ANJA touts circular model to cut waste

A waste-free future could be closer than we think, despite a modern economy built on waste in which the food industry is by far the biggest culprit.

Roughly a third of the food produced worldwide is wasted, and it would only take a quarter of the wasted food to feed the world’s hungry, according to the UN.

Sustainability advocate Marc Buckley thinks he’s found the solution.

Mr Buckley is chief executive of ANJA GmbH and Co KG, a sustainable food and drink company that creates products using renewable energy and conservative water methods that create very little waste.

An American living in Germany, he advocates tirelessly for waste reduction methods that he says can be adopted by companies around the world to create a “circular” food economy.

He and his wife have grand plans for the world’s premier waste-free food and drink factory, but as of yet the idea remains in the planning phase.

In a circular economy, products can be created in a closed loop and recycled back into the system with near-zero waste. This means using renewable energy, recycling water and putting all waste materials back into production.

“Global food reform is the key,” Mr Buckley said. “Without that, we will not be around for long. We have less food nutrition in our food than ever, but with the circular economy, whatever you produce will be nutritious and environmentally sustainable.”

He said Asia is ripe for sustainable agriculture techniques. Aquaponics, a system of farming in which waste produced by farmed fish is used to fertilise the soil for hydroponically grown crops, could be a huge boon for the region.

Plant-based meats like Heme and laboratory-grown meat substitutes could drastically reduce greenhouse gases generated from animal farming.

“Business owners often ask how they can produce something sustainable that competes with cheap, unsustainable meat,” Mr Buckley said. “With the complete nexus of water and energy, I can compete because I use all my own water and energy.”

Another breakthrough sustainable technology Mr Buckley mentioned relates to the fishing industry and could be a gamechanger for Thailand specifically.

Most commercial fishing boats throw out 80-90% of the fish caught in their nets. With a new product called Safety Net, fishing vessels can use LED lights to attract the fish they want to catch and send away the fish they don’t.

Each fish species sees a different light spectrum, so certain coloured lights can be used near escape holes in the nets, leading unwanted fish to safety, while luring in marketable fish species.

Humid countries like Thailand could also make better use of ambient water, a system that extracts clean drinking water out of the air. Large factories all the way down to street vendors could use dehumidifier machines to make their water usage 100% sustainable.

“I think it is possible we could get a food industry that has zero waste,” Mr Buckley said. “It’s up to us to see if it will occur.”