Food & Drink
Surplus food – waste or valuable resource?
Given that anaerobic digestion is such a hot topic in the media, individuals could be forgiven for thinking that the only options for food ‘waste’ are energy recovery or landfill disposal. But as Paul Featherstone, group director from specialist food recycler SugaRich, explains, an innovative ‘plough to plate’ methodology can harness the value of surplus foods, so that they never become waste.
T
he UK has a food waste problem – a fact that can’t be denied. Admittedly, progress has been made as the country’s approach to recycling and waste management has continued to evolve, but there is still work to be done. Last year shocking statistics from WRAP revealed that food waste in UK homes is costing the country a staggering £12.5bn a year. This, on the back of the Global Food: Waste Not, Want Not report – which estimated that 30- 50% of food produced around the world never reaches a human stomach – made for a startling read. Food manufacturers, eateries and retailers have come under fire for the additional food waste they create, and supermarkets’ suggested encouragement of excessive consumer purchasing has attracted great criticism.
WASTE PREVENTION PROGRESS
However, a growing number of these organisations are starting to acknowledge their environmental responsibilities. They are working collaboratively to tackle the factors that render produce undesirable or unsellable, and are talking to customers to encourage the more efficient and consumption of food. This means that waste prevention is
12 March 2014 Solids and Bulk Handling
www.solidsandbulk.co.uk
Bread drop
being progressively communicated, but when it cannot be avoided, many of these organisations are also saying no to landfill. Not only is the cost of this traditional disposal route particularly prohibitive; the methane gases released as the food biodegrades are simply too damaging on the environment. Furthermore, food manufacturers and retailers are becoming increasingly aware of the European Commission’s Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe.
Of course, when faced with food waste, the understandable question for these companies is ‘what next?’ Rather than wasting money sending valuable resources to landfill, some turn to Anaerobic Digestion (AD), a process commonly reported on by the media. Essentially a four-stage natural breakdown of organic matter, AD creates methane that has the potential to be used as vehicle fuel; and/or biogas which can be burned to produce heat and electricity; digestate which can be used as a fertiliser; and water.
Whilst a seemingly productive use of food ‘waste’, AD is in fact only marginally better than traditional disposal routes. Greater acknowledgement of the principles within the waste hierarchy is therefore needed. After
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