The agri-food industry does not generate organic waste. It generated by-products with great value and in large quantities. These by-products have great valorisation potential, but limitations or obstacles hinder their full valorisation.
Agri-food by-products are typically used as animal feed, bio-energy production, incinerated or placed in landfills, which creates economic, social, and environmental problems. If treated with innovative technologies agri-food by-products could provide extremely valuable bio-components and nutrients with economic value for different industries while significantly reducing their environmental impact.
This white paper:
- analysis the potential of the most relevant sectors of the agri-food industry (vegetable, dairy, alcoholic beverage and meat sector),
- shows the potential of some of the most prominent and relevant agri-food by-products in Europe (potato peels, cheese whey, brewer`s spent grain, grape pomace and olive leaves),
- identifies some of the innovative treatments for their valorisation and promising value chains to obtain a wide range of high-value products like bioplastics, biofuels and antioxidants,
- highlights the key barriers and limitations that make valorisation difficult.