Biodegradable waste

Biodegradable waste includes any organic matter in waste which can be broken down into carbon dioxide, water, methane, compost, humus, and simple organic molecules by micro-organisms and other living things by composting, aerobic digestion, anaerobic digestion or similar processes.

It mainly includes kitchen waste (spoiled food, trimmings, inedible parts), ash, soil, dung and other plant matter.

Biodegradable waste when not handled properly can have an outsized impact on climate change, especially through methane emissions from anaerobic fermentation that produces landfill gas.

Biodegradable waste can be used for composting or a resource for heat, electricity and fuel by means of incineration or anaerobic digestion.

[7] Swiss Kompogas and the Danish AIKAN process are examples of anaerobic digestion of biodegradable waste.

The oldest of the company's lorries has achieved 1,000,000 kilometers driven with biogas from household waste in the last 15 years.

The intended reuse applications for the nutrient content may include: soil conditioner or fertilizer in agriculture or horticultural activities.

Landfill gas is approximately forty to sixty percent methane, with the remainder being mostly carbon dioxide.

[19][20] A similar amount is lost on top of that by feeding human-edible food to farm animals (the net effect wastes an estimated 1144 kcal/person/day).