ABSTRACT
Agriculture and food industries are the sources of survival for human lives. Globally, these sectors provide 24 million tons of food and are estimated to increase the production up to more than 10 billion by 2050. The exponentially growing population has put immense pressure to further increase Agricultural production. Unfortunately, in the overall process from farming to product utilization, huge quantities of waste are produced that increase around 7.5% annually. These wastes are mainly in the form of farm agricultural waste, industrial agricultural wastes, livestock (meat) production and processing wastes, fertilizers and on-farm medical wastes, horticultural and other chemical waste, packaging and manufacturing waste, kitchen waste etc. The improper management of these wastes causes various ecological hazards like increased soil and water contamination, air pollution, smog formation, increased greenhouse gases, damage to aquatic biomes, increased loads on landfills, etc. This creates both environmental deterioration and economic loss to the population. Open dumping of these wastes causes stinky odor on decomposition, attracts fleas and pests, forms leachates that flow and contaminate the soil and nearby water resources, causing serious health issues for humans. This problem increases further due to a lack of knowledge about the hazardous impacts of agricultural and kitchen wastes on the environment when they are disposed of in an unplanned and unprocessed manner. But these waste products have some crucial physiochemical and biological properties that make them cheap, feasible, economical, and eco-friendly materials for utilization in some industries like construction, energy and fuel, packaging, water purifying, skincare, fertilizer, etc. The purpose of this review study is to understand the effects of agricultural and kitchen waste on the surrounding environment. The review of prevailing and advanced techniques for proper utilization and management of this waste in other industries may help in spreading awareness for a better ecological and economically stable future of the earth.
