nexus. A case study is carried out for the Beijing city. The embodied energy and water use of foods, embodied water of energy industry and embodied energy of water industry are analyzed. As a key node of economic network, Beijing exchanges a lot of materials and products with external economic systems, especially other Chinese provinces, which involves massive embodied energy and water flows. As a result, Beijing relies heavily on outsourcing energy and water to meet local people's consumption. It is revealed that besides the apparent supply-demand linkages, the underlying interconnections among food, water and energy sectors are critical to create sustainable urban areas.

Urban Farm-Nonfarm Diversification, Household Income and Food Expenditure in Ghana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ampaw Samuel

2017-08-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the impact of farm-nonfarm diversification (FND on household income and food expenditure in urban Ghana using propensity score matching (PSM technique to account for potential selection bias. We find diversified households to be statistically different from undiversified households in terms of household characteristics. Age, gender, educational attainment of the household head, household size, ownership of livestock and agricultural land, and receipt of miscellaneous and rent incomes are positive and significant determinants of FND in urban Ghana. In addition, we find that participation in both farm and nonfarm activities positively and significantly impacts household income and food expenditure. In the light of growing urbanization, with its implications for unemployment, poverty and food insecurity, we recommend diversification among urban households as a means of smoothing income and consumption.

Tank-connected food waste disposer systems--current status and potential improvements.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernstad, A; Davidsson, A; Tsai, J; Persson, E; Bissmont, M; la Cour Jansen, J

2013-01-01

An unconventional system for separate collection of food waste was investigated through evaluation of three full-scale systems in the city of Malmö, Sweden. Ground food waste is led to a separate settling tank where food waste sludge is collected regularly with a tank-vehicle. These tank-connected systems can be seen as a promising method for separate collection of food waste from both households and restaurants. Ground food waste collected from these systems is rich in fat and has a high methane potential when compared to food waste collected in conventional bag systems. The content of heavy metals is low. The concentrations of N-tot and P-tot in sludge collected from sedimentation tanks were on average 46.2 and 3.9 g/kg TS, equalling an estimated 0.48 and 0.05 kg N-tot and P-tot respectively per year and household connected to the food waste disposer system. Detergents in low concentrations can result in increased degradation rates and biogas production, while higher concentrations can result in temporary inhibition of methane production. Concentrations of COD and fat in effluent from full-scale tanks reached an average of 1068 mg/l and 149 mg/l respectively over the five month long evaluation period. Hydrolysis of the ground material is initiated between sludge collection occasions (30 days). Older food waste sludge increases the degradation rate and the risks of fugitive emissions of methane from tanks between collection occasions. Increased particle size decreases hydrolysis rate and could thus decrease losses of carbon and nutrients in the sewerage system, but further studies in full-scale systems are needed to confirm this. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Food waste in South Africa: Understanding the magnitude, water footprint and cost

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Oelofse, Suzanna HH

2014-11-01

Full Text Available by type to water loss as a result of food waste Table 2: Contribution of food commodities to water loss as a result of food waste THE VISION ZERO WASTE HANDBOOK 67 8 FOOD WASTE IN SOUTH AFRICA that cereals (32%), meat (26%) and fruit and vegetables (24... impact of fruit and vegetables are the highest (42%) followed by meat (32%)( Nahman and de Lange, 2013), cereals are contributing the most to water loss (32%) followed by meat (26%) (Figure 3). It is therefore evident that actions to reduce cost vs...

Urban Environmental Education Project, Curriculum Module VI: Solid Waste - Trash or Treasure?

Science.gov (United States)

Biglan, Barbara

Included in this module are four activities dealing with issues of solid waste disposal relative to urban concerns. Included activities are: (1) sources and composition of solid waste; (2) a "garbage game"; (3) disposal options for solid waste; and (4) an example county plan for solid waste disposal. Also included are an overview, teacher…

Research on the drying kinetics of household food waste for the development and optimization of domestic waste drying technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Sotiropoulos, A; Malamis, D; Michailidis, P; Krokida, M; Loizidou, M

2016-01-01

Domestic food waste drying foresees the significant reduction of household food waste mass through the hygienic removal of its moisture content at source. In this manuscript, a new approach for the development and optimization of an innovative household waste dryer for the effective dehydration of food waste at source is presented. Food waste samples were dehydrated with the use of the heated air-drying technique under different air-drying conditions, namely air temperature and air velocity, in order to investigate their drying kinetics. Different thin-layer drying models have been applied, in which the drying constant is a function of the process variables. The Midilli model demonstrated the best performance in fitting the experimental data in all tested samples, whereas it was found that food waste drying is greatly affected by temperature and to a smaller scale by air velocity. Due to the increased moisture content of food waste, an appropriate configuration of the drying process variables can lead to a total reduction of its mass by 87% w/w, thus achieving a sustainable residence time and energy consumption level. Thus, the development of a domestic waste dryer can be proved to be economically and environmentally viable in the future.

