| Title | Environmental and economic implications of recovering resources from food waste in a circular economy |
|---|---|
| ID_Doc | 28913 |
| Authors | Slorach, PC; Jeswani, HK; Cuéllar-Franca, R; Azapagic, A |
| Title | Environmental and economic implications of recovering resources from food waste in a circular economy |
| Year | 2019 |
| Published | |
| Abstract | Around a third of food is wasted globally, requiring significant resources for its treatment and disposal, in addition to wasting valuable resources. Following the circular economy principles, this waste should ideally be avoided, and if not possible, treated to recover resources. This paper considers the life cycle environmental and economic implications of recovering energy and material resources from food waste, focusing on the UK situation. Four treatment methods are considered: anaerobic digestion, in-vessel composting, incineration and landfilling. The results show that per tonne of waste treated, anaerobic digestion has the lowest environmental impacts in 13 out of the 19 categories considered in the study, including net-negative global warming potential. In-vessel composting is the least sustainable option environmentally, in contrast to being preferred over incineration according to the circular economy principles. Incineration has the lowest life cycle costs (71 pound/t), while landfilling is the costliest option (123 pound/t). Managing the 4.9 Mt of food waste collected annually from UK households via the four methods generates 340,000 t CO(2)( )eq. and costs 452 pound m, in addition to causing a number of other environmental impacts. However, it also saves 1.9 PJ of primary energy, primarily due to electricity generation through incineration. If all of this food waste was incinerated, 103 pound m and 360.000 t CO2 eq./year could be saved compared to current waste management, rendering incineration a carbon-negative technology. This would also result in savings in 14 other impacts, but would increase summer smog by 30% and metal depletion by 56%. The environmental benefits of incineration would be exceeded only if all food waste was treated by anaerobic digestion, which would save 490,000 t CO2 eq./year and produce 50% more electricity per tonne of waste than incineration. Anaerobic digestion would also lead to savings in 14 other impacts compared to the present situation, but would result in a four times higher acidification and three times greater emissions of particulate matter. In addition, it would save 251 pound m/year compared to the current costs. Nevertheless, prevention of avoidable food waste would realise far greater environmental and economic savings, estimated here at 14 Mt CO2 eq. and 10.7 pound bn annually. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. |
| https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.322 |
Similar Articles
| ID | Score | Article |
|---|---|---|
21974
|
Slorach, PC; Jeswani, HK; Cuéllar-Franca, R; Azapagic, A Energy demand and carbon footprint of treating household food waste compared to its prevention(2019) | |
| 22196
|
Slorach, PC; Jeswani, HK; Cuéllar-Franca, R; Azapagic, A Environmental sustainability of anaerobic digestion of household food waste(2019) | |
| 6757
|
Oldfield, TL; White, E; Holden, NM An environmental analysis of options for utilising wasted food and food residue(2016) | |
| 21707
|
de Sadeleer, I; Brattebo, H; Callewaert, P Waste prevention, energy recovery or recycling - Directions for household food waste management in light of circular economy policy(2020) | |
| 26806
|
Styles, D; Yesufu, J; Bowman, M; Williams, AP; Duffy, C; Luyckx, K Climate mitigation efficacy of anaerobic digestion in a decarbonising economy(2022) | |
| 16653
|
Ingrao, C; Faccilongo, N; Di Gioia, L; Messineo, A Food waste recovery into energy in a circular economy perspective: A comprehensive review of aspects related to plant operation and environmental assessment(2018) | |
| 4826
|
Loizia, P; Neofytou, N; Zorpas, AA The concept of circular economy strategy in food waste management for the optimization of energy production through anaerobic digestion(2019)Environmental Science And Pollution Research, 26, 15 | |
| 10389
|
Pérez-Camacho, MN; Curry, R; Cromie, T Life cycle environmental impacts of substituting food wastes for traditional anaerobic digestion feedstocks(2018) | |
| 4673
|
Slorach, PC; Jeswani, HK; Cuéllar-Franca, R; Azapagic, A Environmental sustainability in the food-energy-water-health nexus: A new methodology and an application to food waste in a circular economy(2020) | |
| 26049
|
Ng, KS; Yang, AD; Yakovleva, N Sustainable waste management through synergistic utilisation of commercial and domestic organic waste for efficient resource recovery and valorisation in the UK(2019) |