Food waste recycling is a process to convert food waste into useful materials and products for achieving sustainability of the environment. [1] Food waste is defined as all parts of food, inedible and edible, created before, during, and after food processing, production, and consumption. [2] Greenhouse gases, especially methane can be reduced by food waste recycling. Food waste recycling can also alleviate the saturation of landfill sites in Hong Kong. [3]
The amount of food waste accounts for 38% of the municipal solid waste in Hong Kong. According to the statistics published by the Environmental Protection Department, Hong Kong generates approximately 3,648 tonnes of food waste each day. About one-third of the food waste comes from the commercial and industrial sectors while the remaining part is from households. The situation of food waste disposal in Hong Kong has become more serious in recent years. [4] The amount of food waste from the commercial and industry sectors increased from 400 tonnes in 2002 to 1033 tonnes in 2014. [5]
Food waste recycling typically involves a three-step strategy that includes separation, collection and recycling. These three steps are interdependent and equally important in efficiently generating useful resources from food waste recycling.
The collected food waste is separated into two categories: pre-consumer food waste and post-consumer food waste. Pre-consumer food waste includes animal food waste, vegetable food waste, and waste from industrially-processed food. Post-consumer food waste refers to leftover food, such as from an unfinished restaurant order. Source separation also involves removing any food packaging and utensils. [6]
Food waste vehicles, managed by the government, collect and deliver food waste to governmental recycling facilities. These recycling facilities, known as Organic Waste Treatment Facilities (OWTFs), will be spread across Hong Kong's districts. The government plans to construct 5–6 OWTF networks, with a goal of recycling 1300–1500 tonnes of food waste between 2014–2024. The first facility is planned to be built in Siu Ho Wan to serve Lantau Island and districts nearby. The second and third are projected to be built in Sha Ling and Shek Kong so as to serve the New Territories and West Kowloon.
The Environmental Protection Department also plans to construct two Organic Resources Recovery Centres (ORRCs) to collect the food waste and turn it into compost for recovery. These two centres will collectively be able to treat 500 tonnes of organic waste and divert 200–300 tonnes of waste from the landfills daily. [7] The first Centre will also be located in Siu Ho Wan. The construction works commenced in December 2014 and it is expected to be commissioned in early 2018. [7]
Two technologies are used to turn food waste into biogas and useful products. The first technology is a low-carbon method that processes 100–300 tonnes of food waste per day. [6] By applying this technology, it produces a source of the renewable energy biogas. It is estimated that the first Centre will be able to provide 14 million kWh of electricity to Hong Kong's power grid every year, which can power 3,000 households. [7] The second technology converts food waste into succinic acid by using enzymes and bacteria. [8] The residues can be processed to be animal feed, fertilizers and environmental-friendly cleansing products. [9]
A food waste recycling partnership scheme was introduced by the Environmental Protection Department in 2009. The scheme was designed to promote a good practice on food waste management and enhance people’s experiences of separating and recycling food waste sources. The scheme collaborated with commercial and industrial sectors. Some members of the Hong Kong Government and that of the commercial and industrial sectors formed a working group for planning and managing the operation of the project. There are about 20–30 public and private organizations that participate in the scheme every year. In the project, all the participants will have a chance to practice the separation process of food waste sources. The collection process of separated food waste will be carried out by the Environmental Protection Department and the Kowloon Bay Pilot Composting Plant will be responsible for the recycling part. The scheme also consists of discussion sessions for the participating parties to share their experience of recycling food waste. All participants will receive a commendation certificate at the end of the project. [5]
From November 2012 to July 2014, The Hong Kong Housing Authority implemented a trial scheme, named Food Waste Recycling Projects in Housing Estates, with an aim to promote waste recycling in housing estates. The scheme involved 14 estates with about 3,200 households. There were two modes adopted in the scheme; one is to convert food waste to fish grain by transporting them to a Central Food Waste Recycling plant. The other is to convert food waste into compost for farm by using micro-organisms. [10]
On 31 March 2012, The Environmental Protection Department introduced a recycling scheme on Cheung Chau and Lamma Island. The purpose of the scheme is to promote and encourage food waste recycling on both islands. Food waste collected from shops and restaurants would be transported to the food waste treatment facilities on the islands. The food waste would be converted to organic compost. [11]
Hong Kong Organic Waste Recycling Centre (HKOWRC) was established in 2011 as the first organic waste management consulting firm in Hong Kong. It combines local and foreign technologies to provide one-stop organic recycling services to customers. The assistance in collection of food waste solves problems of companies in immature recycling. Through commitment to different types of people, HKOWRC can promote and provide waste management training for particular customers. [12]
The objectives of the collection and recycling routine are to educate the general public in cherishing food as well as making good use of resources. The service encourages two-way cooperation for food waste recycling. HKOWRC aims to provide 24 hour recycling services particularly to livestock breeders, farmers, catering industry, schools and large-scale housing estates. For most of the cases, the recycled food waste is to be used by the service targets again for other purposes, therefore avoiding wastage of resources. For livestock breeders and farmers, the recycled food waste is converted to animal feeds and fertilizers that contain richer nutritional values than the conventional ones. It possibly gives higher yield. For catering industry, the recycled food waste is converted to crops which are grown from organic compost from HKOWRC for latest organic food at a special prize. For schools and housing estates, it aims to raise the awareness of food waste reduction when the recycling service reveals the huge amount of food wastes accumulated. [12]
Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitoring and regulation of the waste management process and waste-related laws, technologies, and economic mechanisms.
