Management of Floral Waste, as Well as Various Techniques and Approaches for Converting the Floral Waste into Value-Added Products

Flowers add an aesthetic feel to any celebration and are thus commonly used for decoration. They are also used to make perfumes, food products, cosmetics, textiles, and other items. Flowers used for decoration or ritualistic practices are frequently not disposed of properly. Flowers, like other waste, find their way into the garbage or are discarded as waste, either into water bodies or left out in the open, causing a variety of environmental problems. Disposing of them on land or in nearby bodies of water causes significant pollution. Though disposing of waste on land is beneficial in some ways, when done improperly, it causes unpleasant odors and attracts pests and insects that may carry pathogens. During decomposition, they also emit greenhouse gases such as methane, which contributes to environmental pollution. The disposal of flowers in rivers, oceans, and other bodies of water pollutes the water and harms aquatic life. However, with increasing knowledge in sustainable development and waste management, various techniques have been employed to convert the floral waste into value-added products like pharmaceutically active components, compost, biofuels, biogas, bioethanol, organic acids, pigments, dyes, food products, incense sticks, handmade paper production, etc. are discussed in this chapter. Various technologies involved and innovative approaches for floral waste management have been discussed in this chapter.