New Process Converts Food Waste to Clean Energy Source: University of Waterloo, Canada Microbial Cocktails A team of engineers at the University of Waterloo in Canada have invented an affordable system to turn food waste into a clean energy source. They've devised a "microbial cocktail" that produces a biodegradable chemical through fermenting the waste food. The chemical can be refined into a clean source of energy that could replace fossil fuels. The chemical could also replace petroleum based chemicals in many products like plastic packaging and drugs. Wasted Food, Wasted Resources The numbers are staggering. Wasted food amounts to a global economic loss of $1.4 trillion per year. In North America, food waste amounts to 400 kilograms per person every year. There have been many attempts to convert food scraps into fuel but they have proved much too expensive. This new technology from Canada is affordable, according to the ...
