Paper: “Assessing the climate change mitigation potential from food waste composting,” Sci Rep 13, 7608 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-34174-z.
Research Team: Tibisay Pérez, Sintana E. Vergara & Whendee L. Silver
Findings: Emission factors (EF) ranged from 6.6 to 8.8 kg CH4–C/Mg wet food waste and were driven primarily by low redox and watering events. Composting resulted in low N2O emissions (0.01 kg N2O–N/Mg wet food waste). The overall EF value (CH4 + N2O) for food waste composting was 926 kgCO2e/Mg of dry food waste. Composting emissions were 38–84% lower than equivalent landfilling fluxes with a potential net minimum savings of 1.4 MMT CO2e for California by year 2025. Our results suggest that food waste composting can help mitigate emissions. Increased turning during the thermophilic phase and less watering overall could potentially further lower emissions.
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