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Sustainable Organic Waste Management and Future Directions for Environmental Protection and Techno-Economic Perspectives

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Abstract

Purpose of Review

This review aims to critically assess contemporary challenges and prospective avenues in the sustainable handling and management of organic waste (OW), elucidating its environmental ramifications and exploring techno-economic perspectives. Reviewing current knowledge is synthesized to provide insights that will help develop innovative strategies and policies. These strategies and policies foster a holistic approach to mitigating the environmental impacts associated with OW while also addressing economic issues.

Recent Findings

The imperative of integrating advanced technologies and holistic environmental considerations into OW management is underscored by recent findings. Environmental footprints can be minimized through innovations such as decentralized processing systems. Further, understanding techno-economic dynamics reveals the potential for sustainable practices, indicating a shift towards circular economies. By integrating environmental and economic aspects of OW management, we can enhance waste management strategies.

Summary

The focus of this review is the significance of OW generation and management, including agricultural, municipal, and green sources, as well as microbial treatment platforms as a critical factor. The report discusses the benefits of anaerobic digestion and composting in OW treatment and the advantages of biotransformation in sustainable waste management through biofuel and biofertilizer (BioF) production. To maximize OW potential as a valuable resource for sustainable development, the review integrates environmental concerns with techno-economic perspectives. To unlock the full potential of OW as a valuable resource in sustainable development, this review addresses barriers. It advances future directions in OW handling and management by integrating environmental considerations with techno-economic perspectives.

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Data Availability

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

Abbreviations

OW:

Organic waste

SWM:

Sustainable waste management

USCB:

United States Census Bureau

GHG:

Greenhouse gas

EWC:

European Waste Code

AD:

Anaerobic digestion

SDGs:

Sustainable Development Goals

FVW:

Fruit and vegetable wastes

FW:

Food waste

MSW:

Municipal solid waste

DF:

Dark fermentation

HMs:

Heavy metals

WWTPs:

Wastewater treatment plants

EPS:

Extracellular polymeric substance

ARB:

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria

VOCs:

Volatile organic compounds

MOSW:

Organic fraction of municipal solid waste

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank their illustrative institutions for providing the literature services.

Funding

This research is supported by the National Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) program. Sunita Varjani is grateful to UPES for SEED funding (Project Codes: UPES/R&D-SoHST/08042024/49 and UPES/R&D-SoAE/08042024/27) and K-Collaboration Hub Program at Korea University. Surendra Pratap Singh is grateful to the Department of Science & Technology (DST)-Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Govt. of India (now ANRF), for the Core Research Grant (CRG/2023/006882).

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Author notes

  1. Pooja Sharma and Surendra Pratap Singh share equal first author contribution.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. NUS Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 1 Create Way, Singapore, 138602, Singapore

    Pooja Sharma & Yen Wah Tong

  2. Energy and Environmental Sustainability for Megacities (E2S2) Phase II, Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), 1 Create Way, Singapore, 138602, Singapore

    Pooja Sharma & Yen Wah Tong

  3. IIRC-3, Plant-Microbe Interaction and Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Sciences, Integral University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Ambreen Bano

  4. Plant Molecular Biology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Dayanand Anglo-Vedic (PG) College, Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, 208001, India

    Surendra Pratap Singh

  5. School of Engineering, UPES, Dehradun, 248007, Uttarakhand, Kanpur, India

    Sunita Varjani

  6. School of Health Sciences and Technology, UPES, Dehradun, 248007, Uttarakhand, India

    Sunita Varjani

  7. Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 02481, Republic of Korea

    Sunita Varjani

  8. Institute of Chartered Waste Managers, Gopalpura Bypass, Jaipur, 302019, Rajasthan, India

    Sunita Varjani

  9. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive, Singapore, 117585, Singapore

    Yen Wah Tong

Authors
  1. Pooja Sharma
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  2. Ambreen Bano
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  3. Surendra Pratap Singh
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  4. Sunita Varjani
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  5. Yen Wah Tong
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Contributions

Pooja Sharma: conceptualization, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. Ambreen Bano: conceptualization, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. Surendra Pratap Singh: conceptualization, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. Sunita Varjani: conceptualization, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. Yen Wah Tong: conceptualization, supervision, project administration, funding acquisition, writing: writing—review and editing, validating.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Sunita Varjani or Yen Wah Tong.

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Highlights

• An overview of the efficient handling and management of organic waste

• Policy frameworks and techno-economic assessments are reviewed

• Addressing future directions, stakeholders, and paradigm of sustainable organic waste management

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Sharma, P., Bano, A., Singh, S.P. et al. Sustainable Organic Waste Management and Future Directions for Environmental Protection and Techno-Economic Perspectives. Curr Pollution Rep (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40726-024-00317-7

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