# Food Recycling (DD-569)

> The footage shows a Chinese plant processing expired packaged food. Workers shovel bags of snacks onto conveyors, a machine strips the wrappers, and the food comes out as an orange meal. Chinese manufacturers sell these de-bagging lines for expired packaged food. One maker says its line opens bags, separates food from plastic by air and screening, and sends the food on to feed processing. Chinese media report that feed factories buy expired or near-expiry stock such as biscuits and mooncakes by the ton. In a September 2026 report, a Hebei feed-plant worker said moldy or spoiled products are rejected. The food is crushed and dried, tested against feed standards and blended with corn and soybean meal. Restaurant and household kitchen waste is a separate stream with stricter rules. After African swine fever spread through China in 2018, the government banned feeding food waste to pigs. Reuters reported that the ban pushed waste processors toward options such as insect farms. Kitchen waste is mostly treated by anaerobic digestion for biogas, composting, or conversion into fuel and fertilizer, according to a review by the French research agency CIRAD. On April 29, 2021, China passed its Anti-Food Waste Law, which took effect the same day. In 2025, according to the Wilson Center's New Security Beat, China launched 20 city pilot programs to collect and treat food waste for animal feed, partly to cut its reliance on imported soybeans.

- Department: Tech (also Nature)
- First published: 2025-05-13
- Last updated: 2025-05-13
- Permalink: https://detailenjoyer.com/case/food-recycling/
- Author: Marcus Easterling (DetailEnjoyer), The Detail Department

## On the timeline

- **2018**: After African swine fever spreads, China bans feeding food waste to pigs
- **April 29, 2021**: China adopts its Anti-Food Waste Law
- **2025**: China launches 20 city pilot programs to turn food waste into animal feed

Full timeline: https://detailenjoyer.com/timeline/?case=food-recycling

## Quick facts

- **DD-569-F01**: China banned feeding food waste to pigs after African swine fever spread in 2018. _(Write-up · Exhibit C (Kitchen waste is different))_
- **DD-569-F02**: China's Anti-Food Waste Law was adopted on April 29, 2021. _(Write-up · Exhibit E (Policy push))_

## Write-up

Expired snacks, ground into feed. Machines strip the wrappers so the food can become animal feed.

1. **Unwrapping**: De-bagging lines open expired packaged food and separate it from the plastic.
2. **Into feed**: Feed factories crush, dry and test the food, then blend it with corn and soybean meal.
3. **Kitchen waste is different**: After African swine fever spread in 2018, China banned feeding food waste to pigs.
4. **Other routes**: Kitchen waste mostly goes to biogas, compost, or fuel and fertilizer.
5. **Policy push**: China passed an Anti-Food Waste Law in 2021 and launched feed pilot programs in 2025.

## Related case files

- [Walking Floors (DD-665)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/walking-floors/): The trailers that haul bulk waste and feed
- [Concrete Reefs (DD-632)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/concrete-reefs/): Another case about giving waste a second use
- [Air Burst Sorting (DD-425)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/air-burst-sorting/): I linked more sorting and recycling

## Reel vs. record

- **Note**: 'Expired or unsellable food from supermarkets, restaurants, and households': these are separate streams. Packaged expired stock from factories and shops can go to feed plants. Restaurant and household kitchen waste has been barred from pig feed since African swine fever spread in 2018.
- **Note**: 'Depending on its type... animal feed, biofuel, compost, or biogas': broadly right. Dry packaged foods are the feed candidates, while wet kitchen waste mostly goes to anaerobic digestion, composting, or fuel and fertilizer.
- **Note**: 'Processed in specialized facilities': as in the footage, de-bagging machines open the packs and separate food from plastic before crushing and drying.
- **Note**: 'An increasingly important industry': the trend is supported by Chinese media reports on feed factories and by 2025 pilot programs, but no national figures are cited here, so the claim is attributed.
- **Missing**: China passed its Anti-Food Waste Law on April 29, 2021. Feed factories say moldy or spoiled products are rejected and the finished feed must meet feed standards.

## Video: Food Recycling: Expired Snacks, Ground Into Feed

- Duration: 21.1 s · Published: 2025-05-13
- File: https://detailenjoyer.com/assets/videos/DJmrAO7yTy4.mp4

### Transcript

DID YOU KNOW? In China, expired food recycling has become an increasingly important industry, focusing on turning food waste into useful products, rather than sending it to landfills. Expired or unsellable food from supermarkets, restaurants, and households is typically collected and processed in specialized facilities. Depending on its type, the waste can be converted into animal feed, biofuel, compost, or biogas. NOW YOU KNOW!

## Questions & answers

**Q: What does a de-bagging line do?**  
A: So the food can be processed into feed. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (Unwrapping) · Tencent News / China News Weekly-Economy (in Chinese): Expired mooncakes sold by the ton to feed factories (September 2026))_

**Q: What led China to ban feeding food waste to pigs in 2018?**  
A: The virus was found in contaminated food waste. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (Unwrapping) · Tencent News / China News Weekly-Economy (in Chinese): Expired mooncakes sold by the ton to feed factories (September 2026))_

**Q: When was China's Anti-Food Waste Law adopted?**  
A: It took effect the same day. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit B (Into feed) · Tencent News / China News Weekly-Economy (in Chinese): Expired mooncakes sold by the ton to feed factories (September 2026))_

**Q: What is expired packaged food typically blended with to make feed?**  
A: After it's crushed, dried and tested. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (Unwrapping) · Tencent News / China News Weekly-Economy (in Chinese): Expired mooncakes sold by the ton to feed factories (September 2026))_

**Q: Which gas does anaerobic digestion of food waste produce?**  
A: Mostly methane and carbon dioxide. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (Unwrapping) · Tencent News / China News Weekly-Economy (in Chinese): Expired mooncakes sold by the ton to feed factories (September 2026))_

## Sources

- [National People's Congress: Law of the People's Republic of China on Food Waste (April 29, 2021)](http://www.npc.gov.cn/englishnpc/c2759/c23934/202112/t20211209_385056.html)
- [Reuters: Bug business - Cockroaches corralled by the millions in China to crunch waste (2018)](https://www.reuters.com/article/world/bug-business-cockroaches-corralled-by-the-millions-in-china-to-crunch-waste-idUSKBN1O90PK/)
- [New Security Beat (Wilson Center): Upscaling Food Waste to Animal Feed in Japan and China (July 2025)](https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2025/07/tapping-an-innovative-climate-solution-upscaling-food-waste-to-animal-feed-in-japan-and-china/)
- [Tencent News / China News Weekly-Economy (in Chinese): Expired mooncakes sold by the ton to feed factories (September 2026)](https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20260926A087MO00)
- [CIRAD: National review on food waste recycling into animal feeding in China](https://umr-selmet.cirad.fr/en/content/download/4050/29632/version/3/file/BIT_REPORT_FW2FEED_CHINA.pdf)

## Cite this case file

Easterling, Marcus. "Food Recycling." The Detail Department (DetailEnjoyer), case file DD-569, last updated May 13, 2025. https://detailenjoyer.com/case/food-recycling/