A circular composting solution to food waste in China

January 24, 2023

In 2021, The Bluetech Clean Air Alliance (BCAA) and WIPO GREEN joined forces to launch the WIPO GREEN China Cities Green Technology Acceleration Project - seeking environmental solutions for Chinese cities. The purpose of an acceleration project is to match green tech solutions focused on a specific geographical area or technological domain with technology seekers. In this case, the project's main objective is to support China in achieving the climate commitment of reducing carbon emissions by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060.

A large environmental issue for China is the production of domestic waste. Annual output now exceeds 400 million tons, more than half of which is organic waste. In an attempt to address this growing challenge, and in the context of its climate commitments, China has implemented regulations around food waste and garbage disposal.

The challenge

Beijing implemented citywide household waste regulations in 2020, requiring that all residents sort their domestic waste, including separating organic waste components. In 2021, these regulations were extended to all restaurants and commercial kitchens, with the condition that  organic kitchen waste should either be treated locally on-site or disposed of by a qualified company. This created a city- and industry-wide challenge around the safe disposal of kitchen waste and increased waste-removal costs for commercial kitchens without the facilities to dispose of the kitchen waste by their own means. The challenge was compounded by the limited number of qualified institutions authorized to handle kitchen waste which suddenly faced unprecedented demand.

The Lake View Hotel Beijing is a five star hotel, often hosting large events which inevitably produce a significant amount of kitchen waste. Hotel management faced a huge challenge following the introduction of the new regulations in Beijing. A single conference or other large event  could easily generate several tons of rubbish and food waste. Simultaneously, waste management and removal services, unable to cope with the increased demand from commercial premises across the city, were inefficient and expensive. This triggered the hotel’s management to begin looking for alternative technology solutions to reduce their costs and address issues related to the removal of organic kitchen waste.

When the management of the Lake View Hotel Beijing heard about the WIPO GREEN China Cities Acceleration Project, they reached out to see if the project could help them to identify a suitable partner through its matchmaking process.

A Match Made in Compost

Through the WIPO GREEN China Cities Green Technology Acceleration Project, local partner Bluetech Clean Air Alliance (BCAA)  convened a number of green technology providers focused on services related to addressing environmental issues in cities. WIPO GREEN’s matchmaking was able to provide the management of the Lake View Hotel Beijing with several technology solutions from which to choose.

The solution

Following an evaluation of their options, the company chosen by the hotel management was the Beijing SINOENC Engineering Technology Co. Ltd, which proposed a solution centered around “organic waste decentralized treatment and resource utilization technology equipment,” enabling the removal and treatment of organic kitchen waste in a timely and cost-effective manner, and meeting the commercial needs of the hotel.

Beijing SINOENC Engineering Technology Co. Ltd operates in schools, enterprises and hotels in towns, villages and rural areas across China. Their decentralized composting technology uses aerobic composting - the decomposition of organic matter using microorganisms that require oxygen - processes in a fully automated way. The process involves sorting, crushing, dehydration and various phases of fermentation. By optimizing the conditions for microorganisms in various steps of the fermentation process, the reactor speeds up the composting process and effectively transforms food waste into useful fertilizing products. The compost can then be used by the hotel and surrounding areas to improve soil health in local gardens and accelerate urban green development.

The project was launched in July 2022 and trial operations began one month later. Due to  COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the hotel has not had as much kitchen waste as usual, but this will likely change in the near future.

In the long term, the Lake View Hotel hopes to simultaneously  manage their environmental impact and improve soil health in the hotel’s gardens and surrounding local area by using the recycled by-product from the SINOENC food waste recycling project to contribute fertilizer to the soil.  SINOENC, on their side, continues to promote green and sustainable development through their technology, with the ultimate aim of contributing to national and global goals, including those around carbon neutrality.

• Read the story in Chinese