Research & reports

Isabelle van der Zanden, Gelieke G.T. Steeghs, Lieke Moereels, G. F. Veen · Agroforestry Systems · Global

This study examined litter decomposition dynamics in food forests, perennial multi-layered food production systems gaining popularity as alternatives to intensive, input-dependent agriculture that rely on nutrient recycling via litter decomposition. Litter from Alnus glutinosa (black alder), Corylus avellana (common hazel), and Castanea sativa (sweet chestnut), ranging from high to low litter quality, was decomposed in food forests planted on former grasslands and compared with neighboring grasslands. Litter bags of varying mesh size were used to assess the relative contribution of microbes and micro-, meso-, and macrofauna to short-term litter mass loss, and abundance and biomass of key decomposer groups were quantified. Decomposer communities differed between land use types: food forests harbored a higher abundance of oribatid mites but a lower abundance and biomass of earthworms and lower arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi biomass than grasslands. Overall litter mass loss differed little between the systems, except that high-quality litter accessible to the full decomposer community lost more mass in grasslands. The lowest-quality litter (sweet chestnut) decomposed slowest, with its rate unaffected by mesh size or land use. High-quality leaf litter generally decomposed faster in grasslands than in food forests, and the distinct decomposer communities in young food forests did not favor breakdown of recalcitrant litter.

Listya Utami Karmawan, Rory Anthony Hutagalung, Yanti Yanti, Irwin Suryaatmadja, Michelle Nadine Hardjawidjaja, Yasinta Ratna Esti Wulandari · Journal of Saintech Transfer · Indonesia

The abstract describes a project with the Villa Ciomas RW 10 Farmer Group (PokTan Vici 10) in Ciomas Rahayu Village, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, which practices urban farming on a small plot beside the Cisindangbarang River and already had a small fishpond but lacked aquaponics equipment. A community service team aimed to enhance the urban farming facility by installing aquaponics equipment, running workshops on basic hydroponics and aquaponics knowledge, exploring business potential, and providing hands-on cultivation practice, with monitoring and guidance throughout. The hydroponic/aquaponics installation succeeded, though nutrient supply from the fishponds alone was initially suboptimal, requiring supplemental hydroponic nutrients; hydroponic techniques were also introduced for vegetable cultivation. A pre/post-training questionnaire analysis showed the program significantly improved participants' knowledge and aquaponic skills (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p<0.05). The aquaponics equipment was installed successfully, and participants gained foundational knowledge and skills enabling them to manage aquaponics systems independently through to harvest; the community plans to explore business opportunities selling hydroponic/aquaponic products.

Robert C. Brears · Cambridge University Press eBooks · Global

This book chapter outlines best practices and strategies for cities transitioning toward becoming circular and liveable. It covers applying circular economy principles across urban sectors including waste management, energy efficiency, transportation and urban agriculture, using a 5R approach — reduce, reuse, recycle, restore and recover. It presents strategies such as energy-efficient financing for building retrofits, grant programmes for water reuse, and e-waste collection and disposal systems, and discusses public participation and stakeholder collaboration through a Quadruple Helix model involving academia, industry, government and civil society. Case studies from Amsterdam, Paris and Copenhagen illustrate circular business models and governance frameworks, and the chapter sets out a roadmap centered on education, policy innovation and community engagement.

João Manoel da Silva, Maria Celia de Paula Rocha, Mariana de Aquino Freitas, Érika Sabrina Felix Azevedo, Rafael Balbino Cardoso, Vitória R. R. de A. R. Ramalho · Revista de Gestão e Secretariado (Management and Administrative Professional Review) · Brazil

This project diagnosed the socioeducational profile, prior knowledge, and training needs of residents in several municipalities of the Alagoas semi-arid region (sertão alagoano) of Brazil, using an electronic questionnaire and a quali-quantitative analysis of responses, followed by thematic training cycles on "Cultivation in Small Spaces," "What to Plant," and "Ecological Management" to spread agroecological practices in urban, peri-urban, and backyard-garden settings. Results showed most participants already had some cultivation space and strong interest in sustainable practices such as composting and organic fertilization, though some showed technical limitations; women and young people predominated among respondents, and all participants expressed interest in further training, prioritizing digital materials such as explanatory videos and educational booklets.

