Using All the Value in Food Waste
Much of the conversation around food and organic waste has traditionally focused on a basic question: How should it be disposed of?
A more useful question may be: What value remains in the material?
Food manufacturing residuals can contain nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, organic matter and other nutrients that may have agricultural value. A material that no longer has value in a manufacturing process does not necessarily have to become waste in the traditional sense.
When appropriate materials are properly evaluated, tested and managed, there may be an opportunity to recover some of that remaining value and return it to productive use.
From Disposal to Resource Recovery
Food manufacturers generate a wide variety of residual materials, including production liquids, wastewater, off-spec food products, sludges and other organic byproducts.
The simplest destination for some of these materials may be disposal. In other cases, however, recycling or beneficial reuse can provide an alternative.
At United, the objective is to evaluate appropriate materials and identify the highest and best practical use available. That can include recovering fats and oils, recycling packaging, recovering energy, or returning nutrients and organic matter to agricultural land.
Not every material will have a productive second use. But understanding what is actually in a material can help determine whether one exists.
Understanding Nutrient Value
Agricultural value begins with analysis.
Nutrient concentrations can vary significantly among food manufacturing residuals. Laboratory testing can identify concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other constituents and help determine whether a material may be appropriate for agricultural use.
Those nutrients also have measurable economic value.
As one point of reference, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension’s 2026 Wisconsin corn budget uses an estimated nitrogen price of approximately $0.92 per pound. At an application rate of 150 pounds per acre, nitrogen alone represents approximately $138 per acre before phosphorus, potassium and application costs are considered.
This comparison is not intended to suggest that recycled nutrients will replace $138 per acre of purchased fertilizer. They probably won’t.
It does demonstrate something important: nutrients have value regardless of where they come from.
If an approved recycled material can responsibly provide a portion of a crop’s nutrient requirements, there is potential economic value in putting those nutrients to work rather than disposing of them.
More Than N-P-K
The potential agricultural value of organic residuals is not necessarily limited to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
Depending on the material, residuals may also contain sulfur, micronutrients and organic matter. Organic matter can be an important component of productive agricultural soils.
The actual agronomic value of any material depends on its composition, soil conditions, crop requirements, application rates and other factors. That makes testing, appropriate management and responsible application essential.
Value on Both Ends of the Circular Economy
Nutrient recycling also creates a potential connection between two industries.
Food manufacturers need reliable, responsible solutions for residual materials. Farmers need nutrients and other inputs to produce the next crop.
A properly managed nutrient-recycling program can help connect those needs.
For food manufacturers, this can create an alternative to simply disposing of a residual material and can support landfill-diversion and circularity objectives.
For farmers, it can provide another potential source of nutrients and organic matter.
The result is a more circular path:
Farm → Food Production → Organic Residuals → Nutrient Recovery → Farmland → Food
The process will not work for every material or every farm. Traditional and synthetic fertilizers will continue to play an important role in agriculture.
The opportunity is not to replace them entirely. The opportunity is to make better use of nutrients that already exist.
When food residuals contain recoverable agricultural value, returning that value to productive use can potentially benefit the manufacturer, the farmer and the environment.
Before something is treated as waste, it is worth understanding what is still in it. Sometimes the better solution isn’t disposal. It’s recovery.
Source
University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, 2026 Corn Grain Crop Enterprise Budget.
Fertilizer prices, crop requirements and application costs vary by market, crop and location.
https://outagamie.extension.wisc.edu/budget-enterprise-tool/