Options for Dealing with Food Waste

							    Options for Dealing with Food
    Waste

    Food Consumers and Resource Efficiency
    Conference
    6-7 November 2007


    Presented by:
    Dr Dominic Hogg




Overview

–   What it Might Look Like
–   Who Produces It and in What Quantities?
–   Why that Matters
–   Processing Options
–   Carbon (and Nitrogen) Footprinting
–   Soil Health
–   Conclusions




                                              1
What’s Food Waste?
– 1 Tonne
  – Difficult to characterise (so variable)
  – Constituents:
       –   Sugars
       –   Cellulose
       –   Hemicellulose           35-45% C (as % dry matter)
       –   Fats
       –   Proteins
       –   Lignin           65% C (as % dry matter)
  –   Moisture usually high (70% or so)
  –   Total C - 12.5% or so fresh matter (125 kg per tonne)
  –   Varying N, P, K content
  –   Net Calorific Value from 3 - 5 GJ/tonne




Who and How Much?


                                               Household

                                               Non-household
                                               Municipal
                                               Commercial

                                               Industrial




               20-ish million tonnes




                                                                2
Who and How Much?
                 200kg /hhld/yr – 3-4 kg per pick-up
                 (if you’re lucky)
                 (not a truck – needs arms, lifting
                 gear for high-rise / communal)

                 Small deli – 140l bin/week
                 approx 70-80 kg per pick-up
                 (not a truck – needs lifting gear)


                  Industrial producer – 25,000
                  tonnes per annum
                  100 tonnes per day
                  (more than a truck)




Why This Matters (collection)

                Large number of contiguous
                properties linked to Council service
                ‘Already paid for’

                  Would-be customers
                  Waiting for a service?
                  What will they pay?
                  Is it a bolt-on?


                  Logistics justify direct collection
                  Issue is linkage to treatment
                  Cultural change in contracting
                  waste services?




                                                        3
Why This Matters (treatment)
                    Key issue is understanding link
                    between collection and
                    treatment

                    Key issue is who will invest in
                    a) collection, when take-up is
                    uncertain and
                    b) treatment when security of
                    supply of waste is uncertain

                    Issue is commitment of waste to
                    treatment supplier and terms
                    offered
                    Project developers ready to go




Processing Options

                 Waste
               Prevention

                 ‘Reuse’

             Composting / AD

             Energy Recovery


                Disposal




                                                      4
Processing Options




Processing Options for Segregated
Food
 Food Waste

                                                   Landfill      Char, air pollution       Chemical
                                                                                                             Chemicals
                                                                  control residues         Synthesis
Other Wastes (balance C:N ratios, structural




                                                Incineration       / vitrified slag
                                                                                        Steam Turbine
                                                                                                             Electricity
     materials, counterpart flows, etc.)




                                                                      Syngas
                                                                                          Gas Engine
                                               Pyrolysis and /                                                 Heat
                                               or Gasification     Waste water           Gas Turbine
                                                                                         Pipeline Gas
                                                   In sink
                                                 Maceration           Biogas            CNG (transport)         Fuel

                                                 Anaerobic                                 Hydrogen
                                               Digestion (AD)        Hydrogen                                 Fuel Cell
                                                                     Digestate         Land / Potting etc.
                                                Composting                                                     Soil
                                                                  Liquid fertiliser     Agriculture (etc)    Improver
                                                Thermophilic
                                                  Aerobic            Compost           Land / Potting etc
                                               Digestion (TAD)




                                                                                                                           5
Processing Options for Segregated
Food
Food Waste

                                                                  Waste water
                                                                                                           Electricity
Other Wastes (balance C:N ratios, structural




                                                 Anaerobic
                                                                     Biogas             Gas Engine
                                               Digestion (AD)
                                                                                                             Heat
     materials, counterpart flows, etc.)