Food waste quantification in primary production - The Nordic countries as a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartikainen, Hanna; Mogensen, Lisbeth; Svanes, Erik; Franke, Ulrika

2018-01-01

Our understanding of food waste in the food supply chain has increased, but very few studies have been published on food waste in primary production. The overall aims of this study were to quantify the total amount of food waste in primary production in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and to create a framework for how to define and quantify food waste in primary production. The quantification of food waste was based on case studies conducted in the present study and estimates published in scientific literature. The chosen scope of the study was to quantify the amount of edible food (excluding inedible parts like peels and bones) produced for human consumption that did not end up as food. As a result, the quantification was different from the existing guidelines. One of the main differences is that food that ends up as animal feed is included in the present study, whereas this is not the case for the recently launched food waste definition of the FUSIONS project. To distinguish the 'food waste' definition of the present study from the existing definitions and to avoid confusion with established usage of the term, a new term 'side flow' (SF) was introduced as a synonym for food waste in primary production. A rough estimate of the total amount of food waste in primary production in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark was made using SF and 'FUSIONS Food Waste' (FFW) definitions. The SFs in primary production in the four Nordic countries were an estimated 800,000 tonnes per year with an additional 100,000 tonnes per year from the rearing phase of animals. The 900,000 tonnes per year of SF corresponds to 3.7% of the total production of 24,000,000 tonnes per year of edible primary products. When using the FFW definition proposed by the FUSIONS project, the FFW amount was estimated at 330,000 tonnes per year, or 1% of the total production. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Food security and productivity among urban farmers in Kaduna ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study to investigated food security and productivity among urban farmers' in Kaduna State Two-stage sampling procedure was used to select 213 respondents for the study. Interview schedule was used to collect data. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics (food security index, food insecurity/ surplus gap index ...

A Carrier Bag Story of (waste) food, hens and the sharing economy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fjalland, Emmy Laura Perez

2018-01-01

flavourful food and the value of waste food. This argument is unfolded by looking deeper into the farm as a heterogeneous relational-material entanglement of infrastructures, non-human and human, Nordic food stories, waste, food and feed, diseases and risks and eating and tasting. Based on the food network...

The opportunity of tracking food waste in school canteens: Guidelines for self-assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Derqui, Belén; Fernandez, Vicenc

2017-11-01

Reducing food waste is one of the key challenges of the food system and addressing it in the institutional catering industry can be a quick win. In particular, school canteens are a significant source of food waste and therefore embody a great opportunity to address food waste. The goal of our research is the development of guidelines for audit and self-assessment in measuring and managing food waste produced at school canteens. The purpose of the tool is to standardise food waste audits to be executed either by scholars, school staff or by catering companies with the objective of measuring and reducing food waste at schools. We performed a research among public and private schools and catering companies from which we obtained the key performance indicators to be measured and then pilot-tested the resulting tool in four schools with over 2900 pupil participants, measuring plate waste from over 10,000 trays. This tool will help managers in their efforts towards more sustainable organisations at the same time as the standardisation of food waste audits will provide researchers with comparable data. The study suggests that although there is low awareness on the amount of food wasted at school canteens, managers and staff are highly interested in the topic and would be willing to implement audits and reduction measures. The case study also showed that our tool is easy to implement and not disruptive. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Processing- and product-related causes for food waste and implications for the food supply chain.

Science.gov (United States)

Raak, Norbert; Symmank, Claudia; Zahn, Susann; Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica; Rohm, Harald

2017-03-01

Reducing food waste is one of the prominent goals in the current research, which has also been set by the United Nations to achieve a more sustainable world by 2030. Given that previous studies mainly examined causes for food waste generation related to consumers, e.g., expectations regarding quality or uncertainties about edibility, this review aims at providing an overview on losses in the food industry, as well as on natural mechanisms by which impeccable food items are converted into an undesired state. For this, scientific literature was reviewed based on a keyword search, and information not covered was gathered by conducting expert interviews with representatives from 13 German food processing companies. From the available literature, three main areas of food waste generation were identified and discussed: product deterioration and spoilage during logistical operations, by-products from food processing, and consumer perception of quality and safety. In addition, expert interviews revealed causes for food waste in the processing sector, which were categorised as follows: losses resulting from processing operations and quality assurance, and products not fulfilling quality demands from trade. The interviewees explained a number of strategies to minimise food losses, starting with alternative tradeways for second choice items, and ending with emergency power supplies to compensate for power blackouts. It became clear that the concepts are not universally applicable for each company, but the overview provided in the present study may support researchers in finding appropriate solutions for individual cases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electric energy production from food waste: Microbial fuel cells versus anaerobic digestion.

Science.gov (United States)

Xin, Xiaodong; Ma, Yingqun; Liu, Yu

2018-05-01

A food waste resourceful process was developed by integrating the ultra-fast hydrolysis and microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for energy and resource recovery. Food waste was first ultra-fast hydrolyzed by fungal mash rich in hydrolytic enzymes in-situ produced from food waste. After which, the separated solids were readily converted to biofertilizer, while the liquid was fed to MFCs for direct electricity generation with a conversion efficiency of 0.245 kWh/kg food waste. It was estimated that about 192.5 million kWh of electricity could be produced from the food waste annually generated in Singapore, together with 74,390 tonnes of dry biofertilizer. Compared to anaerobic digestion, the proposed approach was more environmentally friendly and economically viable in terms of both electricity conversion and process cost. It is expected that this study may lead to the paradigm shift in food waste management towards ultra-fast concurrent recovery of resource and electricity with zero-solid discharge. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microbial conversion of food wastes for biofertilizer production with thermophilic lipolytic microbes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsai, Shu-Hsien; Yang, Shang-Shyng [Institute of Microbiology and Biochemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, (Taiwan); Liu, Ching-Piao [Department of Biological Science and Technology, Meiho Institute of Technology, Pingtung 91201, (Taiwan)

