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Food Waste: How Does it Affect the Environment?

1 in 3 people have no access to sufficient nutrients and food, according to the United Nations. More people die from lack of food than tuberculosis, AIDS and malaria combined.

While people die from hunger, nearly 1/3rd of food is wasted or lost for one reason or another. Food waste isn’t only an economic loss and has environmental implications.

Here’s what you should know about its environmental impact and how solid waste management can help.

Food Waste: Some Insight

Over 50% of food waste takes place during yield handling, production and storage, whereas the other half of wastage is associated with the consumption, processing and distribution phase.

The high and middle-income territories have higher food waste and loss at the consumption level. In contrast, developing regions waste or lose food during the production and storage phase due to a lack of infrastructure and harvest techniques.

Environmental Impact of Food Waste

You may think that discarding leftover food doesn’t do much damage to the environment, but it’s just as damaging to the planet.

Look at it this way: tossing away food also means throwing away resources used to produce the food. These precious resources include limited natural and land resources, biodiversity and social cost.

Do you know food waste and loss account for 1/3rd of total greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans? It generates 8% of gases annually.

Loss of Natural Resources

As mentioned earlier, food waste leads to the loss of natural resources, namely water, energy and fuel.

Water accounts for 70% of agricultural production, from irrigation to cattle rearing. When you waste food, you waste water which results in water shortages.

Causes Climate Change

Food waste that ends up in landfills releases methane – a greenhouse gas which is 25x stronger than CO2. Methane lingers in the environment for 12 years, thus, capturing the sun’s heat. So it contributes to 20% of greenhouse gas emissions globally.

Contributes to Land Degradation

Food waste can also affect physical land. More arable land is used for livestock to graze due to the higher demand for meat. If this continues, we’ll over-stress our land leading to its degradation. It’ll damage biodiversity in the future.

One Solution: Feed the anaerobic digesters

Food waste management company collects and delivers the collected waste to Fram Digesters as supplement to dairy cow manure to enhance power generation. Other options are to use Vermi-Cycle process in trenchs  to compost  food waste and produce natural fertilizer, compost and  Liquid fertilizer as other sustainable products to reduce the environmental impact of food waste.

Larsen Engineers actively designs Food waste management facilities to reuse and recycle organic waste. As anaerobic digester Developer  in Rochester, we design build  farm waste  systems for energy recovery and composting.

We also help our clients with food waste management problems at different stages. Get in touch with our environmental management consultant for waste management solutions.

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The Importance of Waste Management

Waste Management improves the quality of the air and water and keeps us healthy. Learn more about the importance of waste management.

The Importance of Waste Management

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What you Should know about Solar Energy

Behind a sustainable energy future it is solar energy that is the key to achieve it. Find out more on what you should know about solar energy.

What you Should know about Solar Energy

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3 Sustainable Design Trends Used in Affordable Housing Electrification and Green Energy Conservation and Generation

More and more facilities are becoming conservative about their resource consumption, taking major approaches to push for sustainability. Many of these design trends have also been implemented across various affordable housing schemes. Not only do these use reusable elements, but they focus on getting zero emissions, reducing power consumption, and making a huge difference.

These are some of the most common design trends found across affordable housing communities for sustainability:

Green Roofs

Many major housing communities are opting for green roofing to take on sustainable strategies. They have numerous advantages. Plants help with temperature regulation, allowing buildings to use less power for cooling. Similarly, they’re great for absorbing water during rainy seasons.

An additional advantage is that these plants clean up the environment, allowing people to come to relax in the area. The fresh air and calming environment are additional perks. Depending on the roof’s area, you can opt for either partial setups or complete coverups.

Renewable Energy via Solar Panels

Affordable housing communities are also taking the initiative to adopt clean energy, and lower their carbon emissions by opting for renewable forms of energy. Considering that they require constant energy to keep vital systems running, there’s a necessity for energy storage. For this, communities are now using solar panels.

A large grid of solar panels.

In conjunction with green roofs, they’re setting up solar panels that can cover nearly 30% of their electric utilities. Moreover, solar panels can also help meet their electricity needs at night.

