Why wasting less is not enough!

Full article is available here

The environmental evaluation of food waste prevention is considered a challenging task due to the globalised nature of the food supply chain and the limitations of existing evaluation tools. The most significant of these is the rebound effect: the associated environmental burdens of substitutive consumption that arises as a result of economic savings made from food waste prevention.

In this new article (published in the Journal of Waste Management), we provide a new and improved estimate of the environmental impact of food waste in the UK.

The take-home-messages from our research are that:

Food waste in the UK has a large carbon footprint, but that reducing these impacts is not as simple as just reducing food waste. Our analysis improves on previous work by including the "rebound effect". Additional activities by households as a result of savings made due to food waste prevention has an environmental impact, and when you include this effect, it reduces the greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits of avoiding food waste by up to 60%.

Our analysis is also novel because it takes into account greenhouse gas emissions from across the international supply chain (ie, including food imports). We find that while 44.4% of UK spending on food occurs abroad (ie for imported products), these imports are responsible for 77.4% of the UK's food-related GHG emissions. ie. food wasted in the UK has a big GHG footprint, in large part because a lot of it comes from overseas where agriculture is less-efficient, and so has a larger GHG footprint.

The conclusions are that:

1. food waste has a large GHG footprint,
2. It's not enough to just target reductions in food waste - we really need economy-wide reductions in GHG emissions, so that rebound spending doesn't undermine the effect of behavioural interventions (such as WRAP's "love food, hate waste" campaign); and
3. There are also opportunities to reduce the UK's food footprint by increasing agricultural efficiency in the developing world, where much of our food imports originate.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2016.09.042

SWEEP-Net Trailer -- moving pictures of solid waste management in the MENA-Region

Zero Waste Lebanon

Garbage is seen piled near residential buildings in Wadi al-Zayneh, Chouf district, Lebanon January 28, 2016. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

By: Nour Kanso

It has been a year and half since the waste crisis in Lebanon began, and since this time it has not been solved or merely improved. Solutions that you mostly hear about involve landfilling and incineration but none involve recycling, reusing or even composting. Given that the scale of the problem keeps getting bigger and bigger, the government is intending on getting rid of the waste that is being accumulated and hopefully start over again. 

Currently, most of Beirut’s (Capitol) waste is being disposed at a newly constructed landfill in southern Beirut, known as Costa Brava Landfill. The landfill is not complete, however some cells have been fully constructed and are now filled with waste. One must ask, once this landfill reaches its capacity where will the waste go? Will Lebanon fall into the same loop again? 

This is where Ziad Abi Chaker’s Zero Waste Lebanon idea comes into the picture. On the 11th of October 2016, a documentary was screened at the American university of Beirut. The documentary tackled Lebanon’s most critical waste problem and proposed the simple solutions to it. It starts with having a non-centralized system which takes control over the collection, sorting and treatment of waste. The idea of such a system is having the waste close to the source. Moreover, getting the local-level (e.g. municipalities) involved with operating their own integrated waste management systems which is the bulk of this decentralized system. Previous experiences have proven that the government is unable to control the waste in a proper way leading to this current waste crisis. As such, having such a system implemented removes the responsibility and shifts it to the local level or even the private sector. The main advantages of such a system prove to be mostly: localized collection, reduction in road pollution and maintenance costs as well as t diesel cost and traffic congestion. 

The Zero Waste Facility that Ziad Abi Chaker talks about in his video is not far from reality but is actually being implemented. This Facility, located in Mount Lebanon, uses every bit of waste generated and turns it into something useful. Even the small inert materials are turned into boards using an Eco-board technology. The plastics, carton, cans and glass are recycled and the organics are composted therefore having no waste sent to landfills. A more technical review of the process will be given in a separate post. 

This helps place focus on the 3Rs principles and treatment options rather than landfilling which is heavily relied on in Lebanon. Initiatives such as these give hope and inspiration, as it is not difficult at all to have a zero waste community. The society has to realize that landfilling is not the only option and there are much better and useful alternatives. This was the primary message and aim of the video. As such, the TV outlets, social media and citizens should put more focus on these inspiring initiatives in-hope of elevating some actual action and change in this current crisis.

About the author:

Nour works as an Environmental Consultant at Assessment and Management Bureau company (A.M.B S.A.L) based in Beirut, Lebanon. The private company specializes in waste management contracting, sustainable development and other environmental services. She has worked on numerous environmental impact assessment reports and waste management proposals and tenders in Lebanon. Nour is currently serving as a project coordinator for a solid waste sorting and composting facility in Lebanon.
She holds a Masters in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London specializing in environmental analysis and assessment and a Bachelors in Environmental Health with a minor in Public Health from the American University of Beirut. In her free time, she likes to volunteer in environmental related causes as to bring more attention and awareness about the solid waste issues.

Environmental and health impacts of using food waste as animal feed: a comparative analysis of food waste management options

Authors: Ramy Salemdeeb, Erasmus K.H.J. zu Ermgassen, Mi Hyung Kim, Andrew Balmford, bir Al-Tabbaa

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.05.049

The disposal of food waste is a large environmental problem. In the United Kingdom (UK), approximately 15 million tonnes of food are wasted each year, mostly disposed of in landfill, via composting, or anaerobic digestion (AD). European Union (EU) guidelines state that food waste should preferentially be used as animal feed though for most food waste this practice is currently illegal, because of disease control concerns. Interest in the potential diversion of food waste for animal feed is however growing, with a number of East Asian states offering working examples of safe food waste recycling – based on tight regulation and rendering food waste safe through heat treatment. This study investigates the potential benefits of diverting food waste for pig feed in the UK. A hybrid, consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to compare the environmental and health impacts of four technologies for food waste processing: two technologies of South Korean style-animal feed production (as a wet pig feed and a dry pig feed) were compared with two widespread UK disposal technologies: AD and composting. Results of 14 mid-point impact categories show that the processing of food waste as a wet pig feed and a dry pig feed have the best and second-best scores, respectively, for 13/14 and 12/14 environmental and health impacts. The low impact of food waste feed stems in large part from its substitution of conventional feed, the production of which has substantial environmental and health impacts. While the re-legalisation of the use of food waste as pig feed could offer environmental and public health benefits, this will require support from policy makers, the public, and the pig industry, as well as investment in separated food waste collection which currently occurs in only a minority of regions.

