Industry leaders have begun investing in ESG (Environmental, social, and governance) strategies to match sustainability incentives. Sustainability action is propelled through government, corporations, and consumer demand.
According to Astra, industry leaders of the market are using this environmental aspect of ESG to create a positive impact through various methods, including combustion, anaerobic digestion, aerobic digestion and pyrolysis, and gasification, wherein the waste is broken down into simple components, reducing the strain on the environment.
These strategies aim to redirect the byproducts of the food industry to be used as power sources to combat climate change.
Aerobic digestion is a significantly used technological process that positively impacts the environment. It exposes food to microorganisms that break down its significant components into smaller ones. These components are then dispatched through drain water or soil.
This method has a variety of benefits. When dispatched in the soil, the nutrients and minerals of the food waste that has gone through aerobic digestion can improve soil health and be utilised as a natural fertiliser.
Challenges for the food industry when it comes to waste management, in particular composting, is that composting facilities are located in distant locations, which results in the need for incredible amounts of logistical support, which could increase the industry's carbon footprint.
A second process often used is landfilling, where food waste is sent to large land areas for natural decomposition.
Reports suggest that food waste is the single most significant type of waste sent to landfills, which results in air pollution and large amounts of greenhouse gas methane. Landfilling has also been suggested to cause community health issues, negatively impacting another significant segment of ESG (social).
The other mentioned processes, such as pyrolysis and gasification of food waste, are promising. Gasification byproducts, for example, have been reported to be useable as renewable energy sources.
On a global scale, the food waste management market was valued at USD 34.22 billion as of 2019 and is expected to expand at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 5.4 percent from 2020 to 2027.