2007-05-15

Food waste is approximately one quarter of the total garbage in Taiwan. To investigate the feasibility of microbial conversion of food waste to multiple functional biofertilizer, food waste was mixed with bulking materials, inoculated with thermophilic and lipolytic microbes and incubated at 50{sup o}C in a mechanical composter. Microbial inoculation enhanced the degradation of food wastes, increased the total nitrogen and the germination rate of alfalfa seed, shortened the maturity period and improved the quality of biofertilizer. In food waste inoculated with thermophilic and lipolytic Brevibacillus borstelensis SH168 for 28 days, total nitrogen increased from 2.01% to 2.10%, ash increased from 24.94% to 29.21%, crude fat decreased from 4.88% to 1.34% and the C/N ratio decreased from 18.02 to 17.65. Each gram of final product had a higher population of thermophilic microbes than mesophilic microbes. Microbial conversion of food waste to biofertilizer is a feasible and potential technology in the future to maintain the natural resources and to reduce the impact on environmental quality. (author)

Assessment of expenditure on food among urban households and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... on food among urban households and it's implication for food security: Evidence from ... of the sample for the study involved a three-stage sampling technique. ... of enhancing their income to improve the household and economic conditions.

Mass and element balance in food waste composting facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Huijun; Matsuto, Toshihiko

2010-01-01

The mass and element balance in municipal solid waste composting facilities that handle food waste was studied. Material samples from the facilities were analyzed for moisture, ash, carbon, nitrogen, and the oxygen consumption of compost and bulking material was determined. Three different processes were used in the food waste composting facilities: standard in-vessel composting, drying, and stand-alone composting machine. Satisfactory results were obtained for the input/output ash balance despite several assumptions made concerning the quantities involved. The carbon/nitrogen ratio and oxygen consumption values for compost derived only from food waste were estimated by excluding the contribution of the bulking material remaining in the compost product. These estimates seemed to be suitable indices for the biological stability of compost because there was a good correlation between them, and because the values seemed logical given the operating conditions at the facilities. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ecofeed, animal feed produced from recycled food waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Sugiura, Katsuaki; Yamatani, Shoich; Watahara, Masashi; Onodera, Takashi

2009-01-01

Due to the price hike of imported grains for feed, the production of Ecofeed, feed produced from recycled food waste, has increased in recent years. Food dregs from the food and beverage processing industry and out-of-date food from supermarkets and convenience stores are most often used as raw materials for Ecofeed. As food waste usually contains a lot of moisture and is easily spoiled, guidelines prescribing measures to be taken when collecting, transporting and storing raw materials, and for the production, shipment, storage and use of Ecofeed products, have been developed to ensure the safety of Ecofeed. The guidelines also include measures that should be taken to prevent the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy when producing and using Ecofeed. A certification system was introduced in March 2009 to ensure the quality and safety of Ecofeed and thus promote its use.

Ecosystem Approach to Urban Household Waste Management in ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Ecosystem Approach to Urban Household Waste Management in the context of ... in Ecohealth (COPEH) supported by IDRC's Ecosystem Approaches to Human ... Call for new OWSD Fellowships for Early Career Women Scientists now open ... International Water Resources Association, in close collaboration with IDRC, ...

Biohydrogen production from enzymatic hydrolysis of food waste in batch and continuous systems

OpenAIRE

Wei Han; Yingting Yan; Yiwen Shi; Jingjing Gu; Junhong Tang; Hongting Zhao

2016-01-01

In this study, the feasibility of biohydrogen production from enzymatic hydrolysis of food waste was investigated. Food waste (solid-to-liquid ratio of 10%, w/v) was first hydrolyzed by commercial glucoamylase to release glucose (24.35?g/L) in the food waste hydrolysate. Then, the obtained food waste hydrolysate was used as substrate for biohydrogen production in the batch and continuous (continuous stirred tank reactor, CSTR) systems. It was observed that the maximum cumulative hydrogen prod...

1 POPULATION PRESSURE AND HEALTH RISKS IN URBAN ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

on urban market environment (and in this case, Bodija Market, Ibadan). Particular ... markets in most LDCs have become huge waste production centers. ... market. With about 90 percent of food purchases of urban residents being sourced from .... up a child's excrement in between attending to customers are created. Often ...

Proceedings: energy from urban wastes workshop, Washington, DC, September 11-12, 1978

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cohen, A.S.; Brooks, C. (eds.)

1979-06-01

This workshop, for members of public interest groups, was sponsored by DOE's Urban Waste Technology Branch to provide information on the use of urban waste as an energy resource. A separate abstract was prepared for each of seven presentations plus the Summary of discussions. Two acts are included as appendices: (1) Public Law 95-238: Department of Energy Act of 1978 - Civilian Applications; and (2) Public Law 94-580: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976.

