Food and agricultural waste management is undertaken to recycling the wastes so as to reduce the ill effects of wastes on environment, health and aesthetics. The waste may be either in solid, liquid or gaseous form. The process of food and agricultural waste management varies for rural and urban areas, for municipal and industrial waste, for developed and developing nations. The management of municipal wastes is responsibility of local government while as the management of agricultural waste is the responsibility of farmers. The developed nations use various novel technologies to reduce the negative impacts of waste or use and effective management to exploit it.
Food and agricultural waste of different consistencies requires different management techniques and handling equipment. Food and agricultural waste may be in the form of liquid, slurry, semisolid, or solid, waste, such as manure can change consistency throughout the system, all the year. The total solid concentration of manure is the main characteristic that indicates how the material can be handled.
Presently, reducing food and agricultural waste has become the main agenda of many governments, NGOs, and other societies in many countries. Food and agricultural waste is nothing but remnants of our used stuff as vegetables, food stuff, animal waste etc. which people are practicing and reusing them daily by repurposing for their utility since ancient times. Due to modern urbanization and industrialization, the concept of repurposing has changed by new waste management and recycling technology invention, together with use and throw concept.
State and local authority must be contacted for necessary permits obtained before land application. Many permits require ongoing monitoring of groundwater and possibly soil and plant matter. Hydraulic loading is often ignored. If the site has a high water table or low permeability, the amount of water that can be applied generally is reduced. In some food processing waste, the level of salt is too high for land application. Most food processing waste land application sites should be designed by a professional who has experience in these type systems.
Many agricultural enterprises use large amounts of agricultural chemicals. The use of these chemicals seems to increase the cost of labor increases. With this increased uses comes the potential for surface and groundwater contamination as a result of improper storage of chemical residue, rinse water, and unused chemicals and the improper disposal of empty containers. State and local authority should be considered before planning any chemical handling system.