Wasting food isn't just a social or humanitarian concern—it's an environmental one.
When we waste food, we also waste all the energy and water it takes to grow, harvest, transport, and package it. And if food goes to the landfill and rots, it produces methane—a greenhouse gas even more potent than carbon dioxide. About 6% to 8% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced if we properly manage food waste. In India alone, the production of lost or wasted food contributes 32.6 million cars to greenhouse gas emissions. Households waste reaches nearly 50kg of food per capita which produce amounts upto Rs 30,000 crore yearly. What we are doing is tracking down the waste food using an app/website and delivering it to biogas and fertilizer plants. The principles of the circular economy ensure that important nutrients are returned to the soil through anaerobic processes or composting, which softens the exploitation of land and natural ecosystems. In this way, “waste” is returned to the soil, besides having fewer residues to deal with. The soil gets healthier and more resilient, allowing a greater balance in the ecosystems that surround it as well, since soil degradation costs an estimated US$40 billion annually worldwide, and has hidden costs such as the increase in fertilizer use, loss of biodiversity and loss of unique landscapes – A circular economy could prove to be really useful for both the soil and the economy. A circular economy model in food systems has the potential to decrease 80% of the use of artificial fertilizer and therefore contribute to the natural balance of soils.
According to a study, most of the waste food that is being generated is dumped in landfills.This is why we are losing the opportunity to use the food waste in better things, such as creating organic fertilizers or biogas.
The main challenges were to track out the amount of food waste and categorize it on how and which sectors we can use that waste for more productive areas. Hence, tracking this food waste can help in bringing in more productivity to the waste that is being generated. Tracking food waste can help divert it from entering the landfill towards more productive usage.
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