Urban Household Characteristics and Dietary Diversity: An Analysis of Food Security in Accra, Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Codjoe, Samuel Nii Ardey; Okutu, David; Abu, Mumuni

2016-06-01

The world's population is increasingly becoming urbanized. If the current urban growth rate is to continue, new and unprecedented challenges for food security will be inevitable. Dietary diversity has been used to ascertain food security status albeit at the multicountry and country levels. Thus, household-level studies in urban settings, particularly in sub-Sahara African, are few. Yet, it is imperative that assessments of food security are undertaken particularly in urban settings, due to the projected fast rate of urbanization and the challenges of attaining food security. To examine household characteristics and dietary diversity. The study uses data from 452 households from the second round of the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS) EDULINK urban poverty and health study. Bivariate and multivariate analyses are undertaken. Mean dietary diversity for all households is 6.8. Vegetables have the highest diversity, followed by cereal-based and grain products. Household characteristics that have statistically significant associations with dietary diversity include sex and level of education of household head, household wealth quintile, and source of food. There is high dietary diversity in the study communities of Accra but low consumption of foods rich in micronutrient, such as fruits and milk/dairy products. The study brings to fore issues related to resource-disadvantaged entities of the urban system, namely, females, poor households, and the non-educated who have food insecurity problems. © The Author(s) 2016.

Urban solid waste in the production of Lafoensia pacari seedlings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alan H. M. de Abreu

Full Text Available ABSTRACT This study aimed to verify the potential of urban solid wastes as substrate for production of seedlings of Lafoensia pacari. Five treatments were tested, four with solid wastes and one standard substrate, namely: sewage sludge from Alegria Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP; sewage sludge from Ilha do Governador WTP; sewage sludge from Sarapuí WTP; domestic garbage compost (Fertlurb; and a commercial substrate made of biostabilized pine bark (standard substrate. The wastes received 20% (in volume of shredded coconut fiber. At 105 days after sowing, the seedlings were evaluated for different quality parameters. Seedlings produced with Sarapuí WTP sewage sludge showed the best results in all the parameters, followed by seedlings produced with sewage sludge from Alegria and Ilha do Governador WTPs, which did not differ. Seedlings produced with domestic garbage compost showed satisfactory results, higher than the ones observed for seedlings produced with commercial substrate. The urban solid wastes with 20% of coconut fiber showed high potential and can be recommended for the composition of substrate in the production of Lafoensia pacari seedlings.

Valorisation of food residues: waste to wealth using green chemical technologies

OpenAIRE

Clark, James H.; Luque, Rafael

2013-01-01

Waste valorisation practises have attracted a significant amount of attention in recent years with the aim of managing waste in the most sustainable way. Food waste constitutes a largely under-exploited residue from which a variety of valuable chemicals can be derived. This contribution is aimed to set the scene for a further development and promotion of sustainable food waste valorisation practises to different end products using green chemical technologies

LCA for household waste management when planning a new urban settlement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slagstad, Helene; Brattebø, Helge

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Household waste management of a new carbon neutral settlement. ► EASEWASTE as a LCA tool to compare different centralised and decentralised solutions. ► Environmental benefit or close to zero impact in most of the categories. ► Paper and metal recycling important for the outcome. ► Discusses the challenges of waste prevention planning. - Abstract: When planning for a new urban settlement, industrial ecology tools like scenario building and life cycle assessment can be used to assess the environmental quality of different infrastructure solutions. In Trondheim, a new greenfield settlement with carbon–neutral ambitions is being planned and five different scenarios for the waste management system of the new settlement have been compared. The results show small differences among the scenarios, however, some benefits from increased source separation of paper and metal could be found. The settlement should connect to the existing waste management system of the city, and not resort to decentralised waste treatment or recovery methods. However, as this is an urban development project with ambitious goals for lifestyle changes, effort should be put into research and initiatives for proactive waste prevention and reuse issues.

Food Cost and Nutrient Availability in Urban Indonesia: Estimates for Food Policy Analysis

OpenAIRE

Teklu, Tesfaye; Jensen, Helen H.

1989-01-01

Evaluating the effects of economic growth and the effectiveness of targeted government intervention requires identification of tarket groups and information on food and nutrient consumption patterns. A model of nutrient consumption linked to food choice behaviour is used to evaluate nutrient availability in urban Indonesia. Nutrient demand responses varied significantly across income levels

Women play larger role in Latin America's commercial urban waste ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

21 juin 2016 ... The research examines the role women play in marketing urban waste as a commercial enterprise and their important contribution to municipal recyclable waste activities. This book ... De courts téléromans pour encourager l'éducation financière et l'inclusion des femmes au Pérou. Le fait de ne pas avoir ...

Costs of food waste along the value chain: evidence from South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Nahman, Anton; de Lange, Willem

2013-11-01

In a previous paper (Nahman et al., 2012), the authors estimated the costs of household food waste in South Africa, based on the market value of the wasted food (edible portion only), as well as the costs of disposal to landfill. In this paper, we extend the analysis by assessing the costs of edible food waste throughout the entire food value chain, from agricultural production through to consumption at the household level. First, food waste at each stage of the value chain was quantified in physical units (tonnes) for various food commodity groups. Then, weighted average representative prices (per tonne) were estimated for each commodity group at each stage of the value chain. Finally, prices were multiplied by quantities, and the resulting values were aggregated across the value chain for all commodity groups. In this way, the total cost of food waste across the food value chain in South Africa was estimated at R61.5 billion per annum (approximately US$7.7 billion); equivalent to 2.1% of South Africa's annual gross domestic product. The bulk of this cost arises from the processing and distribution stages of the fruit and vegetable value chain, as well as the agricultural production and distribution stages of the meat value chain. These results therefore provide an indication of where interventions aimed at reducing food waste should be targeted. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ecofeed, animal feed produced from recycled food waste