                                                                                         Pipeline
                                                                                        Quality Gas
                                                                                      CNG (transport)         Fuel
                                                                                         Hydrogen           Fuel Cell
                                                                   Hydrogen
                                                                                                           Nutrient
                                                                 Liquid fertiliser    Agriculture (etc)
                                                                                                            Supply
                                                Composting         Digestate         Land / Potting etc.
                                                                                                             Soil
                                                Thermophilic                                               Improver
                                                  Aerobic           Compost          Land / Potting etc
                                               Digestion (TAD)




Digestion of Solid Wastes in UK
– Lots of feasibility studies
– Mainly agricultural wastes
– Principal conclusions:
                               – Regulatory drivers lacking
                               – Looks a good idea, but …
                               – Economics don’t stack up
– Household wastes
                               – ‘Digestion is too expensive’
                               – Landfill Directive shifting Biodegradable Municipal
                                 Waste from landfill
                               – Everything being composted
                               – Though you seek, in vain, studies favouring it over
                                 digestion




                                                                                                                         6
Composting
                                     Kg/     £ / hhld £ /
                                     hhld             tonne
Open air Windrow Cost                                     20

In vessel Windrow Cost                                   40

Garden Waste Collection                200

Treatment of GW Only                            4        20

Combined Food and Garden Waste         40
Collection
Treatment of Co-collected Food and            9.60       40
Garden
Incremental Cost for Food Waste               5.60      140




Composting
                                     Kg/     £ / hhld £ /
                                     hhld             tonne
Open air Windrow Cost                                     20

In vessel Windrow Cost                                   40

Garden Waste Collection                300

Treatment of GW Only                            6        20

Combined Food and Garden Waste         30
Collection
Treatment of Co-collected Food and             12        40
Garden
Incremental Cost for Food Waste                 6       200




                                                               7
Work for WRAP – Costs and Benefits
– Launched alongside Waste Strategy for
  England 2007
  – Managing Biowastes from Households in the
    UK: Applying Life-cycle Thinking in the
    Framework of Cost-benefit Analysis (WRAP)
    http://www.wrap.org.uk/downloads/Biowaste
    _CBA_Final_Report_May_2007.567d597c.pdf
    .
  – Dealing with Food Waste in the UK (WRAP)
    http://www.wrap.org.uk/downloads/Dealing_
    with_Food_Waste_-_Final_-
    _2_March_07.6bd22b7e.pdf
– UK to use late-mover advantage?



Carbon (and Nitrogen) ‘Footprinting’
– Key Emissions (GHG debts):
  – Carbon Dioxide (fuel inputs, combustion,
    degradation)
  – Methane (fuel inputs, handling, degradation,
    transfer)
  – Nitrous Oxide (fuel inputs, directly from
    process, and indirectly via ammonia)
– Displacement effects (GHG credits):
  – Energy products (avoided emissions)
  – Materials (avoided materials)
  – Avoided damages




                                                   8
Carbon (and Nitrogen) ‘Footprinting’
                                            £20.00



                                            £15.00
GHG-related Damages (£/tonne)




                                            £10.00



                                                               £5.00



                                                               £0.00



                                                    -£5.00
                                                                                    AD        Compost     Incineration




Overall Environmental Impact
                                                                          £40.00

                                                                          £35.00
                                'Total' Environmental Damages (£/tonne)




                                                                          £30.00

                                                                          £25.00

                                                                          £20.00

                                                                          £15.00

                                                                          £10.00

                                                                           £5.00

                                                                           £0.00

                                                                           -£5.00

                                                                          -£10.00
                                                                                         AD     Compost     Incineration




                                                                                                                           9
Soils                                              England and Wales
                                              percentage of soils with <3.6%
                                             organic matter rose from 35% to
                                              42% in the period 1980-1995.



                                                                 Bellamy et al (2005)
                                                       Carbon lost from soils at 0.6% per
                                                                 annum (1978-2003)
                                                         ‘o ur findings show that losses in
                                                        soil carbon in the UK … are likely
                                                       to have been offsetting absorption
                                                                  by terrestrial sinks’




Soils – accumulation of carbon
12




10




 8




 6




 4




 2




 0
     1   14 27 40 53 66 79 92 105 118 131 144 157 170 183 196 209 222 235 248 261 274 287 300
                                           year

           0 tonnes/ha.yr          5 tonnes/ha.yr          10 tonnes/ha.yr           15 tonnes/ha.yr




                                                                                                       10
Conclusions
– New interest
  – You’ re here
  – Reputational utility / CSR issues
  – Big plug in new Waste Strategy for England (WFD)
– New incentives
  – GOGOF
     – ROCS - Generate one, get one free
  – Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation
  – Carbon Trading / Carbon Reduction Commitment, etc…
  – Agriculture?
– Developers ready to go
  – They just want waste to process
– It’s a system issue DON’T FORGET LOGISTICS
– Do we need a dating agency?




                      www.eunomia.co.uk




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