Keywords

1 Introduction

The concept of food waste and options for food recycling has increasingly gained discourse in the academic field. This is motivated by the increase in urban population and the need by governments to effectively feed its population. Food is regarded as a basic right [8]. Whilst Zimbabwe’s Sustainable Development Goal number 2 aims at eliminating hunger by 2030, the New Urbanism Agenda envisions cities and human settlements capable of providing food security. Therefore, the wastage of food becomes an intolerable thing to do in a world faced with increasing population numbers and the needs by governments to effectively feed the population.

However, the issues revolving around food losses has been viewed with two major lenses, the food perspective that emphasises food security concerns, or the waste perspective that is mainly concerned about the environment, with the duality of such approaches contributing to confusion regarding the scope and definition of food losses and waste [29]. The concept of food waste is therefore, two sided as it draws from the two dominant forces of genuine food security concerns and the environmental concern. This chapter considers food waste as both an environmental concern and a food security concern. Of the food produced for human consumption globally, between half to a third of the food is wasted [23]. The rate at which food is wasted becomes worrisome due to the need to eliminate hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture as motivated by Zimbabwe’s Sustainable Development Goal number 2 and the New Urban Agenda which aims at ensuring that food security is ensured in human habitats.. Food waste consists of edible and inedible components and the costs of food waste comes in the form of economic, social and environmental costs [12]. Costs to the environment involves the creation of an unpleasant environment and this may, in turn, cause an environment unfit for human and animal habitation. This chapter discuses Food Waste in Urban Zimbabwe with a view to decipher Options for Food Recycling.

2 Literature Review

Food Loss Waste (FLW) is defined as a decrease, at all stages of the food chain from harvest to consumption in mass, of food that was originally intended for human consumption, regardless of the cause ([29]: 22). The United Nations Statistics Division in TARSCH and CFH ([30]: 5), defines solid wastes as:

all materials that are not prime products, for that the person generating the material has no further use in terms of his/her own purposes of production, transformation or consumption and that he/she wants to dispose and that is not intended to be disposed using a pipeline.

The production process up to consumption of the final product is a process characterised by leakages with loses at each stage. Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of the losses incurred at each stage from production to consumption.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Schematic representation of food losses and waste along the food chain [29]

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The diagram indicates that, from production to consumption, food is lost at various stages, with some of it being edible and non-edible. Food loses may happen at industrial or consumption level and the product may be in the form of solid waste. Food waste dumping on the land, has potential to damage the environment as shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2
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Environmental impacts of food waste [21]

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Food waste has the potential to destroy the environment if not handled properly. Negative impacts of food waste may affect the upstream population differently from those downstream. Upstream environmental impacts include land waste and water waste and those downstream may suffer more as a result of poor water quality.

Peri urban agriculture may help in filtering waste water (when appropriate) and, in turn, positively impact the effective functioning of the ecosystem and, in turn, provide animal habitat [14]. Peri-urban agricultural practices may therefore prove fruitful cleaning waste water through infiltration and facilitating ground water recharge. Increased pollution on land and water also have the overall negative health impact on citizens as it has potential to cause disease outbreaks, such as cholera and malaria, with the source being the illegal accumulation of waste materials through illegal dumping in most urban neighbourhoods. In this case, the sorting of waste may prove fruitful by separating degradable material (capable of forming compost) from non-degradable material, such as plastics and glass for easier collection and recycling. Furthermore, the New Urban Agenda (NUA) also encourages cities to have waste disposal facilities [34] which in turn promotes a cleaner environment especially for the disposal of non-edible waste. Increased food waste may also come as a food security concern hence, the need for food recycling measures.

Food recycling refers to the collection, sorting and processing of unwanted food into new products that may be used for the production of other goods. The final product may be edible in the form of dried food or non-edible, such as soap, that may be a by-product to be used for other purposes, such as cleaning. It is important for governments, households and industry to engage in food re-use and recycling as it saves on the economic, social and environmental costs. The Food Recovery hierarchy helps organisations strategize ways that to prevent and divert food waste, with the upper levels of the hierarchy being the best in terms preventing and diverting wasted food as they create the most benefits for the environment, society and the economy [7]. Figure 3 shows the Food Recovery Hierarchy.