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katsuaki Sugiura

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Due to the price hike of imported grains for feed, the production of Ecofeed, feed produced from recycled food waste, has increased in recent years. Food dregs from the food and beverage processing industry and out-of-date food from supermarkets and convenience stores are most often used as raw materials for Ecofeed. As food waste usually contains a lot of moisture and is easily spoiled, guidelines prescribing measures to be taken when collecting, transporting and storing raw materials, and for the production, shipment, storage and use of Ecofeed products, have been developed to ensure the safety of Ecofeed. The guidelines also include measures that should be taken to prevent the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy when producing and using Ecofeed. A certification system was introduced in March 2009 to ensure the quality and safety of Ecofeed and thus promote its use.

analysis of differences in rural-urban households food expenditure ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Kwara households spend more on food (74.39% in rural and 75% in urban) than their Kogi counterpart (57.41% in rural and ... food consumption is likely to change with changes in prices, ... is the neoclassical model of consumer choice. This.

Investigation into the Application of Construction and Demolition Waste in Urban Roads

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Youyun Li

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The recycling and reuse of waste materials is a topic of global concern and great international interest for those interested in sustainable development and protecting the environment. In recent decades, global production of construction and demolition waste (C&D waste has significantly increased and became a worldwide problem. This research proposes to evaluate the feasibility of using aggregate from recycled C&D waste for urban road embankment applications based on the Sanhuan road construction project in eastern Xi’an. An extensive suite of laboratory and field compaction tests were carried out to determine the physical properties and engineering characteristics of the C&D waste. The effect of curing on the strength of the C&D waste was investigated using unconfined compression strength (UCS, California bearing ratio (CBR, and deflection tests. The results show that the C&D waste has the characteristics of high strength and significant stability after simple treatment and further suggest that the use of these materials for paving urban road embankments is feasible. This study is of value for the reasonable and effective promotion of using C&D waste recycled materials in road subgrade applications.

Green-Lean Synergy - Root-Cause Analysis in Food Waste Prevention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pegah Amani

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose_The goal of this paper is to explore the possible synergetic effects between lean philosophy and green endeavors in improving resource efficiency in the food sector. To that end, it is investigated how a proper and tailor-made adaptation of the lean six sigma root cause analysis method could help in overcoming the complexities of increased resource efficiency in food production.Design/methodology/approach_The case study concerned reduction of waste at an industrial production line of a dough-based product, through the implementation of the lean six sigma tool.Findings_An achievement of a 50% reduction of waste on the studied process line was reached, thus exceeding the initial improvement goal.Research limitations/implications (if applicable_While the explicit findings on the specific root causes of waste on this actual production line are not immediately transferrable to other cases, they show that applying this method to identifying and eliminating root causes of waste for other products and processes in the food sector could not only reduce costs but also contribute to more resource-efficient and sustainable industrial food production.Practical implications (if applicable_ Political and public high interest in environmental and social sustainability associated with food waste render this an important development.Originality/value_ While the potential of linking green and lean efforts has been acknowledged, the application of the lean six sigma methodology for more sustainable food production has not yet been explored. This paper contributes to this research

GOOD PRACTICES FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN FOOD POLICIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristina Elena NICOLESCU

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The paper, based on the coordinates of the problems triggered by the negative externalities chain generated by the poor food supply and production system at the level of the urban collectivities, carries out an analysis focused on the identification of the tools, mechanisms, and good practices needed to ensure the sustainability of the local policies on public nutrition. The experiences in the field show that the progress is remarkable in the case of collaborative administrations aimed at enhancing the cooperation and partnership relations, based on common interests, on both internal and international collaboration level, such as The Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (2015. From this perspective, the paper presents a case study, a significant experience of improving the food supply system of Bucharest population, through local public nutrition policy and the public action set implemented by Bucharest local authorities with the support of State public bodies and the representatives of civil society, materialized in the establishment of peasant markets as flea markets on the territory of Bucharest.

When Vacant Lots Become Urban Gardens: Characterizing the Perceived and Actual Food Safety Concerns of Urban Agriculture in Ohio.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaiser, Michelle L; Williams, Michele L; Basta, Nicholas; Hand, Michelle; Huber, Sarah

2015-11-01

This study was intended to characterize the perceived risks of urban agriculture by residents of four low-income neighborhoods in which the potential exists for further urban agriculture development and to provide data to support whether any chemical hazards and foodborne pathogens as potential food safety hazards were present. Sixty-seven residents participated in focus groups related to environmental health, food security, and urban gardening. In addition, soils from six locations were tested. Residents expressed interest in the development of urban gardens to improve access to healthy, fresh produce, but they had concerns about soil quality. Soils were contaminated with lead (Pb), zinc, cadmium (Cd), and copper, but not arsenic or chromium. Results from our study suggest paint was the main source of soil contamination. Detectable polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) levels in urban soils were well below levels of concern. These urban soils will require further management to reduce Pb and possibly Cd bioavailability to decrease the potential for uptake into food crops. Although the number of locations in this study is limited, results suggest lower levels of soil contaminants at well-established gardens. Soil tillage associated with long-term gardening could have diluted the soil metal contaminants by mixing the contaminants with clean soil. Also, lower PAH levels in long-term gardening could be due to enhanced microbial activity and PAH degradation, dilution, or both due to mixing, similar to metals. No foodborne pathogen targets were detected by PCR from any of the soils. Residents expressed the need for clearness regarding soil quality and gardening practices in their neighborhoods to consume food grown in these urban areas. Results from this study suggest long-term gardening has the potential to reduce soil contaminants and their potential threat to food quality and human health and to improve access to fresh produce in low-income urban communities.