Made Dwi Kanaka Sarahswati, Dew Ayu Trisna Adhiswari Wedagama · Penamas Journal of Community Service · Indonesia

A community service program in Dauh Puri Kaja Village, Denpasar, Indonesia (2025) combined urban farming with 3R-based waste management (reduce, reuse, recycle), providing hands-on training at the local Balai Banjar in waste sorting and composting organic waste for use in urban farming, followed by compost distribution at the village's waste management site. Reported outcomes were improved community understanding of using compost for household-scale farming and of proper waste segregation; the program's anticipated longer-term community impact was stated as an expectation, not a measured result.

Marlina Marlina, Muhammad Hafizh, Putra Jaya Gea, Yovi Avianto · Abdimas Galuh · Indonesia

A community outreach program at the KWT Sumber Rejeki women farmers' group production garden in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, held on November 26, 2024 (Abdimas Galuh, 2025), delivered counseling and hands-on training on preparing and applying a natural bactericide made from aloe vera waste to address bacterial wilt disease in chili cultivation. Reported outcomes were increased member knowledge and skill regarding bactericide definitions, benefits, natural ingredients, production technique, and application method, with high participant engagement. The program's authors note that the effectiveness of the aloe vera bactericide in actually suppressing Ralstonia solanacearum growth had not yet been evaluated and recommend this, along with testing on other horticultural crops, as follow-up work.

Pierre‐Alexandre Deyris, Franck Pélissier, Claire M. Grison, Claude Grison · Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances · Global

Herbicide use worldwide has doubled over the past 30 years, and diuron contamination of tropical aquatic ecosystems — affecting food crops such as pineapple — has been reported across Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and Africa. This perspective article examines taro (Colocasia esculenta), a widely cultivated crop whose tubers are consumed locally, as a nature-based means of mitigating diuron impact on tropical aquatic ecosystems through rhizofiltration, i.e., phytoaccumulation of the herbicide by the roots. Analysis of treated tubers found that diuron levels in the tuber core were below recommended European standards, indicating the tubers could remain edible for the local population and confirming compatibility with existing food uses.

Christos Ioannides, Alexandra Tsatsou, Daniel Mamais, Simos Malamis, Georgios Tsimiklis, Dimitra Tsiakou, Z. Tsiropoulos, Mariarina Michailidou, Apostolos Tzourtziotis, Christina Karaberi, Orestis Raptis, Constantinos Noutsopoulos · Urban Water Journal · Europe

This study presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of a city-wide pilot of circular urban agriculture across 31 locations in Trikala, Greece. The pilots included rainwater harvesting, precision irrigation, composting, and an online monitoring platform. Assessed through a mixed-methods approach using 20 environmental, economic, and social indicators, the system showed stable technical performance and effectiveness in reducing resource consumption.

Ratna Suminar, Nyang Vania Ayuningtyas Harini, Gian Sapta Andrialin · Journal of Agriculture and Animal Science · Indonesia

Against a backdrop of low vegetable consumption in Indonesia and rising demand for environmentally friendly urban farming solutions, a systematic literature review of sources published between 2016 and 2024 — accredited journals, reference books and research reports — examined the nutrient and bioactive-compound content of microgreens, their health benefits, and their potential for cultivation at scales including the household. It found that microgreens are high in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, have a short harvest period and low land requirements, that technologies such as LED lighting, growing media and seed quality strongly affect cultivation success, and that challenges remain in distribution and product shelf life.

Daniel Sgrancio Uliana, Rhaiza Marcia Passos Leal, Sara Jarske Gering, Érica Aguiar Moraes, Jackline Freitas Brilhante de São José · Revista Guará · Brazil

This experience report covers activities of the Brazilian university extension project "PANCCult: Cultivating Knowledge and Flavors of Unconventional Edible Plants," carried out from November 2021 to January 2024, which conducted social media outreach, organized and participated in events sharing nutritional and culinary information, carried out activities in an urban community garden, and produced scientific materials on unconventional edible plants (PANC) and urban community gardens. The report concludes the project contributed to disseminating knowledge about PANC and provided professional-training opportunities for extension students while encouraging sustainable use of plant biodiversity.

