Food loss and waste (FLW) reduction, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has prioritized addressing food waste. The primary task is source reduction, such as minimizing food waste or donating surplus food to food banks for redistribution, thereby preventing food loss and waste. The second priority is reusing inedible or uneaten food scraps or waste, such as animal feed. The third priority is utilizing anaerobic digestion to recover bio-energy or composting to fertilizer. Finally, landfilling or incineration is a last resort. The FAO's policy objective is to continuously promote the diversified reuse of food waste.

 

Since February 2019, the Ministry of Environment has invested NT$1.3 billion in subsidies in various regions for construction of food waste treatment facilities. To date, a total of 2 biomass energy plants, 11 black soldier fly larvae facilities, and 14 high-efficiency composting facilities have been completed. In addition, 45 previously established traditional composting sites have been improved with professional suggestions provided by experts and scholars to improve the quality of the products after compost. Fertilizer can be made available to the public for free or exchanged for recycled items. In addition, after local governments obtain the fertilizer registration certificate, the finished compost products can be sold to increase their annual income.

 

The administration will promote the reduction and recycling of food waste. The amount of food waste recycled decreased from 595,000 tons in 2018 to 522,000 tons in 2025. Of this, 229,000 tons were composted (44.0%), 57,000 tons were used for bio-energy (10.9%), 197,000 tons were used for pig farming (37.7%), and others such as black soldier fly farming (15,000 tons, 2.9%), incineration and landfill (24,000 tons, 4.5%). In the future, we will continue to promote the use of food waste for fertilizer, anaerobic digestion for power generation, black soldier fly farming and cooperate with the Ministry of Agriculture to promote the use of food waste for animal feed.