Fig. 3
figure 3

Food recovery hierarchy [7]

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The food recovery hierarchy gives various options upon that recycled food may fall into and one of the major reasons for food recycling and reuse would be to feed the hungry through donations to charity, food banks and shelter. The food recovery hierarchy may prove useful also to the tourism and hospitality sector that is dominated by restaurants and hotels. It is therefore, evident that food waste recycling is important to both the environment and mankind. Furthermore, as faced by the contagious COVID-19 pandemic which has ravaged many nations, global food security for many nations is under threat. Discovered in the city of Wuhan, China in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has been known for its ability to spread through coughing or sneezing and sue to its highly contagious nature and inability to find a cure (so far), most countries have turned to non-pharmaceutical intervention, such as closure of businesses except critical positions and the banning of social gatherings, among others [10, 13, 15, 25]. In this regard, trading between various countries would be limited posing a threat to food security as it may become difficult to import in some instances. It is also argued that, the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will be most felt in poor and densely populated urban areas especially those in informal settlements [32], and those who mainly rely on the informal sector as it becomes difficult for them to stock up food especially when faced with the pandemic [33]. This in turn reduces household spending on food [35]. In such cases, the urgency to save food as a country becomes necessary so that, positive trickling down effects can also benefit the poor in the form of cheaper recycled food.

In order to regulate the loss of food at industrial down to household levels, Governments are faced with the challenge to ensure that all activities are governed by law and the law must be thoroughly enforced in order to ensure compliance between the various food wasters, and ensure the efficient and healthy functioning of the urban system. Law to control food waste emission and management becomes a critical aspect in ensuring that food is not wasted and the environment is kept safe and this shall be discussed in relation to three cases, each from a global, regional and local scales.

3 Law Regulations on Food Waste Emitters

In order to effectively control development and ensure a clean working and liveable environment, with lower levels of poverty, Governments must come up with rules and regulations to govern and control how waste is disposed in the various facets of the economy, especially industry and households. Focus shall now be directed to the cases of Japan, South Africa and Zimbabwe, in order to appreciate improvements made in terms of the control measures by governments directed towards the control of food waste disposal in the different countries.

In Japan, in order to create a clean and sustainable liveable and working environment fit for human and wildlife habitation, recycling of food waste becomes an important part in ensuring the effective functionality of the urban system. The food recycling law was promulgated in 2001 [26] and this law was a wakeup call for managers of food waste to be innovative and come up with strategies aimed at recycling waste food. The law also required that, food waste must be used to produce compost, animal feed, and extraction of heat at incineration sites [28]. The law therefore, guided many activities and instead of seeing waste as a problem, organisations and individuals would start seeing the waste material as an asset with many benefits.

At the core of Japan’s environmental policy are the major aims of becoming a recycle-oriented society and a low carbon society [20]. Waste on Japan’s land would be reduced, thus producing a cleaner environment and at the same time reduce the economic costs associated with the generation and disposal of food waste. Japan’s primary recycling method is composting and the law demands that food waste emitters recycle their food waste in to compost, animal feed or biogas [28]. It is clear that, Japan Recycling Law regulates manufacturing activities and fruitful by-products, such as biogas used for cooking, animal feed and compost for agriculture. The law also has benefits, such as reduction in the carbon footprint, thus, preventing the continuation of problems, such as pollution and continued emission of greenhouse gasses.

The Waste Policy and Regulation of South Africa starts from the Environmental Conservation Act (Act 73 of 1989), with the main aim of permitting, controlling and managing waste, whilst limited waste policy regulations emerged between 1989 and 2007 [9]. Introduction of policy regulations from as early as 1989 shows efforts towards bettering the environment through waste control measures. The NEM: Waste Act (Act 26 of 2004) and the National Environmental Management (NEM): Waste Act (Act 59 of 2008), were all instruments to manage waste [9]. This shows that even at regional level, efforts to control and manage waste disposals in urban centres were implemented through law and regulatory practices.

Legislation to guide solid waste disposal and management in Zimbabwe is guided by the Environmental Management Act (EMA) and the Urban Councils Act. Chapter 20:27 Section 70 (1) of the EMA Act prohibits people from discharging waste in a way that causes human ill health or environmental pollution [2]. People disposing litter or waste illegally at undesignated places risk paying penalty fees if caught. The penalty fee for illegal dumping for an individual, council or company ranges from US$1 500 to US$500 depending on offence committed [18]. Paying such heavy penalty fees would in a way deter people from illegally dumping waste, as they would fear being caught. The EMA Act is regulatory in nature as it restricts people from illegally disposing waste. The Act fosters an integrated approach to solid waste management that promotes the reuse, reclaiming and recycling of materials from waste (Muswere and Rodic-Wiersma 2004). The Act therefore, encourages the concepts of re-use and recycling as they have a positive effect of reducing the amount of waste to be totally disposed.

