Dr. Malak Anshassi

Material Circularity: Focusing on Lifecycle Benefits of Food Waste Composting

Dr. Malak Anshassi, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Engineering, Florida Polytechnic University

Food waste recovery from the residential waste stream involves diverting organic waste from landfills and utilizing composting to reduce environmental impact and enhance soil health. In our waste-based Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), we incorporated Florida-specific conditions such as local waste management infrastructure to evaluate the benefits of composting, including reduced environmental impacts and improved soil sustainability.

Malak Anshassi is an assistant professor at Florida Polytechnic University teaching solid waste management, sustainability, and life cycle assessment courses. Her research focuses on incorporating life cycle thinking into solid waste management. She previously conducted research using principles from sustainable materials management (or SMM) to analyze the application of life cycle thinking into Florida’s solid waste management system to achieve the 75% recycling rate target. In her current research she formulates SMM-based solid waste management and policy approaches that decision makers from any region of the world can use to measure their waste management system’s environmental and economic impacts. 

Website: https://floridapoly.edu/directory/faculty/malak-anshassi.php