How New India is addressing the elephant in the room that is food waste

The Problem

If food wastage were a country, it would be the third-largest carbon emitter in the world.

Of course, one of the fastest-growing economies of the world is sure to have fast-growing problems as well. India’s 67 billion kilograms of food waste is a problem that’s growing at a rate of 8-10% per year. This isn’t merely a major economic or social loss, but waste disposal is a massive emitter of greenhouse gases too. A huge problem, yes. But also a huge greenfield opportunity. An opportunity not just to boost the economy but to solve critical problems that plague society as a whole. What this requires is an inclusive and sustained effort from corporates, governments as well as farmers.

The Efforts

?The immediate problem in front of us is landfills. New technologies are fast emerging that could stand as viable alternatives to this problem. Technologies that tackle the problem holistically, catering to all size entities. New India with its entrepreneurial spirit is already tackling this massive problem. This tech needs to be supported by ingenious, sustainable business models that are scalable across the broad spectrum of food waste management.

Let’s look at some key solutions.

Biogas

One of the primary ways to solve this has been to convert food waste to biogas. Almost any organic waste can be converted to biogas. How?

Anaerobic digestion. Simply put, it is a fermentation process where the waste is digested by microbes to produce methane gas. This methane gas is then filtered to remove impurities and used as biofuel. This process not only yields us fuel but helps to curb harmful methane emissions which are otherwise released into the atmosphere in landfills.

But factors like ph and temperature levels affect output. Also, the lack of technological innovation still makes biogas production a complicated process. Lack of investments by government and private entities also hold back this method.

?A few upcoming startups are tackling this. By using biogas technology to convert wet waste to electricity, they’ve created a sustainable and scalable model of energy generation. This tech has been successfully deployed in special economic zones, rural districts as well as educational institutions.

Compost

Compost is the quickest way to plug waste back into the food chain. Compost is basically decomposed organic material. Food, plant and other organic waste is allowed to be decomposed by bacteria over a period. This produces a fertilizer of the highest quality. And the food cycle loop is closed.?

Although initial investments for composting technology are high and waste recycling is limited to organic waste; budding entrepreneurs in the country are figuring out ways to scale this technique through decentralised, holistic waste management models. Through on-site composting setups that are hygienic, budget-friendly & space-efficient, they are enabling entities like Gated communities, Corporate setups and FnB entities to harness their composting tech to optimise and even monetize their waste.

Food to Feed

There is one more solution that has been largely ignored due to a lack of insights and technology. Converting food waste to animal feed. Several processing methods like dehydration, pelleting, fermentation etc. are either combined or individually used.

The animal feed market is set to grow at 12.5% in the next five years. A demand that the industry is not yet prepared to meet.

But Wastelink is bridging this gap with its food to feed conversion technology. Converting food waste to high-quality animal feed is very much possible. A reverse logistics model with rigorous testing helps to analyse the best of the waste to produce quality ingredients called ecoFeed. This approach stops incineration-based emission of greenhouse gases & the sunk cost of natural resources while helping achieve a self-sustaining food structure.

Beyond Efforts & Tech?

What we need more than technologies and business models is awareness. Awareness that a problem need not look glamorous to be considered critical. A problem like food waste has the most direct and immediate impact on the present world. And so will the right solution.

?