The Urban Councils Act Chapter 29:15 designates to urban local authorities with the responsibility to provide solid waste collection, transportation and disposal services in areas under their jurisdiction [2]. Local Authorities and the people are both guided by the law, with people having the responsibility to dispose waste in legal places and bins and Local Authorities having the overall responsibility to collect the waste various neighbourhoods, city centres and industries.

4 Emerging Issues in Zimbabwe and Options for Recycling

The main crux of this chapter is centred upon food waste in Zimbabwe, how it is being handled and decipher options for food recycling. Two cases of Harare and Bulawayo cities were analysed to understand food waste disposal and management in these areas.

4.1 Case of Harare

The issues revolving around chaos in the governance of waste management in Zimbabwe have their roots in the colonial era where the native suburbs were regarded as areas of cheap labour, whilst no serious efforts were directed towards solving emerging problems, particularly those of waste management [31]. In the post-colonial period, the rate of urbanisation increased magnificently, placing more pressure on the existing high-density neighbourhoods of Mbare and Mufakose. The increase in population in the old neighbourhoods would also imply an increase in the waste generated.

Waste management in the City of Harare was received with much confusion and uncertainty after the country’s independence in 1980. The responsibility for waste management after independence, has changed hands from one department to the other within the City of Harare (CoH), with each change further contributing to the deterioration of the system [31]. Accountability was lost as it became difficult to trace the inefficiency points of the responsible departments. The responsibility for waste management first lay in the hands of the Department of Works before 1996, with the responsibility being transferred to the Department of Health in and after 1996, later resulting in the Health department subcontracting private companies to manage 56% of waste whilst retaining the remaining 44% [31]. This showed a weaker system in terms of accepting and taking sole responsibility for the management of waste within the CoH.

At least half of the world’s population now live in cities [4]. Drechsel and Kunze [5] stress that increased urbanisation in Sub-Saharan Africa has not only brought challenges to rural–urban planning in relation to food security, but also in relation to waste management. This presents a challenge for Zimbabwe’s local authorities, for them to match their service delivery with the increase in waste generated as a result of the increase in population. Solid-waste falls in to various categories and Table 1 shows the six major sources of solid waste in Harare.

Table 1 The six major categories of solid waste in Harare
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The City of Harare does contain more sources of solid waste, some of which produce food waste, such as households, institutional facilities, inclusive of police camps and prisons, and light and heavy industrial sites. Most Zimbabwean urban centres are now characterised by the ‘mushrooming’ of fast food stalls, with Local Authorities lacking the will power to contain illegal vending [16]. Illegal vending sites and fast food stalls, are all contributory to the increased generation and disposal of solid food waste in the form of cooked or uncooked leftover food and rotten fruits and vegetables.

Furthermore, it is argued that, Zimbabwe produces 2.5 million tonnes of solid waste annually, with the majority emanating from household and industrial waste [30]. It is only 20% of the urban solid waste that is collected and disposed of properly [18]. This shows that, of the significant amount of waste produced, only 20% is effectively accounted for in urban areas. Food waste however, inevitably constitutes part of this solid waste and this mainly emanates from households, industrial sites, vending stalls, restaurants and hotels, among other sources.

It is often argued that, informal waste harvesting involves the selection of selected waste items for various purposes including that of subsistence in order for families to provide for food, clothing and shelter, for sale and wages [17]. Many people have considered the collection of selected solid waste materials as a source of income by collecting what is needed by a particular company and later selling the collected material to the company of interest. Selected items for generation of income may be in the form of plastics, bottles and cans.

In a study carried out in Budiriro, various waste management strategies to manage waste include the 4Rs that are Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rethink [22]. These strategies may prove useful in times of crises, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic that has affected the global economy since the end of March. For most people, especially in the informal sector, accessing cheaper recycled foods may reduce the level of food insecurity in families. Waste materials may be used to produce other products for resale, such as doormats, made from mealie-meal sacks, thus generating an income through value addition. Re-use of food products may also be witnessed in homes, food courts, restaurants and hotels where left-over roasted meat, is re-cooked and stewed to be sold again as a different menu. Instead of throwing away the roasted meat, that may be going bad, innovative thinking may work best in designing a new purpose for the meat. Left-over sadza may be used in homes to make mahewu that may make a very nutritious meal supplement. Educating people on how to store food through various means, such as drying of meat and fish for instance, may make it last longer without going bad, thus cutting on food waste.