Energy Efficient Lighting

Affordable housing communities are opting for energy-efficient lighting solutions, replacing incandescent bulbs with more energy-efficient bulbs. These take up significantly less power and provide a longer lifespan while offering the same intensity of light. Considering the large scale of many communities, replacing each unit is not an easy task but it has helped affordable housing communities save heavily on their bills.

At Larsen Engineers, we’re collaborating with affordable housing communities to implement energy-efficient methods for more sustainable means. We’re also helping out architectural firms, municipalities, and government agencies reduce their carbon footprint, ensuring the same level of productivity and results for their operations.

Reach out to us for community planning, energy conservation, and sustainable site development consultants today!   

Comments (0) energy conservation solutions, energy saving solutions, Sustainable Design Solutions

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Renewable Energy a Step towards a Greener Future

Renewable energy contributes greatly in generating power. Find out more on how renewable energy is a step towards a greener future.

Renewable Energy a Step towards a Greener Future

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All You Need to Know About LEED and Smart Controls

LEED-certified municipal engineering solutions have become immensely popular in the last decade as more and more property owners lean toward LEED building design, incorporating “greener” approaches to lower energy consumption.

This includes using LEED smart controls, especially occupancy and daylight sensors. Here’s why using the two types of smart control systems can help lower your energy consumption.

Using Daylight Sensors to Lower Energy Consumption

Daylight sensors reduce the LED light output and incorporate natural lighting to maintain the existing level of brightness in a space. These smart sensors can effectively detect and utilize the sunlight available in an area, lowering the need for electrical consumption. This approach is known as daylight harvesting and is popularly implemented in building designs to minimize energy consumption and costs.

Daylight sensors are ideal for residential and commercial structures alike. Including these LEED smart sensors in your home design can help you reduce energy bills and make the most of natural lighting during the day. Similarly, daylight sensors can be included in commercial buildings with plenty of corridors and glass windows, helping business owners maximize daylight and save energy costs.

The sensors are also suited for the outdoor areas surrounding multi-structure complexes and commercial buildings, such as office spaces and parking lots. They continue to adjust to the natural lighting available during the day, lowering overall energy consumption.

Using Occupancy Sensors to Lower Energy Consumption

Occupancy sensors detect motion and presence. Unlike motion detectors that only identify movement, these LEED smart controls detect the occupancy of a space. In doing so, they automatically switch the lights on or off, ensuring electricity isn’t wasted.

 a hand stretched toward the sun

What sets these detectors apart is that they don’t switch off lights if there’s no movement. Thus, even if you’re stationary within a room, the detector will react to your presence and function accordingly. This makes them ideal for commercial buildings, especially office cubicles and other areas where movement may be minimal. Additionally, occupancy sensors can also be included in residential structures. You can add them to small spaces, such as storage closets, porches, and bathrooms.

They can be integrated with daylight sensors to further maximize energy efficiency, ensuring you don’t end up wasting electricity when nobody’s in the room/building corridor.

Our LEED-certified team at Larsen Engineers helps architectural firms, municipalities, and government agencies adopt green sustainable design for residential and commercial buildings. Reach out to our community planning, energy conservation, and sustainable site development consultants today for more details about smart control systems.   

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How Larsen Engineers is Helping Save the Environment with Their Efforts to Reduce Our Carbon Footprint

The truth is that small changes alone won’t be enough to rescue the earth. Institutional climate action is required to prevent global warming from exceeding the critical 2-degree Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) threshold.

However, it doesn’t mean that you should feel powerless or that your efforts are in vain. Reducing your individual carbon footprint can help soothe your anxiety about the climate by giving you some control. Even the simplest acts will help preserve our planet’s habitability. So, with that in mind, here’s how Larsen Engineers are doing their part in reducing our carbon footprint.

They are Helping Out with Syracuse, NY, Local Waterfront

Revitalization Program

In order to eliminate obstacles to sustainable development, the LWRP will amend municipal regulations and ordinances, give ideas, and identify projects that do so. It will also include sea level rise forecasts and resiliency measures in community planning. The NYS (New York State) and DOS (Department of State) (DOS) have financed this procedure under Title 11 of the Environmental Protection Fund.