Adverse Effects of Waste Generation in Calabar Urban, Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Adverse Effects of Waste Generation in Calabar Urban, Nigeria. ... degradation, blocking of drainage and emission of greenhouse gases. We found a number of health hazards, ranging from pollution to diseases on both human and animals.

Evaluating the toxicity of food processing wastes as co-digestion substrates with dairy manure.

Science.gov (United States)

Lisboa, Maria Sol; Lansing, Stephanie

2014-07-01

Studies have shown that including food waste as a co-digestion substrate in the anaerobic digestion of livestock manure can increase energy production. However, the type and inclusion rate of food waste used for co-digestion need to be carefully considered in order to prevent adverse conditions in the digestion environment. This study determined the effect of increasing the concentration (2%, 5%, 15% and 30%, by volume) of four food-processing wastes (meatball, chicken, cranberry and ice cream processing wastes) on methane production. Anaerobic toxicity assay (ATA) and specific methanogenic activity (SMA) tests were conducted to determine the concentration at which each food waste became toxic to the digestion environment. Decreases in methane production were observed at concentrations above 5% for all four food waste substrates, with up to 99% decreases in methane production at 30% food processing wastes (by volume). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High-sodium food choices by southern, urban African Americans with heart failure.

Science.gov (United States)

Kollipara, Usha K; Mo, Vivian; Toto, Kathleen H; Nelson, Lauren L; Schneider, Ruth A; Neily, Jennifer B; Drazner, Mark H

2006-03-01

Sodium restriction is important in the management of heart failure (HF). Although many low-sodium educational resources are available, few are directed specifically at urban African Americans. A registered dietitian prospectively interviewed 50 African-American and 25 white patients in an urban public hospital (derivation cohort) in Dallas, TX, using a food-frequency instrument that listed 146 food choices. Foods >300 mg sodium/serving consumed at least weekly by 50% of an ethnic group were classified as being a high-sodium core food for that group. Classification of foods (core or not core) was validated in a second African-American cohort (n = 144). Five high-sodium food choices were classified as core food in both the derivation and validation African-American cohorts (salt in cooking, canned vegetables, cheese, processed meats, and cold cereal) and another 3 when the derivation and validation cohorts were combined (fast food, fried chicken, and corn bread). Four of these 8 foods were not classified as core foods in whites. Eight high-sodium foods were frequently consumed by southern, urban African Americans with heart failure. Several of these foods were not commonly consumed by whites, emphasizing the need to be sensitive to ethnic differences in dietary habits when educating patients about sodium intake.

Co-composting of green waste and food waste at low C/N ratio

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Mathava; Ou, Y.-L.; Lin, J.-G.

2010-01-01

In this study, co-composting of food waste and green waste at low initial carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratios was investigated using an in-vessel lab-scale composting reactor. The central composite design (CCD) and response surface method (RSM) were applied to obtain the optimal operating conditions over a range of preselected moisture contents (45-75%) and C/N ratios (13.9-19.6). The results indicate that the optimal moisture content for co-composting of food waste and green waste is 60%, and the substrate at a C/N ratio of 19.6 can be decomposed effectively to reduce 33% of total volatile solids (TVS) in 12 days. The TVS reduction can be modeled by using a second-order equation with a good fit. In addition, the compost passes the standard germination index of white radish seed indicating that it can be used as soil amendment.

Testing the environmental performance of urban agriculture as a food supply in northern climates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Goldstein, Benjamin Paul; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Fernandez, John

2016-01-01

The past decade has seen a renaissance of urban agriculture in the world's wealthy, northern cities. The practice of producing food in and around cities is championed as a method to reduce environmental impacts of urban food demands (reducing distance from farm to fork - ‘food miles’) whilst......, though opposite findings emerge when external energy inputs are significant. In this study we perform an environmental life cycle assessment of six urban farms in Boston, US producing lettuce and tomatoes, with conventional counterparts across six impact categories. Performance of urban agriculture...... conferring a number of ancillary benefits to host cities (runoff attenuation, urban heat island mitigation) and ex-urban environments (carbon sequestration). Previous environmental assessments have found urban agriculture to be more sustainable than conventional agriculture when performed in mild climates...

Latest research progress on food waste management: a comprehensive review

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Shangzhen; Gao, Hetong; Duan, Lunbo

2018-05-01

Since a large amount of food supplying is provided as a basic line measuring increasing residents’ life standard, food waste has become progressively numeral considerable. Much attention has been drawn to this problem. This work gave an overview on latest researches about anaerobic digestion, composting, generalized management and other developments on management of food waste. Different technologies were introduced and evaluated. Further views on future research in such a field were proposed.

