Incineration, food waste

There are numerous misconceptions about the sources of various chemical elements in waste, particularly those that are potential acid formers when the waste is incinerated or mechanically converted and used as a refuse-derived fuel. For example, it is often mistakenly stated that the source of chlorine in waste, hence a potential source of HCl emissions, is poly(vinyl chloride). The relative contents of selected, potentially acid-forming elements in the organic portion of a sample of waste collected from various households in one U.S. East Coast city is given in Table 2 (17). In this city, a chief source of chlorine in the waste is NaCl, probably from food waste. 

Currently, consumption of food (including human milk) is by far the most important pathway for exposure to CDDs for the general population representing over 90% of the total daily intake. Other pathways of exposure include inhalation of CDDs from municipal, medical, and industrial waste incinerators and other incineration and combustion processes ( 2% of the daily intake), and ingestion of drinking water(<0.1% of the daily intake) (Travis and Hattermer-Frey 1987 Schaum et al. 1994). 

There are subtle reasons why venting carbon dioxide from trash incineration is of far less concern than the venting of the same gas from fossil fuel combustion reactions. Large portions of the carbon compounds in domestic trash are paper and food wastes. Only a few years ago the carbon contained in these plant products was part of the atmosphere. On a long-term basis, returning this carbon to the atmosphere has no effect on the overall carbon dioxide balance it simply speeds up the rate of recycle of carbon from plant material to the biosphere. 

EXPOSURE ROUTES Inhalation (car exhaust, electrical power plant emissions, cigarette smoke, municipal solid waste incinerators) ingestion (contaminated food) absorption occupational exposure. 

EXPOSURE ROUTES most probably is occupational exposure dermal contact inhalation natural fires petroleum refining coal tar distillation combustion of wood, coal, oil, propane, gasoline, and diesel fuels industrial effluents municipal wastewater treatment facilities waste incinerators smoked and barbecued foods contaminated drinking water supplies recreation activities at contaminated waterways... 

EXPOSURE ROUTES ingestion inhalation of vapor adsorption through skin air emissions and wastewater flue gases and fly ash from waste incineration ambient air contaminated food, water, and soil detected in food during market based surveys... 

There are numerous options for food waste valorization technologies available around the world, such as composting, animal feed production, incineration for energy production and anaerobic digestion for biogas... 

In statistical databases food waste is not found. EurostaC° gives values for the treated municipal waste in total and to the incinerated and recycled shares for all European countries. The statistical office from Germany gives data for household waste in total... 

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