Food industry waste - An opportunity for black soldier fly larvae protein production in Tanzania

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 858; no. Pt 3; p. 159985
• Main Authors: Isibika, A., Simha, P., Vinnerås, B., Zurbrügg, C., Kibazohi, O., Lalander, C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-02-2023
• Subjects: Biowaste availability; BSFL composting; Cities; Environmental Management; Low-/middle-income countries; Miljöledning; Organic waste management; Low-/middle-income countries; BSFL composting; Cities; Biowaste availability; Organic waste management
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159985

Black soldier fly larvae composting is an emerging treatment option with potential to improve biowaste valorization in cities of low-income countries. This study surveyed the current generation and management status of food industry biowaste and their availability and suitability as potential feedstock for black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) composting treatment in three Tanzania cities, Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, and Dodoma. Biowaste-generating food industry companies (n = 29) in the three cities were found to produce banana peels, mango seeds, sunflower press cake, brewery waste, and coffee husks in large quantities (~100,000–1,000,000 kg y−1). Around 50 % of these companies (16/29), primarily vegetable oil companies (10/11), either sold or gave away their waste as animal feed, while most companies (9/11) with unutilized food industry waste landfilled the generated biowaste. Multi-criteria analysis based on substrate availability criteria identified banana peels, mango seeds, and coffee husks with total score points of ≥10/12 as the most suitable feedstock for BSFL composting. However, multi-criteria analysis based on physical-chemical criteria identified brewery waste and sunflower press cake with total score points of ≥11/15 as the most suitable feedstock. Combined availability and physical-chemical properties of individual biowastes showed that all identified types of food industry biowaste can be suitable feedstock for producing BSFL biomass for protein production, but certain waste streams needed to be mixed with other waste streams prior to BSFL-composting to ensure sufficient availability and provide a balanced nutritional profile compared with the single-source biowastes. This study concluded that large volumes of food industry waste are being generated from food industry companies in Tanzania and there is need to establish new biowaste management interventions for resource recovery. Furthermore, for interested stakeholders in the waste management business, multi-stream BSFL-composting can be a suitable solution for managing and closing nutrient loops of the unutilized food industry biowaste in Tanzania and in other similar settings globally.
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•Food industry waste is generated in Tanzania and needs valorization technologies.•Tanzania food companies can produce 100,000 to 1,000,000-ton y−1 of biowaste.•Fly larvae composting can close nutrient loops of food industry biowaste.•Blending of different types of biowaste can improve BSF larvae biomass production.