Producing organic fertilizer from food waste is a model that both benefits agriculture, avoids food waste, and minimizes environmental impacts.

Impact of food waste on the environment

Nowadays, most people have the habit of putting food waste in with household waste. This amount of household waste will then be collected, facing great challenges in the process of classification and treatment by landfilling.
Notably, this food waste mostly has high nutritional content. This means that food waste easily rots when it accumulates in large quantities and becomes a breeding ground for many types of disease-causing organisms. These pathogens pose a direct threat to the environment and human health.

When treated by burial, anaerobic decomposition will occur and methane gas will form. A greenhouse gas, this amount of methane will create about 3.3 billion tons of CO2 per year, accounting for about 7% of total emissions. Therefore, converting food waste into organic fertilizer by composting can both take advantage of this resource, bring economic benefits and reduce the impact on the environment.

How to compost waste at home

Benefits of organic fertilizer from food waste

For the environment

• 
  Conserve water and soil
  Protect groundwater quality
  Minimize odors from agricultural areas
  Avoid methane gas production and leachate formation in landfills by converting organic matter from landfills into compost.
  Prevents erosion and turf loss on sidewalks, hillsides, playgrounds and golf courses.
  Drastically reduce the need to use pesticides and fertilizers.
  Binds heavy metals and prevents them from migrating to water sources, being absorbed by plants, and becoming bioavailable to humans.
  Facilitate reforestation, wetland restoration, and wildlife habitat restoration efforts by amending contaminated, compacted, and marginal soils.
  Composted manure weighs about 1/4 as much as raw manure per ton.

Agriculture

Long-term stable source of organic matter.
Buffers soil pH levels.
Adds organic matter, humus and cation exchange capacity to regenerate nutrient-poor soils.
Prevents certain plant diseases and parasites and destroys weed seeds.
Increases yield and size in some crops.
Increases root length and concentration in some plants.
Increases soil nutrient content and water holding capacity of sandy soil and water permeability of clay soil.
Reduces fertilizer needs.
Restores soil structure after the natural microorganisms in the soil are depleted due to the use of chemical fertilizers; Compost is a harmless substance for the soil.
Increase the number of earthworms in the soil.
Provides slow, gradual release of nutrients, reducing loss from contaminated soil.
Reduced water and irrigation needs.
Provides opportunities for additional income; High quality organic fertilizers can be sold at high prices in established markets.
Diverting manure to non-existing non-traditional markets for raw mulch.
Brings higher prices for organic crops.
Minimize odors from agricultural areas.