Food loss and waste pose significant global challenges, impacting climate change, hunger, and economic stability. The environmental consequences are profound, with wasted food contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and resource depletion. This study assesses the environmental and economic impacts of two innovative food technologies aimed at reducing food waste: a computer-vision-based system to monitor growing vegetables in a greenhouse tomato production in Lithuania and a Mobile Food Valorization service for pear cultivation in Belgium or optimizing the processing of surplus fruits and vegetables. Each scenario underwent a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to quantify the environmental performance, comparing a baseline with high food waste to a zero-waste scenario using advanced technologies. The functional unit for the Lithuanian project was 1 hectare of greenhouse tomato production, including end-of-life treatment for tomato waste. For the Belgian project, the functional unit was cultivating 15 hectares of pears, including managing excess cultivation yield. The analysis was conducted using OpenLCA software, with inventory data from literature sources and the ecoinvent 3.9.1 and agribalyse database. Primary data was collected from the Zero-W project through the Digiotouch OU start-up. The Recipe Midpoint was chosen as the impact assessment method, with 18 impact categories analyzed. Results indicate that the zero-waste scenario for tomatoes achieved a 10% reduction in climate change impacts at full efficiency when comparing two complete systems. Switching to the comparison of the difference phase between the two scenarios reveals that the platform system needs to achieve an 8% increase in efficiency in food waste reduction to achieve a 10% reduction in emissions across all impact categories. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) favored the zero-waste approach, increasing the benefit-to-cost ratio from 1.015 in the baseline to 1.17. In the Mobile Food Valorization service for pear cultivation, results indicate minimal change in emissions between the two complete scenarios. However, switching the comparison to how excess pears are handled shows that the zero-waste scenario performs better in six impact categories, while the baseline scenario is preferable in 10 impacts, including the climate change category. The economic analysis for pears showed profitability improvement, with the benefit-to-cost ratio rising from 1.599 to 1.63 in the zero-waste scenario, driven by increased pear juice sales. Sensitivity analyses were conducted for both projects. For tomatoes, comparisons between organic and inorganic fertilizers revealed significant emissions reductions with organic options. Analysis of different electricity sources highlighted the environmental benefits of using renewable solar power instead of conventional grid mixes. For pears, Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that switching from diesel to biogas could reduce emissions by 50% in the zero-waste scenario, excluding emissions from cultivation phases. Expanding system boundaries to include emissions savings from avoided waste treatment further reduced overall emissions. For excess pears, comparing different ways of handling them shows that donation is the optimal environmental choice, reducing climate change impacts by 860% compared to the current situation.
La perdita e lo spreco alimentare rappresentano significativi problemi globali, influenzando il cambiamento climatico, la fame e la stabilità economica. Le conseguenze ambientali sono profonde, con il cibo sprecato che contribuisce in modo significativo alle emissioni di gas serra e al depauperamento delle risorse. Questo studio valuta gli impatti ambientali ed economici di due innovative tecnologie alimentari volte a ridurre gli sprechi: un sistema basato sulla visione artificiale per monitorare la coltivazione di pomodori in serra in Lituania e un servizio mobile di valorizzazione alimentare per la coltivazione di pere in Belgio, ottimizzando il trattamento degli eccedenti di frutta e verdura. Ogni scenario è stato sottoposto a un'Analisi del Ciclo di Vita (LCA) per quantificare le performance ambientali, confrontando una base con elevati sprechi alimentari con uno scenario a zero sprechi mediante tecnologie avanzate. L'unità funzionale per il progetto lituano è stata l'ettaro di produzione di pomodori in serra, inclusa la gestione del fine vita dei rifiuti di pomodoro. Per il progetto belga, l'unità funzionale è stata la coltivazione di 15 ettari di pere, compresa la gestione dell'eccedenza di raccolto. L'analisi è stata condotta utilizzando il software OpenLCA, con dati di inventario da fonti letterarie e dai database ecoinvent 3.9.1 e agribalyse. I dati primari sono stati raccolti dal progetto Zero-W tramite la start-up Digiotouch OU. Il metodo di valutazione degli impatti scelto è stato il Recipe Midpoint, con 18 categorie di impatto analizzate. I risultati indicano che lo scenario a zero sprechi per i pomodori ha raggiunto una riduzione del 10% negli impatti sul cambiamento climatico a piena efficienza, confrontando due sistemi completi. Passando al confronto della fase di differenza tra i due scenari, emerge che il sistema della piattaforma deve migliorare l'efficienza del 8% nella riduzione degli sprechi alimentari per ottenere una