Track: Sustainability in Supply Chains and Operations

Abstract

Food waste is a growing problem in our modern society. Approximately one third of the food produced for human consumption is disposed. Food losses and wastes occur along the entire food supply chain from harvesting to consumption. Tackling the problem of food waste will lead to a more sustainable life. Another problem facing our society is the drastic increase in energy consumption due to the continuous growth in the world population and the rise in standard of living. This increase stresses on the amount of fossil fuels being used to meet current demand, and eventually fossil fuel alone will not be able to meet the amount of energy needed by the world. This paper addresses the design of a food waste to bioethanol supply chain to tackle both problems of food wastes and energy. Three key decisions are addressed for the optimal design of the supply chain: (1) the number, sizes and location of the bio-refineries; (2) the sites and amount of food wastes collected; (3) the transportation plans of bioethanol to demand points. A multi objective (Economic, Environmental, social) model is proposed. A case study in Egypt is introduced and is proposed for future implementation.