Soil is the underrated issue of food waste challenge, says World Biogas Association boss
Every year, 1.6 billion tonnes of food are lost and wasted globally [SpeedKingz]
By Claire Stam | EURACTIV.com
Food waste processed via anaerobic digestion can significantly improve nutrient recovery in the soil, and the process may have significant use in sustainable agriculture and in fighting climate change, David Newmann, president of the World Biogas Association, told EURACTIV.com in an interview
“Due to the multiple benefits of anaerobic digestion, it is already the preferred method of recycling food waste for a number of businesses, industries, institutions and cities and is the focus of the report we released 16 May”, he said.
Anaerobic digestion is a technology that enables renewable energy generation such as biogas, as well as nutrient recovery and building of soil organic matter, which is essential for mitigating climate change and sustainable agriculture, Newman explained.
A co-product of the anaerobic digestion process is a material called ‘digestate’, which contains water, nutrients and organic carbon suitable for soils. Digestate is the remaining part of the material fed into the digester once the gas is extracted. The digestate may be used as a bio-fertiliser.
For every tonne of feedstock entering an anaerobic digestion plant, between 900 to 950 kg of digestate is produced, Newman explained, adding that digestate is rich in available nutrients and of significant value as a soil amendment for agricultural land, city landscaping and urban gardening.
