A Perspective on Emerging Inter-Disciplinary Solutions for the Sustainable Management of Food Waste
Source abstract
Abstract
Since food waste is a contemporary and complicated issue that is widely debated across many societal areas, the world community has designated the reduction of food waste as a crucial aspect of establishing a sustainable economy. However, waste management has numerous challenges, such as inadequate funding, poor waste treatment infrastructure, technological limitations, limited public awareness of proper sanitary practices, and inadequate legal and regulatory frameworks. A variety of microorganisms participate in the process of anaerobic digestion, which can be used to convert organic waste into biogas (e.g., methane) and nutrient-rich digestate. In this study, we propose a synergy among multiple disciplines such as nanotechnology, omics, artificial intelligence, and bioengineering that leverage anaerobic digestion processes to optimize the use of current scientific and technological knowledge in addressing global food waste challenges. The integration of these fields carries with it a vast amount of potential for improved waste management. In addition, we highlighted the relevance, importance, and applicability of numerous biogas-generating technologies accessible in each discipline, as well as assessing the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on waste production and management systems. We identify diverse solutions that acknowledge the necessity for integration aimed at drawing expertise from broad interdisciplinary research to address food waste management challenges.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Food Waste Reduction and Sustainability · Microplastics and Plastic Pollution · Healthcare and Environmental Waste Management
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Bioresource Engineering Research Group (BioERG), Department of Biotechnology and Consumer Science, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Corner of Hanover, and Tennant Street, Zonnebloem, Cape Town 8000, South Africa
Department of Environmental and Occupational Studies, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Corner of Hanover, and Tennant Street, Zonnebloem, Cape Town 8000, South Africa
HICoE-Centre for Biofuel and Biochemical Research, Institute of Self-Sustainable Building, Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia
Department of Biotechnology, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai 602105, India
Centre of Excellence for Carbon-Based Fuels, Water Pollution Monitoring and Remediation Initiatives Research Group, School of Chemical and Minerals Engineering, North-West University, Private Bag X 1290, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
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