Opportunities in Waste Sector and Agriculture: Animal Feed from Organic Waste, the climate-friendly Way - Black Soldier Fly

The CCAC Waste Hub members German Environment Agency and UN-Habitat invite you to join this experience exchange with experts from the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) and the German Oeko-Institut.

In a Black Soldier Fly (BSF) waste processing facility, organic waste is efficiently decomposed to produce larvae biomass for animal feed and a residue similar to compost for use as soil fertilizer. This recycling diverts organics from landfills or dumps, thus avoiding methane formation. Providing alternatives to conventional soil fertilizers and animal feed further avoids greenhouse gas emissions from their production. Does this mean that BSF facilities are “climate friendlier” than other biowaste recycling options?

The BSF insects thrive best in tropical climates (24-30°C), and most technical applications are located in these climate zones, yielding positive climate mitigation and business results. This will be demonstrated through a presentation by EAWAG of BSF projects in Indonesia. However, how does the climate impact look like in moderate to colder climates, where heating/energy of breeding and feeding installations might be significant? The Oeko-Institut will discuss this aspect based on data for Germany, adding ideas on how to improve the energy and climate balance of BFS installations in less favourable climate conditions.

Main speakers:

• Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag):
  • Chris Zurbrügg - Senior Researcher and directorate member of Eawag, and adjunct professor at the Swedish Agricultural University (SLU). Expert on circular economy and municipal (organic) waste management strategies and technologies for low and middle-income countries.
  • Stefan Diener - Senior researcher and entomologist, and Co-author of the Step-by-Step Guide for Black Soldier Fly Biowaste Processing that summarises the experience with a BSF pilot plant in Indonesia. Expert on black soldier fly technology focussing on facilities operated primarily manually and converting mainly municipal organic waste from markets, restaurants or households.
• German Oeko-Institut:
  • Dr.-Ing. Winfried Bulach - Senior researcher at Oeko-Institut focusing on critical raw materials, circular economy, life cycle assessment and material flow analysis. His workscope includes life cycle assessment according to DIN EN ISO 14040/44, such as "Identification of criteria for other high-quality recycling of biowaste" or "Ecological implications of thermal waste incineration plants".

Agenda

• Opening Remarks:
  • CCAC context: Sandra Mazo-Nix, CCAC Waste Hub Coordinator (5 min)
  • UN-Habitat+Previous Webinars/NUA Campus context: Francesca Calisesi, UN-Habitat (5 min)
• Presentation: BSF facilities in tropical and warm climates – the climate friendly alternative in waste management (20-25 min)
• Presentation: BSF facilities in temperate and cold climate – important factors to be a climate friendly alternative in waste management (15-20 min)
• Q and A (20 min)
• Closing Remarks: Anja Schwetje, German Environment Agency (5 min)

Moderator: Sandra Mazo-Nix, CCAC

More information about the Black Soldier Fly insect technology

• Deep Dive # 3: Treatment of Organic Waste – Black Soldier Fly Larvae Composting – NUA Campus
• Practical knowhow on BSF biowaste processing – Webpage with plenty of resources on how to set up a BSF facility (based on experience in Indonesia): Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology
• BSF Step by step guide
• Cost model: Plan your site (bsfsandec.com)
• GHG emission measurement from BSF – Scientific article (based on pilot plant in Indonesia): Black Soldier Fly biowaste treatment - Assessment of global warming potential - PubMed (nih.gov)

• Insects to Feed the World Conference in Quebec City, 12-16 June: https://www.ifw2022.org/en 

• BSF map of facilities: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=13N9AZT1uSulkCjxoEk3fh2s32YEFgKnh&ll=35.559468970785474%2C-42.320752151008584&z=3

Webex meeting recording
Recording link: https://unep.webex.com/unep/ldr.php?RCID=741589f009438a9c9e29001d3ccc1b30

Password: ApWPYRF9