Alternative technology is a term used to refer to technologies that are more environmentally friendly than the functionally equivalent technologies dominant in current practice. The term was coined by Peter Harper, one of the founders of the Centre for Alternative Technology, North Wales, in Undercurrents (magazine) in the 1970s. Alternative Technologies are created to be safer, cleaner, and overall more efficient. The goals of alternative technology are to decrease demand for critical elements by ensuring a secure supply of technology that is environmentally friendly, increased efficiency with lower costs, and with more common materials to avoid potential future materials crises. Alternative technologies use renewable energy sources such as solar power and wind energy. Some alternative technologies have in the past or may in the future become widely adopted, after which they might no longer be considered "alternative." For example, the use of wind turbines to produce electricity.
Articles related to waste management include:
Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste, as in a garbage disposal; the two are sometimes collected separately. In the European Union, the semantic definition is 'mixed municipal waste,' given waste code 20 03 01 in the European Waste Catalog. Although the waste may originate from a number of sources that has nothing to do with a municipality, the traditional role of municipalities in collecting and managing these kinds of waste have produced the particular etymology 'municipal.'
Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is a department of Hong Kong Government concerning the issues of environmental protection in Hong Kong.The EPD is responsible for developing policies covering environmental protection, nature conservation; enforcing environmental legislation; monitoring environmental quality; providing collection, transfer, treatment and disposal facilities for many types of waste; advising on the environmental implications of town planning and new policies; handling pollution complaints and incidents; and raising awareness and support in the community for environmental initiatives.
Green waste, also known as "biological waste", is any organic waste that can be composted. It is most usually composed of refuse from gardens such as grass clippings or leaves, and domestic or industrial kitchen wastes. Green waste does not include things such as dried leaves, pine straw, or hay. Such materials are rich in carbon and considered "brown wastes," while green wastes contain high concentrations of nitrogen. Green waste can be used to increase the efficiency of many composting operations and can be added to soil to sustain local nutrient cycling.
Biodegradable waste includes any organic matter in waste which can be broken down into carbon dioxide, water, methane, compost, humus, and simple organic molecules by micro-organisms and other living things by composting, aerobic digestion, anaerobic digestion or similar processes. It mainly includes kitchen waste, ash, soil, dung and other plant matter. In waste management, it also includes some inorganic materials which can be decomposed by bacteria. Such materials include gypsum and its products such as plasterboard and other simple sulfates which can be decomposed by sulfate reducing bacteria to yield hydrogen sulfide in anaerobic land-fill conditions.
Food loss and waste is food that is not eaten. The causes of food waste or loss are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during production, processing, distribution, retail and food service sales, and consumption. Overall, about one-third of the world's food is thrown away. A 2021 meta-analysis, that did not include food lost during production, by the United Nations Environment Programme found that food waste was a challenge in all countries at all levels of economic development. The analysis estimated that global food waste was 931 million tonnes of food waste across three sectors: 61 percent from households, 26 percent from food service and 13 percent from retail.
Upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products perceived to be of greater quality, such as artistic value or environmental value.
