| Abstract [eng] |
Food waste and food wastage are problems, which cannot leave global organizations’ agendas due to the environmental impact that they generate as well as the risks such problems pose to the future food supply. The scale of the food waste problem is not diminishing, and the demand for food grows along with the population, resulting in the tension in the entire supply chain and the waste management system. Finally, the true extent of the problem is revealed by analyzing it from a holistic perspective. Taking into account natural and technosphere resources, labor force, emissions, wastewater, and soils destroyed by the intensive farming, the problem results in significant environmental impact and jeopardized food security in the future. As the problem of food waste is complex and the environmental impact occurs at all points in the food supply chain, an approach to the food waste problem by extending system and territory boundaries is necessary. In order to reduce the risks and environmental impact of food waste, in this dissertation a tool based on the concept of industrial ecology is proposed, which would allow decision-makers at a regional level to choose individual solutions or a set of solutions for more optimal management of this waste. In summary, the dissertation proposes a decision support model for the optimal management of food waste streams at a regional level, which integrates methods of industrial ecological concept: from dematerialisation by applying cleaner production pollution prevention methods, to industrial symbiosis, interaction with the biosphere and energy system restructuration. |
