WASTE-TO-VALUE: The Next Big Thing

With virtually all of the biofuels currently produced in the United States sourced from either soybeans or corn, there is significant interest in developing a diverse array of biomass feedstocks that will not compete for food resources. Dedicated energy crops such as switchgrass and hybrid poplar have caught the public’s imagination, but they are not the only answer. A significant quantity of grains, fruits and vegetables produced on the world’s farms never end up on the consumer’s plate, but are instead left in the field or lost in food processing facilities. These starch- and oil-rich resources can be used to produce biofuels using the same technology as the existing biofuels industry. EESI summarized data on food processing and crop waste to illustrate that unused agricultural production represents a potentially large resource. This is not meant as a comprehensive assessment; further research is needed to understand and quantify the full potential of unutilized agricultural production, particularly in light of
the fact that composting firms, feed manufacturers, and other facilities currently use some of this material.

Unused crops and food processing wastes represent additional sources of renewable biomass that do not directly compete with food production. In addition to these upstream sources, consumers generate a large volume of downstream waste in the form of kitchen byproducts and uneaten food.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in 2007 over 31 million
tons of food waste were generated, comprising over 12% of the total municipal solid waste stream.viii Although there are a number of logistical difficulties with aggregating such a highly distributed resource, post consumer food waste represents another potential opportunity for innovative energy solutions, such as production of liquid biofuels and production of biogas using anaerobic digestion. The utilization of food wastes has the potential to provide new revenue streams to crop producers
and food processers while creating new sources of clean renewable energy and chemicals that do not compete with food production. This information underscores the need for new technologies to allow a diverse array of feedstocks to be utilized for biofuels production.

Plant waste can produce biofuels such as biodiesel or ethanol. If crops are rich in cellulose (as corn stalks are) they can be used to make ethanol, a substitute for gasoline. If crops are rich in lipids (such as unproductive oil seeds) they can be used to make biodiesel, a substitute for diesel.

Food rotting in landfill releases methane – 28x stronger than carbon dioxide. Eliminating global food waste would save 4.4 million tonnes of C02 a year, the equivalent of taking one in four cars off the road.

How can we reuse vegetable waste?

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Reuse Kitchen Waste With These 14 Clever Ways

#1: Banana peel. Soothe psoriasis by rubbing a banana peel over it. ...

#2: Citrus rinds. Add some orange rinds to your dustbin to get rid of stink. ...

#3: Vegetable mesh bags. ...

#4: Broccoli stems. ...

#5: Onion and garlic skin. ...

#6: Dried bread. ...

#7: Pineapple tops. ...

#8: Potato peels.