The main purpose of the LWRP is to increase and promote public access to the waterfront and foster coastal resilience while minimizing the effects of future flooding and sea level rise. They are also trying to improve water quality, address related water quality issues, and reduce conflict between recreational and commercial waterfront users.

Larsen Engineers ( as sub-consultants)  are playing their part in the LWRP by focusing on renewable energy sources. They are also actively participating in stormwater recycling and reuse. Their main aim was to actively reduce the risk of floods and pollution migration in our urban environment due to the steadily rising impermeable fraction. In addition to providing fit-for-purpose water sources as an alternative to potable water supply, treatment of captured stormwater guarantees the dependability and sustainability of the water management in the area.

During the LWRP, Larsen Engineers also actively participated in the plantation of trees to reduce CO2 emissions and improve the overall aesthetics of the location. After all, scientists refer to trees as “carbon sinks” because as they grow, they absorb and store carbon from the air in their wood, plant material, and soil. Ultimately, trees significantly reduce our carbon footprint by absorbing a significant amount of carbon dioxide that would otherwise stay in the atmosphere.

Wrapping Up

As you can see, Larsen Engineers is doing its part in creating a more “green” and sustainable society. So, now is the time you do the same and give sustainable living a go. Hopefully, you’ll see the positive side of how living “green” can positively impact our environment and halt this abrupt and dangerous climate change!

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A Practical Toolkit to Introduce Renewable Energy to Low-Income Communities

Many public housing communities in various parts of the USA either do not have access to Clean energy, or their costs exceed the budget available to them. In such situations, it becomes necessary to provide them with renewable energy by utilizing the Federal and State grants and incentives available to solar developers to serve such residential customers. Not only is it a cheaper alternative to many conventional means in the long run, but it also creates a self-sufficient environment that can help areas thrive.

Low-income communities tend to benefit the most from these. Here are some ways they can benefit from them:

Solar Energy

Solar energy can be converted into electric energy using photovoltaic panels. The process is fairly optimal and is one of the most environmentally clean solutions for renewable energy. The go-to solution for powering various components and lighting up low-income communities is solar energy produced at Privately owned and financed Community solar farms.

An array of solar panels.

With an extensive enough setup, larger areas can easily be accommodated with enough energy for comfortable residence and communal development in low-income areas. Working with a professional team with adequate experience can help with maximum yield and efficient installation.

Energy Efficient Lighting

One of the most basic solutions to improve the state of renewable energy is to conserve the energy already available. Energy-efficient lighting provides significant savings, consuming around 10% of the energy that incandescent bulbs take up. They also last fairly longer due to less heat production and more reliable, modern components.

Using better LEDs and smart controls is a great way of promoting the use of renewable energy and instilling a proper behavioral change in the concept.

Solar Thermal Water Heaters

Another great use of solar energy is to use of solar thermal water heaters. They’re an excellent way of reducing the need for other means to heat water, transferring heat from the sun to heat the water in communities. They’re mounted on the roof and are connected to a control unit and a water tank.

Heat falls on the collector, aka the solar panel, which then gets transferred to the water. All of the hot water is stored in an appropriate tank to be used later on.

Larsen Engineers is a Rochester-based business. We offer climate smart green designs for LEED-certification municipal engineering services, anaerobic digestion design services, structural engineering services, construction phase services, consulting engineering services, and civil and environmental engineering to our clients.

Our climate-smart community planning consultants are focused on helping out communities and sparking change for a better future. Get in touch with us today.

Comments (0) Community Management, Renewable Energy, solar energy consulting solutions

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The Benefits Of Anaerobic digesters on Dairy Farms

Anaerobic digesters possess the capability to improve the system’s overall efficiency and environmental performance. Learn more about the benefits of anaerobic digesters on dairy farms.

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Climate Smart Solutions

Reducing the carbon footprint is one the main goals for many businesses and communities. Find out some climate smart solutions that you should implement.

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