Food Waste Composting as a Climate Change Mitigation Strategy from Agriculture

Landfills represent the third largest contribution of methane (CH4) emissions to the total US greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory. In the state of California alone, food waste represents 18.1% of total solid waste production; however, the potential for CH4 emission is large because it encompasses a large fraction of labile C. Diverting food waste disposal from landfills could significantly reduce the amount of CH4 emitted from this source. A life cycle assessment (LCA) demonstrated that composting the largest organic waste streams of the state of California produces a net reduction in GHG emissions overcurrent management approaches. By means of a micrometeorological mass balance method (MMB) wemeasured the GHG emission and associated biogeochemical controls from composting food waste to better constrain future LCA models with measured GHG emissions factors from this source. This work will contribute to propose a more sustainable food waste management for the State of California.

Speaker: Dr. Tibisay Perez, Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research