Ramy Salemdeeb, the founder of Zero Waste MENA, receives a prestigious Chartered Institution of Waste Management Award.

The formal presentation of James Sumner 2016 award with  prof. Baird during the Resourcing the Future Conference in London on the 14th of June.

Ramy Salemdeeb, the founder of Zero Waste MENA, was announced the winner of the James Sumner Award 2016. A professional award that recognises the achievements of professionals and academics, the James Sumner Award covers all aspects of the waste and resource management industry. The formal presentation of the award took place during the Resourcing the Future Conference in London on the 14th June 2016.

“Zero Waste MENA” is a regional initiative whose primary goal is to facilitate and enable the elimination of waste in the Middle East & North Africa Region (MENA).

The award, which consists of a bursary of up to £1,000, will support Mr Salemdeeb to attend the International Solid Waste Association World Congress in Serbia from the 19th to the 21st September 2016.

A multi-faceted strategy required to contain the levels of waste generated in Qatar

Qatar is counted among the world’s fastest growing economies. Municipal solid waste management is one of the most serious challenges faced by this Gulf nation on account of high population growth rate, urbanization, industrial growth and economic expansion. The country has one of the highest per capita waste generation rates worldwide which is as high as 1.8 kg per day. Qatar produces more than 2.5 million tons of municipal solid waste each year. Solid waste stream is mainly comprised of organic materials (around 60 percent) while the rest of the waste steam is made up of recyclables like glass, paper, metals and plastics. 

 Qatar has already committed to enforcing international standards for environmental protection when designing and implementing its industrial projects. Given the scenario, Nispana proudly presents the 6th Annual Waste Management & Recycling Summit Qatar scheduled on the 3 & 4 February 2016 in Doha Qatar. The official co-hosts for the conference are the Ministry of Municipality & Urban Planning, State of Qatar and The Qatar Green Building council as the Official Sustainability Partners. The expert panel consists of Mr. Mohamed Nagib Omara, Head of Strategic Planning Technical Advisor to the President of Kahramaa; Dr. Ghazi Elsayed Abdelkerim Ibrahim Elsherif- Public Works Authority (ASHGHAL) Environmental Expert, Quality Safety & Environment; Mr. Safar Mubark Al Shafi -Director of General Cleanliness Project, Ministry of Municipality & Urban Planning’ Senior Representative from Qatar Project Management and Dr. Alex Amato – Head Of Sustainability, Qatar Green Building Council just to name a few. This two day gathering will feature visionary presentations from local and international experts.  Participants at the summit will include important government bodies, research institutes, international waste management experts, health & safety experts, environmental consultants and a host of recycling firms. This conference is conceptualized and developed by Nispana Innovative Platforms Pvt Ltd.

Event Website : www.nispana.com/wmrsqatar

Nispana Innovative Platforms Pvt Ltd: +91 80 49331000 | Fax : + 91 80 4933 1003  | 

www.nispana.com 

Mr. Jagadish Kumar | Director Sales | jagadish.kumar@nispana.com |Mobile: +91    9880442379

A multi-faceted strategy required to contain the levels of waste generated in Qatar

Qatar is counted among the world’s fastest growing economies. Municipal solid waste management is one of the most serious challenges faced by this Gulf nation on account of high population growth rate, urbanization, industrial growth and economic expansion. The country has one of the highest per capita waste generation rates worldwide which is as high as 1.8 kg per day. Qatar produces more than 2.5 million tons of municipal solid waste each year. Solid waste stream is mainly comprised of organic materials (around 60 percent) while the rest of the waste steam is made up of recyclables like glass, paper, metals and plastics.

Qatar has already committed to enforcing international standards for environmental protection when  designing and implementing its industrial projects. Given the scenario, Nispana proudly presents the 2nd Annual Waste Management & Recycling Summit Qatar scheduled on the 4 – 5 November 2015 at the Intercontinental Doha the City, Doha Qatar. The official co-hosts for the conference are the Ministry of Municipality & Urban Planning, State of Qatar and The Qatar Green Building council as the Official Sustainability Partners. The expert panel consists of Mr. Mohamed Nagib Omara, Head of Strategic Planning Technical Advisor to the President of Kahramaa; Dr. Ghazi Elsayed Abdelkerim Ibrahim Elsherif Public Works Authority (ASHGHAL) Environmental Expert, Quality Safety & Environment; Mr. Safar Mubark Al Shafi -Director of General Cleanliness Project, Ministry of Municipality & Urban Planning’ Senior Representative from Qatar Project Management and Eng. Meshal Al Shamari Director, Qatar Green Building Council just to name a few. This two day gathering will feature visionary presentations from local and international experts.  Participants at the summit will include important government bodies, research institutes, international waste management experts, health & safety experts, environmental consultants and a host of recycling firms. 

This conference is conceptualized and developed by Nispana Innovative Platforms Pvt Ltd.

Event Website : www.nispana.com/wmrsqatar

Nispana Innovative Platforms Pvt Ltd: +91 80 49331000 | Fax : + 91 80 4933 1003  | www.nispana.com 

Ms. Soumeelee Bose | Conference Producer | soumeelee.bose@nispana.com |Mobile: +91  7760480524