Pires M. J. F. C. D. S., Ribeiro S. A., Ferreira L. S., Antunes L. F. S., Uzeda M. C., Correia M. E. F. · Environmental Monitoring and Assessment · ブラジル・リオデジャネイロ市

A survey testing whether agroecological urban agriculture plots — described as remnants of biodiversity that also provide ecosystem services, food security and income — can shelter soil fauna in an urban setting. Fifteen areas forming a gradient from different plantations to forest were selected in the Campo Grande and Vargem Grande neighbourhoods of western Rio de Janeiro. At each area a transect of three sampling points 5 m apart was established; soil mesofauna was sampled with a specific auger from the litter layer down to 10 cm, and earthworms by the TSBF method at 0–10 cm. Soil fertility and texture were analysed at each point, landscape features were measured within buffers around each site, and multivariate techniques including principal component analysis were used to identify which soil attributes and landscape features most affect the occurrence and abundance of soil invertebrates.

Shaikh Tanveer Hossain · Organic Eprints (International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems, and Research Institute of Organic Agriculture) · Asia

A report by Dr. Hossain discusses the transformation of organic farming through technological, ecological, and social innovation, citing examples including precision farming, community supported agriculture, biological pest control, and digital traceability systems. Case studies of an organic sack-garden for household nutrition, integrated rice-duck farming for pest control and soil health, and a Zero Energy Cold Chamber (ZECC) for post-harvest storage are described as demonstrating low-cost, replicable models that improved smallholders' incomes and sustainability. The report cites the Asian Productivity Organization's "Green Productivity" framework as linking productivity gains with environmental stewardship across the Asia-Pacific region.

Sarah Kakadellis, Herman D. Delgado, Russell Teall, R. Gándara León, Christopher W. Simmons, Edward S. Spang · Journal of Agriculture and Food Research · Global

This greenhouse experiment tested liquid food waste-derived digestate (FWDD) as a biofertilizer for community learning gardens, growing tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) under four treatments: potting medium alone, medium with synthetic mineral fertilizer, medium with compost, and medium with a compost-FWDD blend. The mineral-fertilizer control produced the highest total fruit yield, but total edible fruit yield and total fruit weight were similar between the control and the compost-FWDD blend, which produced the largest average fruit weight; compost and compost-FWDD treatments produced lighter, tarter—though not more acidic—tomatoes, and no detrimental soil effects from FWDD were observed, though the authors note further research is needed to assess social perceptions and life cycle impacts.

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · United States

An EPA summary of its 2024 survey of anaerobic digestion facilities processing food waste in the U.S., covering 313 identified facilities with 65 operating facilities responding (24% response rate). Excluding beverage-industry waste, processed tonnage rose from about 1.36 million tons in 2022 to about 1.43 million tons in 2023.

環境省 · 環境省 環境再生・資源循環局 廃棄物適正処理推進課 · Japan

A press release from Japan's Ministry of the Environment summarizing FY2023 nationwide municipal solid waste generation and disposal. Total waste generation was 38.97 million tonnes (down 3.4% year on year), the recycling rate was 19.5%, and final disposal volume was 3.16 million tonnes. Of 1,004 incineration facilities, 411 had power generation equipment, generating 10,254 GWh in total.

農林水産省 · 農林水産省 新事業・食品産業部 · Japan

Industry-specific targets for food-recycling implementation rates set under Japan's basic policy on promoting the recycling of food-related resources (Food Recycling Act), published March 14, 2025: 95% for food manufacturing, 75% for wholesale, 65% for retail, and 50% for food service.

環境省 · 環境省 環境再生・資源循環局 廃棄物適正処理推進課 · Japan

Japan's Ministry of the Environment statistical compendium on FY2023 municipal solid waste management. The national waste-flow chart shows total waste generation of 38,974 thousand tonnes and total recycled volume of 7,633 thousand tonnes (recycling rate 19.5%). Of the 6,234 thousand tonnes recycled by municipalities, 119 thousand tonnes (1.9%) went to fertilizer and 6 thousand tonnes (0.1%) to animal feed.