riduzione del 10% nelle emissioni in tutte le categorie di impatto. L'analisi costi-benefici (CBA) ha favorito l'approccio a zero sprechi, aumentando il rapporto beneficio-costi da 1,015 nella base a 1,17. Nel servizio di valorizzazione alimentare mobile per la coltivazione di pere, i risultati indicano un cambiamento minimo nelle emissioni tra i due scenari completi. Tuttavia, passando al confronto su come vengono gestite le pere in eccesso, lo scenario a zero sprechi si comporta meglio in sei categorie di impatto, mentre lo scenario di base è preferibile in 10 impatti, inclusa la categoria del cambiamento climatico. L'analisi economica per le pere ha mostrato un miglioramento della redditività, con il rapporto beneficio-costi che passa da 1,599 a 1,63 nello scenario a zero sprechi, trainato dalle maggiori vendite di succo di pere. Sono state condotte analisi di sensitività per entrambi i progetti. Per i pomodori, i confronti tra fertilizzanti organici e inorganici hanno mostrato significative riduzioni delle emissioni con opzioni organiche. L'analisi delle diverse fonti di elettricità ha evidenziato i benefici ambientali dell'uso di energia solare rinnovabile invece delle griglie convenzionali. Per le pere, le analisi di sensitività hanno dimostrato che il passaggio dal diesel al biogas potrebbe ridurre le emissioni del 50% nello scenario a zero sprechi, escludendo le emissioni dalle fasi di coltivazione. Espandere i confini del sistema per includere i risparmi di emissioni dal trattamento evitato dei rifiuti ha ulteriormente ridotto le emissioni complessive. Per le pere in eccesso, il confronto tra diversi modi di gestirle mostra che la donazione è la scelta ambientale ottimale, riducendo gli impatti sul cambiamento climatico dell'860% rispetto alla situazione attuale.
Reduction of Food Waste Through Innovative Technologies: A Life Cycle Assessment Study
ISSA, ALI
2023/2024
Abstract
Food loss and waste pose significant global challenges, impacting climate change, hunger, and economic stability. The environmental consequences are profound, with wasted food contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and resource depletion. This study assesses the environmental and economic impacts of two innovative food technologies aimed at reducing food waste: a computer-vision-based system to monitor growing vegetables in a greenhouse tomato production in Lithuania and a Mobile Food Valorization service for pear cultivation in Belgium or optimizing the processing of surplus fruits and vegetables. Each scenario underwent a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to quantify the environmental performance, comparing a baseline with high food waste to a zero-waste scenario using advanced technologies. The functional unit for the Lithuanian project was 1 hectare of greenhouse tomato production, including end-of-life treatment for tomato waste. For the Belgian project, the functional unit was cultivating 15 hectares of pears, including managing excess cultivation yield. The analysis was conducted using OpenLCA software, with inventory data from literature sources and the ecoinvent 3.9.1 and agribalyse database. Primary data was collected from the Zero-W project through the Digiotouch OU start-up. The Recipe Midpoint was chosen as the impact assessment method, with 18 impact categories analyzed. Results indicate that the zero-waste scenario for tomatoes achieved a 10% reduction in climate change impacts at full efficiency when comparing two complete systems. Switching to the comparison of the difference phase between the two scenarios reveals that the platform system needs to achieve an 8% increase in efficiency in food waste reduction to achieve a 10% reduction in emissions across all impact categories. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) favored the zero-waste approach, increasing the benefit-to-cost ratio from 1.015 in the baseline to 1.17. In the Mobile Food Valorization service for pear cultivation, results indicate minimal change in emissions between the two complete scenarios. However, switching the comparison to how excess pears are handled shows that the zero-waste scenario performs better in six impact categories, while the baseline scenario is preferable in 10 impacts, including the climate change category. The economic analysis for pears showed profitability improvement, with the benefit-to-cost ratio rising from 1.599 to 1.63 in the zero-waste scenario, driven by increased pear juice sales. Sensitivity analyses were conducted for both projects. For tomatoes, comparisons between organic and inorganic fertilizers revealed significant emissions reductions with organic options. Analysis of different electricity sources highlighted the environmental benefits of using renewable solar power instead of conventional grid mixes. For pears, Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that switching from diesel to biogas could reduce emissions by 50% in the zero-waste scenario, excluding emissions from cultivation phases. Expanding system boundaries to include emissions savings from avoided waste treatment further reduced overall emissions. For excess pears, comparing different ways of handling them shows that donation is the optimal environmental choice, reducing climate change impacts by 860% compared to the current situation.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/222999