In Harare, companies to facilitate the recycling of cans for re-use include Collect-a-can and Eden Recycling Company in Mabelreign-Harare and Greendale Waste Collection and Recycling in Greendale. The Friendship Bench in Eastlea makes bags out of plastic, while companies, such as Thomhilton Plastic Centre and First Pack, all in Harare are involved in the buying of plastics and pellets. Besides being a source of income for many, waste materials on urban roads and dumpsites is reduced as people collect cans and plastics for resale.

4.2 Case of Bulawayo

Like any other Local Authorities, the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) is also faced with the challenge of provision of effective refuse collection services, as evidence by some low-income residential areas going for over a month without being offered solid waste collection service [18]. With the increase in inability by the BCC to effectively collect waste, evidence of an increase in the generation of solid waste is evident due to the increase in illegal dumping in the city’s urban areas [19]. It is evident that the major Local Authorities of Harare and Bulawayo are all faced with the refuse collection and management challenge hence, the need for increased capacity to manage solid waste through finance lobbying, and the rethinking of innovative waste management strategies aimed at managing waste at city or neighbourhood levels. Figure 4 shows the current waste management system for Bulawayo City Council.

Fig. 4
figure 4

Source Mwanza and Phiri [19]

The components of solid waste management system in Bulawayo Municipality.

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The BCC solid waste disposal system shows that some of the solid waste ends up at illegal sites, whilst others is changed in to compost for use in agricultural projects and other material is gotten rid of through burning. Collection of waste by municipal workers is not a smooth process as it may also result in scattering of material in the streets, resulting in land pollution. The transportation of waste material by municipal vehicles may also result in spillage further causing land and air pollution. The end result of burning waste, illegal dumping, waste spillage by municipal vehicle and waste scattering by municipal workers when collecting all have the adverse effects of causing air, water and soil pollution.

In 2009, Bulawayo adopted a non-convention approach to the management of solid waste in the form of Community Based Solid Waste Management that aimed at involving the public and private actors in the management of solid waste [27]. In this case, the public is regarded as an active player in the cleaning up of own neighbourhoods and also an income generating activity through the selling of some of the waste materials collected. Involving the local people would make them have a sense of belonging and thus, reduce resistance to change. Country wide, every first Friday of the month is now an official litter collection day for companies as a national campaign to reduce waste on the road and in workplaces. This does not only promote enhancement of a clean working environment, but also give people a sense of belonging and an ‘environment conscious’ mind by constantly reminding them that the environment ought to be kept clean always.

5 Lessons Learnt

In solid waste management, innovativeness in dealing with various ways to dispose waste becomes critical. The process of composting of food and yard waste may produce a useful product in the end [11]. Food waste contains plant nutrients that mainly originate from agriculture [3]. Recycling solid waste into compost may prove advantageous when applied to arable land as they can be used as fertilisers, resulting in the creation of fertile land. Fertile land may, in turn, produce a better yield as compared to in-fertile land.

In a nation faced with an increase in number of mouths to feed as testimony to the increase in populations in Zimbabwe’s urban centres, the re-use of foods and recycling of food may prove fruitful. Strategies for food preservation, such as the drying of cooked food may be used as a way to feed the poorer portion of the population, especially in times of crises and pandemics, such as the recent COVID-19, and this may be in line with the New Urban Agenda which seeks to ensure food security for the urban populace. Drying food instead of simply throwing it away, may save governments by facilitating the re-sale of the dried food at cheaper and affordable prices to those who can-not afford fresh food. Dried food may equally be nutritious as it may still retain part of the nutrients.

Environmental burdens and risks to human health may be reduced through proper management and recycling of huge volumes of food waste [24]. The recycling of waste may prevent more waste to be dumped on the land and this may, in turn, prevent the outbreak of diseases, such as cholera and malaria as piles of dumps accumulate. The creation and maintenance of clean environment is important to ensuring a healthy working and living environment for both people and animals.

Pham et al. [24], argue that, food waste is an untapped resource with great potential for energy production. Burning of solid waste has potential to generate energy that may be used for many uses including the production of green electricity as in the case of some developed countries, such as Germany. The electricity generated may be used for lighting houses and this would cut the electricity bill for the nation and for a country, like Zimbabwe, that sometimes imports electricity, generating electricity through solid waste may be of great importance.