In 2015, 43.5% of the United Kingdom's municipal waste was recycled, composted or broken down by anaerobic digestion. The majority of recycling undertaken in the United Kingdom is done by statutory authorities, although commercial and industrial waste is chiefly processed by private companies. Local Authorities are responsible for the collection of municipal waste and operate contracts which are usually kerbside collection schemes. The Household Waste Recycling Act 2003 required local authorities in England to provide every household with a separate collection of at least two types of recyclable materials by 2010. Recycling policy is devolved to the administrations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales who set their own targets, but all statistics are reported to Eurostat.
In the densely populated Hong Kong, waste is a complex issue. The territory generates around 6.4 million tons of waste each year but is able to collect and process only a minimal portion of recyclable waste. By 2019, its existing landfills are expected to be full. The government has introduced waste management schemes and is working to educate the public on the subject. On the commercial side, producers are taking up measures to reduce waste.
Source-separated organics (SSO) is the system by which waste generators segregate compostable materials from other waste streams at the source for separate collection.
The San Francisco Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance is a local municipal ordinance requiring all persons located in San Francisco to separate their recyclables, compostables and landfilled trash and to participate in recycling and composting programs. Passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2009, it became the first local municipal ordinance in the United States to universally require source separation of all organic material, including food residuals.
Wong Kam-sing, GBS, JP, is a Hong Kong architect and the former Secretary for the Environment, Wong had held a number of public service positions before joining the Government, including the first Chairman of the Environment and Sustainable Development Committee of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, the Chairman of the Professional Green Building Council and the Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Green Building Council. He has contributed to the promotion and research of the standards and guidelines for sustainable built environment applicable to the high-density urban environment of Hong Kong.
Reuse of human excreta is the safe, beneficial use of treated human excreta after applying suitable treatment steps and risk management approaches that are customized for the intended reuse application. Beneficial uses of the treated excreta may focus on using the plant-available nutrients that are contained in the treated excreta. They may also make use of the organic matter and energy contained in the excreta. To a lesser extent, reuse of the excreta's water content might also take place, although this is better known as water reclamation from municipal wastewater. The intended reuse applications for the nutrient content may include: soil conditioner or fertilizer in agriculture or horticultural activities. Other reuse applications, which focus more on the organic matter content of the excreta, include use as a fuel source or as an energy source in the form of biogas.
The Sustainable Technology Optimization Research Center (STORC) is a research facility located on the California State University Sacramento campus. There are several players included in operations at the STORC including Sacramento State's Risk Management, the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS), and two professors in the Environmental Studies department Brook Murphy and Dudley Burton. The STORC facility is primarily maintained by California State University, Sacramento student interns and volunteers who use applied science and technology to address real world policy, food, health, and energy issues of present-day society. Research at the STORC encompasses engineering and science to test and evaluate new ideas and approaches of sustainable technology to solve environmental problems. Faculty and students address sustainability with an interdisciplinary studies approach. The STORC Vision is to become "an international resource for practical, scalable, and financially viable solutions in the area of sustainable technologies that are suitable for private and/or public sector operations related to the management of energy, food, water, and waste". The STORC Mission is "to demonstrate the operation of innovative commercially viable physical systems that are underpinned by sustainable technologies, and to disseminate the associated plans, public policy discourse, and scientific findings".
In Hong Kong, domestic waste has always been the largest portion of municipal solid waste. In 2014, domestic waste constitutes 65% of municipal solid waste, and 43% of total solid waste at landfills. Hong Kong has the highest daily domestic waste generation rates per capita compared to other metropolitans in Asia: Metro Tokyo creates 0.77 kg per day per capita, Seoul generates 0.95 kg, Taipei City produces 1.00 kg and Hong Kong tops the rank by 1.36 kg.
Recycling in Australia is a widespread, and comprehensive part of waste management in Australia, with 60% of all waste collected being recycled. Recycling is collected from households, commercial businesses, industries and construction. Despite its prominence, household recycling makes up only a small part (13%) of Australia's total recycling. It generally occurs through kerbside recycling collections such as the commingled recycling bin and food/garden organics recycling bin, drop-off and take-back programs, and various other schemes. Collection and management of household recycling typically falls to local councils, with private contractors collecting commercial, industrial and construction recycling. In addition to local council regulations, legislation and overarching policies are implemented and managed by the state and federal governments.
Environment and Ecology Bureau is one of the fifteen policy bureau of the Government of Hong Kong. The agency was established on 1 July 2022. The current Secretary for Environment and Ecology is Tse Chin-wan.
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