Waste management in the scope of material flow cost accounting: An application in dairy business

Today, environmental problems are experienced due to the negative effects of businesses on the environment. For this reason, businesses are expected to continue their activities by considering the environmental impacts. This situation has increased the importance of the concepts of sustainability and resource efficiency in industrial production. Thus, a search for a sustainable and resource efficiency-focused method has been sought in all production processes, replacing traditional production methods with a profit and growth approach. One of the results of this search is the Material Flow Cost Accounting (MAMM) method, which provides resource efficiency by focusing on waste reduction in production enterprises. The aim of this study is to calculate the cost of cheddar cheese produced in a dairy farm operating in Ardahan using the MAMM method. In this context, first of all, MAMM, which is one of the environmental accounting tools, is explained conceptually, and then an application example is given. The amount and cost information were determined in order to evaluate the whey, which is a by-product of dairy products. As a result of the study, the cost of one kg of cheddar cheese was determined using the MAMM method. In addition, it has been determined that the whey remaining at the end of the production is not considered as a by-product and is thrown into the environment. Evaluating the waste whey for different purposes can reduce the negative environmental effects and can be effective in increasing the resource efficiency of the enterprise.