Sustainability Evaluation of Food Waste Management Techniques

摘要

The storage, preparation, and consumption of food all contribute to the generation of food waste.The optimal food waste management method is a contentious issue and depends on multiplefactors. At a minimum, policy makers should consider the environmental, economic,sociopolitical, and operational impacts of different food waste disposal methods. This analysisestimated the relative costs, carbon footprint, space footprint, labor demands, diesel fuel demand,electricity demand, and water demand of different residential food waste management methods.The food waste management methods were: disposal in a landfill operating with landfill gascollection and power production (Landfill), source-separated food waste collection andcentralized composting (Compost), food waste disposal through kitchen grinders and sewerconveyance to a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP/Sewers), source-separated foodwaste hauled to a municipal wastewater treatment plant and added directly to an anaerobicdigester (WWTP/Hauled), and organic waste recovery from a mixed material recovery facilityfollowed by hauling to a municipal WWTP anaerobic digester (Mixed MRF). A brief discussionof many qualitative issues associated with each food management method is also included. Thefocus of the research was on residential food waste generation and does not apply to commercialor industrial food waste generation.The Landfill alternative showed the highest biogenic and total CO_2e emissions, while theWWTP/Hauled alternative showed the lowest non-biogenic and total CO_2e emissions. TheWWTP/Sewers alternative had the highest capital cost, but the operating costs were the lowest,thus the present worth was also the lowest. The largest space footprints were required for thecompost facility, landfill, and MRF alternatives. The largest potable water demand was for theWWTP/Sewers alternative as a result of flushing water demand to convey food waste throughthe food waste processor and sewers.