ADEME · ADEME Infos · France

One year after France's January 2024 mandate for source-separated food waste, ADEME reports that about 50% of residents (32.1 million people) now have access to municipal sorting services, 56% sort their food waste, and 9 million tonnes of biowaste per year have been diverted from incineration and landfill, backed by €100 million in green-fund investment since 2023.

Anne Lenormand · Banque des Territoires (Localtis) · France

Reporting that France's source-separation infrastructure for biowaste has tripled in three years since the January 2024 legal mandate, giving 32.1 million French residents (about 50%) access to sorting solutions (municipal collection, individual and shared composting). The rollout had a difficult start but is now accelerating, with 20 million more residents expected to gain access.

Jacob Wallace · Waste Dive · United States

NYC's Department of Sanitation began enforcing mandatory curbside organics separation on April 1, 2025, issuing nearly 2,000 summonses in the first week, but Mayor Adams paused broad enforcement through 2025 on April 18, limiting fines to persistent violators. The city had distributed about 190,000 free bins and sold 63,000 more, and organics diversion had risen 65% from FY2022 to FY2024.

FAO · FAO (FAOSTAT Analytical Brief) · Global

According to a FAOSTAT analytical brief, global agricultural use of inorganic fertilizers rose 34 percent, from 142 million tonnes in 2002 to 190 million tonnes in 2023. Per-hectare application rates of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium all increased over the period, and world production reached 208 million tonnes in 2023, up 40 percent since 2002.

US Environmental Protection Agency · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · United States

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) was passed on October 21, 1976, amending the 1965 Solid Waste Disposal Act, and established three programs: solid waste (Subtitle D, landfill criteria), hazardous waste (Subtitle C, cradle-to-grave management), and underground storage tanks (Subtitle I).

US Environmental Protection Agency · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · United States

U.S. municipal solid waste (MSW) generation reached 292.4 million tons in 2018. The landfilling rate fell from 94 percent in 1960 to 50 percent in 2018, while the combined recycling and composting rate rose from just over 6 percent in 1960 to 32.1 percent in 2018, including 25 million tons composted and 69 million tons recycled.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) · U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) · Global

This is the Phosphate Rock entry of USGS's annual Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025. U.S. 2024 marketable production was 20,000 thousand metric tons (about 20 million tons, valued at $2 billion), with net import reliance at 13% of apparent consumption and import sources (2020-23) at Peru 98%, Morocco 2%. World mine production was estimated at 240,000 thousand metric tons in 2024 (China, Morocco, the U.S., and Russia leading), world reserves at 74,000,000 thousand metric tons, with Morocco alone holding 50,000,000 thousand metric tons. World P2O5 consumption in fertilizers was 47.5 million tons in 2024, projected to rise to 51.8 million tons by 2028.

Chimwemwe Chiutula, Andrew G. Mtewa, Amon Abraham, Richard Lizwe Steven Mvula, Alfred Maluwa, Fasil Ejigu Eregno, John Njalam'mano · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Malawi (Blantyre)

At the Soche Wastewater Treatment Plant in Blantyre, Malawi (built in the 1950s, current design flow 4,100 m³/day), whose effluent irrigates nearby gardens, researchers measured heavy metals by atomic absorption spectrophotometry in effluent, soil and six vegetables (three exotic Brassica varieties plus indigenous pumpkin, sweet-potato and amaranth leaves). Soil zinc reached 56.4 ± 0.5 mg/kg against a WHO limit of 36 mg/kg; vegetable stems reached 4.65 mg/kg chromium (limit 2.3) and 4.09 mg/kg lead (limit 0.3), and leaves 0.31 mg/kg cadmium (limit 0.2). Health risk indices peaked at 92.28, far above the safe threshold of 1. Limitations: sampling at a single time point (November) with no seasonal variation, and total-element rather than speciation analysis.