Abstract
Food waste is one of the major fractions in municipal solid waste stream in Korea. In 2010, Daejeon Metropolitan City (DMC) with a population of 1.5 million generated 492 ton/day of food waste, which accounted for 32% of the total MSW generated in DMC. Recycling of food waste is commonly practiced in Korea, especially after the ban of dumping of food waste into landfills in 2005. In 2010, DMC recycled 82% of its food waste. Major food waste recycling methods in DMC are composting and fodder manufacturing (wet feed manufacturing and dry feed manufacturing). However, there are many management problems associated with the method, including operational problems, and the quality of the composting materials and feed products. The best sustainable food waste management methodology is still unknown in DMC; the purpose of the study was to compare current management system with the assumed food waste management systems from an environmental standpoint using life cycle assessment(LCA) as a decision making tool. In this study, the total emissions of pollutants were evaluated for 1 ton of food waste to be managed. The study discusses potential environmental impacts of the collection, transportation, recycling process and final disposal of food waste in DMC, and suggests better management options of the waste in DMC.
