Doctoral Position in Food Waste Supply Chains

We are looking for a PhD student with joint appointment in ETH’s (i) Food Systems Economics and Policy group (FSEP), led by Prof. Eva-Marie Meemken, and (ii) Global Health Engineering group (GHE), led by Prof. Elizabeth Tilley.

You will work on the project “FLOWERS-Facilitating Local Organic Waste Exchange for Regenerative Systems”.

In rapidly urbanizing areas of Uganda and Malawi, organic waste from restaurants, food vendors and university canteens is often mismanaged (e.g., openly dumped or burnt), resulting in nutrient loss, environmental pollution, and missed opportunities for sustainable food systems. Meanwhile, smallholder farmers face declining soil fertility, low crop yields, and limited access to affordable soil amendments or livestock feed, increasing their vulnerability to climate stress and threatening food security. As the restaurant sector continues to grow, its higher waste volumes and easier supply chain potential compared to households make it a strategic intervention point. In Kampala, Uganda, informal waste supply chains already connect restaurants with traders and farms, demonstrating a resilient and efficient system. However, these flows remain understudied and undocumented. To strengthen this value chain, we must not only analyse how and why existing systems work but also map the waste flows of restaurants that do not participate. Understanding their motivations and operational barriers will help identify ways to expand the network and strengthen the value chain. By building on what works and tapping into unused potential, the project aims to co-design scalable, locally appropriate solutions. This approach will also be adapted to Malawi, where organic waste supply chains are less developed, allowing the project to generate comparative evidence on barriers and enablers across systems. The disconnect between nutrient-rich urban organic waste and nutrient-poor rural soils represents a critical and solvable food and nutrition challenge. The FLOWERS project directly targets this gap by mapping and analyzing waste flows, identifying supply chain intervention to increase trade and reuse of organic waste, and piloting scalable waste treatment solutions like composting, Black Soldier Fly (BSF) farming, or anaerobic digestion (AD). It will also generate insights into the scalability and replicability for other rapidly urbanizing areas.

The selected will conduct surveys (of restaurants, organic waste traders, and farmers), supply chain interventions to increase waste trade, and several outreach activities.

Our project partners are the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) in Switzerland, Makerere University in Uganda, End Plastic Pollution and Waste Advisers in Malawi.

Job description

Profile

• You will work in an excellent and inspiring research and learning environment, allowing you to strengthen and gain diverse skills (e.g., data analysis, presentation skills, project management), develop and implement creative ideas, and develop your professional network.
• You will work both independently and in collaboration with others on different tasks.
• The position does not involve regular teaching tasks but offers opportunities to gain experience in this area.
• The starting date is June 2026. The position is scheduled for 4 years. Salary and social benefits are provided according to ETH Zurich rules.