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Emerging Issues in Food Waste Management: Commercial Food Waste Pre-Processing Technologies
Citation:
Kenny, S. Emerging Issues in Food Waste Management: Commercial Food Waste Pre-Processing Technologies. U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, Washington, DC, 2021.
Impact/Purpose:
Synthesize the latest science regarding the environmental value of commercial pre-processing technologies (e.g., aerobic digesters, grinders, liquefiers) increasingly being used by retail and food service providers.
Description:
Wasted food is a major global environmental, social, and economic challenge. To address this challenge, many U.S. businesses and institutions are installing on-site food waste pre-processing technologies (e.g., grinders, pulpers, biodigesters, dehydrators, and in-vessel aerobic units). In this paper, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) synthesizes available literature to assess the life cycle environmental value of these technologies and identify priority research needs. While each class of technology is unique, environmental benefits of these technologies can include be reduced transportation fuel use and emissions (due to reduced weight or volume of the food waste stream), the removal of packaging contaminants, and information tools to empower food waste prevention activities. The use of preprocessing technologies does not guarantee recycling of energy and nutrients in food waste but can, under certain circumstances, increase recycling. Environmental costs often include energy and water use. Many pre-processing technologies result in food waste going to a wastewater treatment plant rather than a landfill, and the environmental impact of this shift is not well understood. Based on the limited available research, EPA cannot clarify whether these technologies reduce the environmental footprint of food waste. Independent, peer-reviewed research is needed to determine the life cycle impacts of each technology. In particular, research is needed to determine whether technologies that send liquefied food waste or wastewater extracted from food waste down the drain result in increased sewer methane emissions, pipe corrosion, clogs, or other adverse impacts due to large or inconsistent volumes of wastewater with high levels of BOD, TSS, and FOG. Research should also consider issues of scale, considering how impacts may change if adoption of certain pre-processing technologies grows. In addition, research is needed to clarify how biogas potential is impacted by the use of biodigesters and by traveling through the sewer and WWTP before reaching anaerobic digesters.