Food waste is made of materials intended for human consumption that are subsequently discharged, lost, degraded or contaminated. The problem of food waste is currently on an increase, involving all involving all sectors of waste management from collection to disposal; the identifying of sustainable solutions extends to all contributors to the food supply chains, agricultural and industrial sectors, as well as retailers and final consumers. A series of solutions may be implemented in the appropriate management of food waste, and prioritised in a similar way to waste management hierarchy. The most sought-after solutions are represented by avoidance and donation of edible fractions to social services. Food waste is also employed in industrial processes for the production of bio fuels or biopolymers. Further steps foresee the recovery of nutrients and fixation of carbon by composting. Final and less desirable options are incineration and land filling.
The current practice of disposing of biodegradable food waste at landfills is not sustainable and is environmentally undesirable as it depletes the limited landfill space, creates odour nuisance, generates leachate and landfill gases that require further mitigation measures to deal with, and squanders the useful organic contents.
Notwithstanding the efforts for food waste avoidance and reduction, suitable and adequate food waste treatment and recycling facilities are necessary to treat and recycle food waste that cannot be avoided and can be separated at source. The Government is planning to develop regional modern large-scale Food waste composting machine in phases to turn source separated food waste into useful resources by advanced biological treatment technologies
Administration of Daman & Diu also imitated proper waste management of food. In consulting with the hotel association .Daman Municipal Council had given responsibility to collect & dispose of food waste & convert it in to the compost to the M/s. Datt Industrial Services (DIS).
To prepare for the development of small scale of food waste composting plant and acquire local experience on collection and biological treatment of source separated food waste, the DIS commissioned a pilot biodegradable waste treatment plant (the Pilot Composting Plant) at Daman in 2018. The Pilot composting Plant has a treatment capacity of about 5 MT/day and Produce compost. The compost can be use as fertilizer or soil conditioner in planting, landscaping and agriculture.