Communities’ involvement through educational programs and clean-up campaigns may prove very useful in regulating food waste and reducing the number of people who throw away leftover food from food courts in roads and bins. The BCC and HCC must also improve on issues of transparency and accountability by appointing a single department to deal with refuse collection and not timeously shift responsibility to other departments. The Local Authorities must also increase capacity by lobbying for finance from government and private actors in order to suit demand and practice consistence in the collection of refuse countrywide, especially in the high-density residential areas that are now characterised by dense population numbers.

6 Discussion

Urban councils have experienced difficulties in the consistent and effective collection of waste as testimony to increase in population numbers post-independence. The increase in densities has resulted in failure by urban local authorities to provide services. Capacity by Local Authorities to collect waste dropped from 80% in the mid-1990s to 30% in some large cities and towns in the year 2006, with informal settlements and high-density residential areas suffering the most [30]. Due to large population numbers, more waste is generated from low-income residential areas and illegal settlements, such as parts of Hopley Farm, that do not have clear roads for the municipal waste vehicle to navigate through. It is however, important to note that, part of the waste being disposed is food waste.

It is further acknowledged that, the current authority is struggling to manage the waste under tight budgets; highly inadequate and malfunctioning equipment; inefficient collection practices with variable levels of service, poor and unhygienic operating practices; including no environmental control systems; open burning of garbage; indiscriminate illegal dumping and littering; and a public with seemingly little sensitivity to the garbage around them or any awareness of what represents responsible waste management ([31]: 692). This shows how detrimental the Zimbabwean situation is, hence, the need for the government, and donors to assist urban local authorities financially in order to capacitate them with the relevant skill and equipment needed in effectively managing waste. It has been explained that governments regard food as a basic right hence, the need by governments to facilitate and enforce the saving of food before disposal through re-use, recycling and rethinking innovative ways to preserve leftover food, such as implementing the drying method, in some instances. Preservation of food is motivated by the Sustainable Development Goals that aims at reducing hunger and poverty, and the New Urban Agenda which has a vision to promote food security in human settlements. Therefore, the preservation of food would help in preserving some food for the poor who may not afford refined or more processed foods. It has been revealed that, in times of pandemics such as the COVID-19 disease, the poor are the most vulnerable. Therefore, preserving some of the food through recycling may be an important step towards preventing many from enduring long periods of hunger during difficult times.

The concept of waste reuse in food cultivation is not new to Africa, with most African countries having traditionally used various types of organic material to improve on productivity [1]. Formation of compost from food waste becomes handy in facilitating a good yield in food production. Drescher [6], further supports the need to maximise benefits from urban agriculture as it also improves on food security and also helps city authorities solve some of the problems through integrated programmes of waste water reuse and recycling. Waste water may be channelled to facilitate all year-round food/vegetable production hence, support market gardening activities in urban areas, thus improving the ability of urban households to generate food.

The chapter also notes that, the recycling of food is also a source of income, as it guarantees that something is at least recovered through reselling of dried food or through the stewing of dried meat going bad in restaurants and hotels. The recycling of some of the food and drink containers in the form of bottles and cans, have also proven to be a source of income, with recycling companies, well spread in Harare. The re-selling of used cans and bottles has now become a source of livelihood for many hence, the improvement in people’s livelihood especially the poor.

The dumping of food waste also has a negative effect on the environment through the creation of land and air pollution, with these having a negative effect on people’s health and well-being. In efforts to improve on environmental awareness, the Government of Zimbabwe have come up with legislation to prohibit industries and households to illegally dispose waste materials in undesignated areas. This has been enforced through the EMA Act and the Urban Councils Act in order to guide people by laying down restrictions and punishments that offenders may suffer from. The government has also introduced clean up campaigns in business organisations, hospitals and schools, for various members of staff to lead by example and collect refuse and litter in their work places every first Friday of the month.

7 Conclusion

It can be concluded that, food waste recycling and reuse constitutes an important component in ensuring the effective functioning of an urban system in terms of guaranteeing for food security for the populace (in good times and bad) and as a waste reduction measure to ensure a clean and safe working and living environment for both flora and fauna. It is also noted that the Zimbabwean government has made great strides in terms of providing legislature to ensure that the disposal of waste at household, industrial and local authority levels are all ensured.