Opportunity for high value-added chemicals from food supply chain wastes.

Science.gov (United States)

Matharu, Avtar S; de Melo, Eduardo M; Houghton, Joseph A

2016-09-01

With approximately 1.3 billion tonnes of food wasted per annum, food supply chain wastes (FSCWs) may be viewed as the contemporary Periodic Table of biobased feedstock chemicals (platform molecules) and functional materials. Herein, the global drivers and case for food waste valorisation within the context of global sustainability, sustainable development goals and the bioeconomy are discussed. The emerging potential of high value added chemicals from certain tropical FSCW is considered as these are grown in three major geographical areas: Brazil, India and China, and likely to increase in volume. FSCW in the context of biorefineries is discussed and two case studies are reported, namely: waste potato, and; orange peel waste. Interestingly, both waste feedstocks, like many others, produce proteins and with the global demand for vegetable proteins on the rise then proteins from FSCW may become a dominant area. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Food insecurity and socioeconomic, food and nutrition profile of schoolchildren living in urban and rural areas of Picos, Piauí

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jailane de Souza Aquino

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of food insecurity among schoolchildren living in urban and rural areas of Picos, Piauí associated with the socioeconomic profile of families and their food intake and nutritional status. Methods: Study participants were families with children aged 7-10 years enrolled in municipal schools, totaling 342 families/schoolchildren. The study was conducted at school facilities through interviews with mothers - or guardians - using a questionnaire based on the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale and socioeconomic variables and food frequency questionnaire. The nutritional status of children was assessed using the following indexes: weight/age, height/age and body mass index/age. Results: The prevalence of food insecurity was high and similar for rural and urban areas, 84.3% and 83.3%, respectively. In general, lower income and consumption of untreated water was associated with greater frequency of food insecurity (p≤0.01. In urban areas, higher percentage of food insecurity was associated to lower educational levels (p≤0.05. Dietary intake and nutritional status of schoolchildren were not associated with food insecurity condition of families. Conclusion: The percentage of families at food insecurity, as well as the food consumption and nutritional status of schoolchildren were similar between urban and rural areas, characterized as a homogeneous population in terms of socioeconomic conditions.

Sustainability, resilience and governance of an urban food system: a case study of peri-urban Wuhan

OpenAIRE

Dolley, Jonathan

2017-01-01

While it is clear that urban food systems need to be made resilient so that broader sustainability\\ud goals can be maintained over time, it has been a matter of debate as to how resilience should be\\ud conceptualised when applied to social-ecological systems. Through a case study of peri-urban\\ud Wuhan, this research develops and applies a resilience based conceptual framework for periurban\\ud food systems analysis in order to explore the potential for an enhanced understanding of\\ud resilien...

Department of Urban and Reg

African Journals Online (AJOL)

USER

2017-03-10

Mar 10, 2017 ... the bad side of urban sprawl, in a barren, monotonous and ugly situation. In most of such area also are junk yards and waste dumps. ... food restaurants, and super stores. ... one and had a modifying effect on the climate.

The role of street foods in the diet of low-income urban residents, the case of Nairobi

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Riet, van 't H.

2002-01-01

Urbanisation and lack of economic growth have resulted in increasing urban poverty in developing countries. As urban residents rely on purchasing their foods, food security of the urban poor is predominantly determined by their purchasing power. Street foods provide many urban residents

Cities' Role in Mitigating United States Food System Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohareb, Eugene A; Heller, Martin C; Guthrie, Peter M

2018-05-15

Current trends of urbanization, population growth, and economic development have made cities a focal point for mitigating global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The substantial contribution of food consumption to climate change necessitates urban action to reduce the carbon intensity of the food system. While food system GHG mitigation strategies often focus on production, we argue that urban influence dominates this sector's emissions and that consumers in cities must be the primary drivers of mitigation. We quantify life cycle GHG emissions of the United States food system through data collected from literature and government sources producing an estimated total of 3800 kg CO 2 e/capita in 2010, with cities directly influencing approximately two-thirds of food sector GHG emissions. We then assess the potential for cities to reduce emissions through selected measures; examples include up-scaling urban agriculture and home delivery of grocery options, which each may achieve emissions reductions on the order of 0.4 and ∼1% of this total, respectively. Meanwhile, changes in waste management practices and reduction of postdistribution food waste by 50% reduce total food sector emissions by 5 and 11%, respectively. Consideration of the scale of benefits achievable through policy goals can enable cities to formulate strategies that will assist in achieving deep long-term GHG emissions targets.

impact of waste disposal on health of a poor urban community

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2004-08-08

Aug 8, 2004 ... and local authorities' policies of hostilities and eviction of poor urban informal settlers(7). This study assessed the human excreta and waste disposal facilities and their health implications among residents of the poor urban settlement of Epworth a few kilometers south east of Harare, Zimbabwe's capital city.

Civil society participation in urban sanitation and solid waste management in Uganda

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tukahirwa, J.; Mol, A.P.J.; Oosterveer, P.J.M.

