Solid Waste Management at University Campus (Part 7/10): Food Waste and Preliminary Design of Aerobic Composter

Abstract

Food-wastage is a-global-predicament, of overwhelming-magnitude, which indeed, leaves very-deep- footprint, as Carbon and water-trail, alongside-with stressing land-resources, and negatively-affecting biodiversity. Besides-its-footprints, food-wastage has both; a-financial and a-social-cost, not to-mention its-contribution to global-hunger.  In-the-context of the-subject-university, food-waste-share in the-total- waste, is 37%, accounting to 1,891.31 tons/per year, on-average. Moreover, an-average-moisture-content of the-food-waste found at 57. 66%, hence such-waste cannot be combusted, without auxiliary-fuel. Currently mixed-waste, including food-waste, at the-university, is just disposed-off, at the-dumpsite, without any-formal waste-reduction, separation, at-source, recycling, or composting. To-recommend sustainable-amendments of the-current waste-management-system, this-study is focused on food-waste- analysis (at-retail and consumer-level). As-such, the-typical ‘Food wastage along the-supply-chain’ was analyzed and modified, to-incorporate transportation-component, alongside every element of the-chain. The-study also observed some-disrespectful-practices, towards-food, pointing-out at possible-lack of value for food, demonstrated by many-students, in-the-campus, in-the-form of large-amount of unceremoniously- discarded perfectly-edible ‘leftovers’. The-study also-emphasized, that food is simply too-precious and valued to-be-wasted. All-the-management-approaches, offered by the-Food-Waste Recovery-Hierarchy, were evaluated, and it was concluded, that in-the-local-context, composting is the-most-affordable, socially-acceptable, safe, and hence, preferable-method of food-waste-treatment. The-study, furthermore, conducted a-preliminary-design of a-small-scale, low-tech, aerobic, in-vessel, rotary-drum-composter, to-generate ’green’ fertilizers and simultaneously-reduce food-waste-burdens, at the-campus. Recommendations for food-waste-reductions, as-well-as areas for further-research, are offered. The-findings of this-research provide a-necessary-baseline-data, for the-three subsequent-studies, in-the-series, and will inform decision-making-processes, during designing and implementation of food-waste reduction-strategies, and, hopefully, also-contribute (in its-small-way) to-the-body of knowledge, on the-subject-matter.

Keywords: Food Waste Recovery Hierarchy; Post harvest losses (PHL); Plate Waste; Global warming.