| Title | Environmental sustainability in the food-energy-water-health nexus: A new methodology and an application to food waste in a circular economy |
|---|---|
| ID_Doc | 4673 |
| Authors | Slorach, PC; Jeswani, HK; Cuéllar-Franca, R; Azapagic, A |
| Title | Environmental sustainability in the food-energy-water-health nexus: A new methodology and an application to food waste in a circular economy |
| Year | 2020 |
| Published | |
| Abstract | Current studies on the food-energy-water nexus do not capture effects on human health. This study presents a new methodology for assessing the environmental sustainability in the food-energy-water-health nexus on a life cycle basis. The environmental impacts, estimated through life cycle assessment, are used to determine a total impact on the nexus by assigning each life cycle impact to one of the four nexus aspects. These are then normalised, weighted and aggregated to rank the options for each aspect and determine an overall nexus impact. The outputs of the assessment are visualised in a "nexus quadrilateral" to enable structured and transparent interpretation of results. The methodology is illustrated by considering resource recovery from household food waste within the context of a circular economy. The impact on the nexus of four treatment options is quantified: anaerobic digestion, in-vessel composting, incineration and landfilling. Anaerobic digestion is environmentally the most sustainable option with the lowest overall impact on the nexus. Incineration is the second best option but has a greater impact on the health aspect than landfilling. Landfilling has the greatest influence on the water aspect and the second highest overall impact on the nexus. In-vessel composting is the worst option overall, despite being favoured over incineration and landfilling in circular-economy waste hierarchies. This demonstrates that "circular" does not necessarily mean "environmentally sustainable." The proposed methodology can be used to guide businesses and policy makers in interpreting a wide range of environmental impacts of products, technologies and human activities within the food-energy-water-health nexus. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. |
| https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2020.06.012 |
Similar Articles
| ID | Score | Article |
|---|---|---|
28918
|
Teigiserova, DA; Hamelin, L; Thomsen, M Towards transparent valorization of food surplus, waste and loss: Clarifying definitions, food waste hierarchy, and role in the circular economy(2020) | |
| 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) | |
| 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) | |
| 17042
|
Oldfield, TL; White, E; Holden, NM The implications of stakeholder perspective for LCA of wasted food and green waste(2018) | |
| 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) | |
| 28913
|
Slorach, PC; Jeswani, HK; Cuéllar-Franca, R; Azapagic, A Environmental and economic implications of recovering resources from food waste in a circular economy(2019) | |
| 28868
|
Alonso-Muñoz, S; García-Muiña, FE; Medina-Salgado, MS; González-Sánchez, R Towards circular economy practices in food waste management: a retrospective overview and a research agenda(2022)British Food Journal, 124.0, 13 | |
| 6103
|
Neagoe, IE; Gradinaru, G Technological Strategies for Reducting Food Waste(2024)Proceedings Of The International Conference On Business Excellence, 18, 1 | |
| 2811
|
Batista, L; Dora, M; Garza-Reyes, JA; Kumar, V Improving the sustainability of food supply chains through circular economy practices - a qualitative mapping approach(2021)Management Of Environmental Quality, 32, 4 | |
| 272
|
Tamasiga, P; Miri, T; Onyeaka, H; Hart, A Food Waste and Circular Economy: Challenges and Opportunities(2022)Sustainability, 14, 16 |