Shelf Life extension of cooked food: A modified atmospheric approach to reduce municipal solid waste

According to 62.2% of the Field Supervisors of Delhi Waste Management Company, food is always thrown into MCD Bins. 44.4% say both unserved and food leftover in the plates is thrown into the bins. As per the quantum of food found in bins placed near the venue of social gatherings, 44.4% say it is between 20-30% while 11.1% say it is between 30-40%. 50% say that more food wastage is found in bins near Banquet Hall / marriage home and 38.9% say in the bins near hotels/ restaurants and clubs. According to study there is high wastage of boiled vegetables, vegetable and dal. During general seasons the food wastage in bins in normally less than 20% but during the marriage seasons it goes up to as high as 40% of the total waste. This paper attempts to tackle with untouched cooked food waste management in our urban cities. Untouched food waste is an enormous contributor to the municipal waste stream, and its generation has significant immediate and long-term economic as well as environmental consequences that many Indians are oblivious to. Food waste is of particular interest to regulatory bodies because nationally the cost of waste disposal has skyrocketed in recent years and will likely only continue to increase.