2010-01-01

The inability of local governments to provide basic environmental services in African urban centres often results in the involvement of other actors in urban sanitation and solid waste provisioning, such as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs) and private

Bioenergy Potential from Food Waste in California

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Breunig, Hanna M. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Technologies Area; Jin, Ling [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Technologies Area; Robinson, Alastair [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Technologies Area; Scown, Corinne D. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Technologies Area; Joint BioEnergy Inst. (JBEI), Emeryville, CA (United States)

2017-01-25

This paper presents the first detailed analysis of monthly food waste generation in California at a county level, and its potential contribution to the state's energy production. Scenarios that rely on excess capacity at existing anaerobic digester (AD) and solid biomass combustion facilities, and alternatives that allow for new facility construction, are developed and modeled. Potential monthly electricity generation from the conversion of gross food waste using a combination of AD and combustion varies from 420 to 700 MW, averaging 530 MW. At least 66% of gross high moisture solids and 23% of gross low moisture solids can be treated using existing county infrastructure, and this fraction increases to 99% of high moisture solids and 55% of low moisture solids if waste can be shipped anywhere within the state. Biogas flaring practices at AD facilities can reduce potential energy production by 10 to 40%.

The unsustainability of obesity: Metabolic food waste

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauro Serafini

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The obesity burden, with 1.5 billion overweight and 500 million obese worldwide, significantly increased the risk for degenerative diseases. Excessive consumption of foods that are energy dense lead to obesity, which represents a titanic cost for not only the world’s health systems but also a substantial ecological cost to the environment. The waste of resources and the unnecessary GHGs emission, due to obesigen consumption of foods, have been ignored so far in practical assessments of ecological impacts. Our position is that food eaten above physiological needs, manifesting as obesity, should be considered waste. In this study, we developed a new indicator, Metabolic Food Waste (MFW(kg of food, corresponding to the amount of food leading to Excess Body Fat (EBF and its impact on environment expressed as carbon (MFW(kgCO2eq, water (MFW(x 10 L and land footprint (MFW(x10 m2. Results shows that the average amount of MFW(kg of food was of 63.1 and 127.2 kg per capita in a observational study on sixty overweight and obese subjects. Animal products contributed mostly to MFW(kg of food in both OW (24.3 kg and OB (46.5 kg, followed by cereals, legumes and starchy roots (19.4 kg OW; 38.9 kg OB, sugar and sweets (9.0 kg OW; 16.4 kg OB and alcoholic beverages (7.5 kg OW; 20.1 kg OB. When dietary intake corresponding to MFW was transformed in ecological indexes, animal products displayed the highest values for carbon emissions, water consumption and land use in both OW and OB followed by cereals, legumes and starchy roots. The estimated MFW(kg of food of the Italian population resulted to be 2.081 million kg of food for OB and OW. Reducing obesity will make a contribution toward achieving sustainable and functional diets, preserving and re-allocating natural resources for fighting hunger and malnutrition and reducing GHGs emissions. Although further evidences in epidemiological studies are needed, MFW represents an innovative and reliable tool to unravel

Comparative LCA of Alternative Scenarios for Waste Treatment: The Case of Food Waste Production by the Mass-Retail Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovanni Mondello

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Food waste is one of the most important issues taken into account by the European Union due to its negative environmental, economic and social impacts. The treatment of food waste through recycling processes represents a solution for food waste minimisation. Concerning, in particular, the retail sector, it is necessary to define strategies for retail-oriented sustainable food waste management. The aim of this study is to compare the potential environmental impacts related to five scenarios (landfill, incineration, composting, anaerobic digestion and bioconversion through insects for the disposal/treatment of food waste produced by a mass retail company operating in Messina (Italy through the application of the Life Cycle Assessment method, in order to find the best treatment solution. Results based on the treatment of a functional unit of 1 tonne of food waste show that the bioconversion scenario represents the most preferable solution considering all of the impact categories analysed through the CML 2 baseline 2000 method, except for Global Warming, for which higher environmental performances are connected to the anaerobic digestion scenario. The incineration and the bioconversion scenarios show the highest environmental benefits when the production of alternative energy sources and valuable materials is evaluated through the inclusion of the avoided productions in the analysis.

No time to waste: applying social psychological methods\\ud and theories to household food waste reduction

OpenAIRE

Graham-Rowe, Ella

2015-01-01

The amount of food thrown away by UK households is substantial and, to a large extent, avoidable. Despite the obvious imperative for research to identify key factors that motivate, enable or prevent household food waste reduction, little research to date has directly addressed this objective. The research presented in this thesis had two clear aims:\\ud (1) to investigate antecedents of household food waste reduction and barriers to change, and\\ud (2) to explore whether self-affirmation techni...

Food insecurity in households in informal settlements in urban South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Naicker, N; Mathee, A; Teare, J

2015-04-01

Food insecurity in the urban poor is a major public health challenge. The Health, Environment and Development study assessed trends in food insecurity and food consumption over a period of 7 years in an informal settlement in Johannesburg, South Africa (SA). Annual cross-sectional surveys were conducted in the informal settlement (Hospital Hill). The degree of household food insecurity decreased significantly from 2006 (85%) to 2012 (70%). There was a spike in 2009 (91%), possibly owing to global food price increases. Childhood food insecurity followed the same trend as household food insecurity. During the first 3 study years, consumption of protein, vegetables and fruit decreased by 10-20%, but had returned to previous levels by 2012. In this study, although declining, food insecurity remains unacceptably high. Hunger relief and poverty alleviation need to be more aggressively implemented in order to improve the quality of life in poor urban communities in SA.