Green Startups seeking value out of food waste

Composting and anaerobic digestion are not the same process and do not render the same outputs, but they certainly have similarities. BiogasWorld takes this opportunity to highlight that the month of May starts with the International Compost Awareness Week. Both composting and anaerobic digestion allow reducing the waste of organic matter that we face all around the world, and especially the waste of food induced by our contemporary lifestyle. Some Green Startups seeking value out of food waste are therefore making their way and proposing innovative solutions to address this global issue.

Composting and anaerobic digestion

As mentioned in one of our previously published articles, compost obtained from the composting process is comparable to digestate obtained from the anaerobic digestion process, considering both outputs are great fertilizing agents. While both processes consist in the breakdown of organic matter, the main difference between the two is that anaerobic digestion takes place in the absence of oxygen. The other main distinction concerns their outputs, as only anaerobic digestion also generates biogas which has the potential to produce heat and power.

Though, advantages to exploiting organic waste are not solely about its inherent fertilizing and energy potential. Basically, organic waste means wasting the resources that have allowed generating the organic products being wasted. Wasting food, for example, is like wasting all the time, energy, water, money, and other resources that were necessary at first for its production. Moreover, the overabundance of food waste is affecting the capacity of our landfills, and also pollutes our underground water, our soil, and our air. Therefore, it is easy to understand there remains a significant and obvious value in the organic waste that we generate.

Green Startups of organic waste

This is why nowadays there are companies launching in the field of valuing what we waste. Indeed, the population must be provided with innovative solutions in order to ease the valuation of organic waste. Food waste being probably the type of organic waste mostly known by population in general, it is obviously a great niche in order to target the mass market. Hence, the following are three Green Startups aiming to reduce food waste and generate value out it, while proposing a sustainable solution to this global issue.

First, Food Cowboy is an American company which has launched an app allowing to connect food businesses with charities interested by excess food, as well as with organic waste valuation businesses such as composters, farmers and biogas plants. The company argues that reducing and valuing food waste depends on a better coordination of the transfer and communication processes.

Second, Froodly is an app that was developed in Finland and allows to indicate consumers the supermarkets where they can find food products near their expiration date at a discounted price from 30 to 70 percent. The success of this app relies on the fact that supermarkets are a great example of the extent of our consuming lifestyle and also because they are easily and frequently visited by consumers eager to save on food supplies.

Third, CropMobster is an American company running an alert system from which subscribers are notified when there is a cargo of excess food submitted by food producers and retailers. Those interested can then reclaim the excess food and use it instead of letting it be wasted. Like Food Cowboy, CropMobster’s subscribers consist of charities and organic waste valuation businesses.

In short, composting and anaerobic digestion are transiting to the digital age. It is about conjugating technology to bring it to the service of the environment and applying it to initiatives and industries that are part of a sustainable development and circular economy. BiogasWorld and many other Green Startups are using technology and innovation to fill the existing logistic and communication gaps in order to maximize the valuation of organic waste and optimize its implementation worldwide. Our environment deserves to be better served by technology.

By Simon Lefebvre | 2016-05-04

Sources: US Composting Council, Canadian Composting Council, BiogasWorld, Tom Jackson (Vox – Energy & Environment), Food Cowboy, Froodly, CropMobster, The Guardian (image)