Food waste is a critical global problem, with roughly 1/3 of all food going uneaten across the world. Apart from the obvious tragedy of having so much excess food go to waste when so many people worldwide suffer through insufficient food access, there are myriad additional reasons for us to pay attention to this reality.
As food breaks down and decomposes, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas that is 21 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. This is incredibly harmful to the environment and has a huge impact on global warming.
*But there are solutions to prevent this from happening and ways to use our global food waste for good.*
Apart from the above hypothetical ways food waste COULD be converted into energy for use by human technologies, there are ways that we are currently ALREADY using such food waste for societal betterment.
Sweden, for example, converts much of its food waste into biogas, which is used as vehicle fuel for public transportation. The methane produced is also sometimes used in manufacturing processes. The biogas process generates a nutrient-rich digestion residue which can also be used as a fertilizer.
To read more and get the full story about Sweden’s biogas, visit SmartCitySweden.
Some facts about your food waste…It’s not garbage!
It’s not just places like Sweden and the UK that are making simple changes which have drastic impacts on our environmental well-being. Here in the United States, other companies have prioritized finding a solution to the food waste problem.
For example, CORe® is an organic recycling process which creates a renewable energy to be used for electricity and heat. From efforts like those of Waste Management Organics, every ton of food waste results in enough electrical energy produced to power 8-10 homes.
To read more and get the full story about CORe®, visit WM Media.
LOVE FOOD, HATE WASTE
“Saving food means saving money, but look at the bigger picture, too. Reducing food waste is good for the planet, as it helps slow down global warming. If global food waste were a country, it would be third largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the US. By using up every edible bit of your food, you’re doing your bit to look after the environment; imagine what we could achieve if we all make a change?”
–Love Food Hate Waste
There are even personal Household Biogas digester systems which can be purchased, if you have the means and want to prioritize effectively using your family’s food waste. HomeBioGas is one such company offering private citizens the opportunity to make their own biogas at home.
What do you think about the rise of BioGas and the state of food waste in the world today? Have you learned anything from this article that you didn’t know before? Let us know!
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