From Farm to Table to Energy:
Co-digesting China’s Urban Food Waste in Wastewater Treatment Plants
Authors: Lyssa Freese and Siyi Han Editors: Eastern Research Group Jiaqiao Xiang & Jennifer L. Turner (China Environment Forum)
April 17, 2019
Prepared by Eastern Research Group (ERG) and the Wilson Center’s China Environment Forum under Contract EP-BPA-18-H-0009 for the United States Environmental Protection Agency
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Introduction
In2016,theWilsonCenter’sChinaEnvironmentForum(CEF)producedascopingpaperfortheGlobalMethane Initiative(GMI)entitled
ScalingChina’sSludgeMountains:ChallengesandOpportunitiestoImproveSludge
TreatmentandDisposalinChina’sTier-2Cities
.Inthereport,wehighlightedthepotentialofsludge-to-energy
(StE)technologiesformethanecaptureandutilizationinChinaasasolutiontoaddresswater-energychoke points.Withourextensiveresearchandreportingexperienceonwater-energy,sludge,andwastewaterissuesin China,CEFthenconductedoutadditionalresearchandmeetingstohelpGMIidentifypotentialtier-2citiesand partnersinChinatohelpcatalyze1to2StEpilotsinChinaateitherwastewatertreatmentorstand-alonesludge treatment plants. Our
SludgeMountains
reporthighlightedthatwhileChinahas50+StEplants,mostarenotinuseorare
underutilized.Oneofthebiggestobstaclesistheproblemofexcessivestormwaterrunoffdilutingtheurban wastewaterandtheresultingsludgelackssufficientorganicmaterialtoproducemethane.ManyChinesecities areworkingtoaddressthestormwaterrunoffunderthecentralgovernment’s“spongecity”campaign,whichis promotinggreenurbaninfrastructuresuchasgreenrooftops,porouspavements,andrainwaterharvesting. Anothersolutiontothisproblem,whichsupportsthegovernment’sgoalsforlow-carboncities,isco-digestionof foodwasteandsludgetogenerateandusethewastemethane.Co-digestionofthesetwowasteswould increaseorganicmatterinwastewaterandfurtherlow-carbongoalsbygeneratingmoremethanethatcouldbe soldasCNGforvehiclesorusedtogenerateelectricityforthetreatmentplantand/orgrid.Additionallythe sanitized biosolids could be sold as compost or used in building materials. U.S.andEuropeanmunicipalwastewatertreatmentplantsareincreasinglytappingthisprofitableuseoffood wasteandsludgeandoffergoodmodelsforChinesecities.Co-digestionoffoodandsludgecouldhelpChinese citiessimultaneouslyaddressmultiplemajorenvironmentalproblems--decreaselandfilledwasteandsoil pollution,cleanwatermorecheaply,andlessendependenceonpollutingcoal-firedpowerbyproducinga sustainable low carbon energy. FewChinesecitiessorttheirwaste,whichmakesupone-quarteroftheworld’smunicipalsolidwaste.Food wastemakesup50-70percentofChina’sMSWandmostislandfilledorincineratedwithallothermunicipal solidwaste.ManyrestaurantsinChinasellfoodwastetopigfarmsortoillegalgutteroilprocessors,bothof whichposepotentialfoodsafetyproblems.TheChineseleadershiphasbeguntoexpanditswaronpollutionto the country’s mounting solid waste and wastewater crises and new policies and pilots are rapidly emerging.
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InMarch2017,theNationalDevelopmentandReformCommission(NDRC)andtheMinistryofUrban and Rural Development (MOHURD) selected 46 cities for mandatory garbage sorting.
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InJanuary2018,theChinesegovernmentbannedofimportedplastics--apotentialcatalystformore formalized municipal recycling to make up some of the losses of imported recyclable plastics.
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InMay2018,MOHURDandthenewlyexpandedenvironmentalwatchdogMinistryofEcological Environment(MEE)initiatednationalinvestigationsofillegalhazardouswasteandwastewaterdumping. Thisisamorefocusedcampaignthatbuildson5majorinspectionsMEE’spredecessoragencydidin 2016-2017.
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Since2016,MOHURDandMEP(nowMEE)partneredwithChina’sleadingopeninformationNGOthe InstituteofPublicandEnvironmentalAffairstocreatetheFoulandFilthythatencouragescitizensto photographandgeolocateparticularlydirtywater.IPEandotherNGOsinthenetworkhavebeen making maps of these sites, helping to inform MEE and MOHURD inspectors.
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OverthepastseveralyearsanumberofChinesecitieshavemadevoluntarilyeffortsorstartedplanson howtodivertorganicwaste(principallyfoodwaste)tootherbeneficialpurposessuchasbiogasand compost.
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Parallelingthelocalgovernmentinitiatives,insomecitiesChinesegrassrootsNGOshavecreated community-levelpilotsonwastesortingandrecycling,oftenlinkedwithstronganti-incineration grassroots movements. Thesemovestowardsimprovedwastesortingandrecyclingcouldhelpcitiescreateasustainablefoodwaste streamtofeedwastemethaneco-digestionfacilities.Withsolidwastemanagementbothdirectlyandindirectly becomingahigherpolicypriorityitisanopportunetimeforGMItoengagewithChinatohighlightthe environmental and economic benefits of co-digestion. TohelpGMInavigateco-digestionpotentialinChina,theEnergyResourcesGroupandCEFwerecontractedby EPAtodevelopascopingreporttohighlightthefoodwastetrendsinChinesecitiesandassessthepossibilities ofredirectingfoodwastetomunicipalwastewater(MWW)andStEplants.Thereportalsohighlightssome specific gaps that GMI and other organizations could help fill and potential Chinese partners to engage.
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