Abstract:
Food waste management is a critical environmental issue in many developing countries,
including Bangladesh, due to unplanned food waste disposal and lack of dedicated food waste
legislation. In those countries, a significant amount of food waste is discarded to the environment
rather than being recycled. In Bangladesh, food waste is traditionally often used for composting,
landfilling, and feeding animals, as there is no valorization option. In addition, food waste and food
waste streams of food industries are utilized for the recycling and production of diverse economically
valuable bioactive compounds. Therefore, we conducted a detailed literature review on food waste
management and valorization options in Bangladesh and discussed the findings in the context of
global status. The amount of food waste in Bangladesh is quite high, and it needs to be recycled to
promote the circular economy of this developing nation. In this study, it is revealed that various
research uncertainties and gaps regarding sustainable food waste management exist in Bangladesh,
which should be investigated as priority research. Furthermore, a logical and global synchronization
of the contemporary approach to food waste valorization with policy advocacy is proposed, to
ensure efficient food waste decontamination and recycling in Bangladesh. This is the first and most
comprehensive evaluation of the present research trend and prospects for sustainable recycling of
food waste for the circular economy of Bangladesh.
Keywords: food waste; waste valorization; circular economy; developing country; policy management; sustainable recycling
