Hard to Digest

摘要

Wasted food is a huge topic of discussion lately - and that's a good thing. Over 36 million tonnes of food waste per year are disposed of in U.S. landfills alone. Several states and metro areas have recently implemented bans on food waste going to landfills and, instead, are sending discarded food to composters or anaerobic digesters. Typically, wasted food is an excellent source of energy in an anaerobic digester, a process that relies on ancient bacteria functioning in oxygen-free digesters. In this environment bacteria convert organic material into methane or renewable energy. For these bacteria to convert food waste to energy, they must establish good contact with food for a sufficient length of time.