Introduction 5
1.1.2 Defining the concepts – waste valorisation, circularity,
sustainable business models and the bioeconomy
This book explores how streams of organic waste and residues can be transformed into valuable products and thus foster a transition towards a sustainable and circular bioeconomy. When investigating this subject, some
questions immediately arise: what is the bioeconomy, what is the circular
bioeconomy and why is it sustainable? And, last but not least, what is organic
waste and what are valorisation pathways?
A number of different definitions of “bioeconomy” exist (Bugge et al.,
2016; Schmid, Padel & Levidov, 2012). In this book, we define bioeconomy
as the set of economic activities related to the sustainable production and use
of renewable biological feedstock and processes to generate economic outputs
in the form of bio- based food, feed, energy, materials or chemicals. A bioeconomy is “sustainable” as far as it is maintaining our environment and protecting food quality and biodiversity. A “circular” bioeconomy means that
the existing renewable bio- resources are used in an efficient way, which
means that organic waste, co- products and by- products are treated as
resources for the bioeconomy. Strategies to achieve this circularity include
the following processes: prevention and reduction of organic waste streams,
finding new highly valued bio- products based on the re- use of organic byproducts, co- products, residues and waste streams, recycling of organic waste
and residues, and recovering of the energy content of organic waste streams.
The cascading use of biomass and waste resources has become an important
way in which to improve resource efficiency. This principle implies that
burning such resources should be the last option, to be adopted only when
no other use can be envisioned (de Besi & McCormick, 2015). Biomass
resources have been extensively used for energy production, both for heat
and power, as well as in relation to waste- to-energy processes. However, following the principles of cascading use of bio- resources, other renewable
energy resources should instead be used for energy production (Knauf, 2015;
Suominen, Kunttu, Jasinevicius, Tuomasjukka & Lindner, 2017).
These processes often cross existing sectoral borders in the bioeconomy:
waste streams and by- products from agriculture or forestry might become a
resource for aquaculture or biochemical industry, or vice versa. Urban
organic waste can be transformed into biogas for transport and into fertiliser,
replacing artificial fertiliser or peat- based compost. Different waste streams
can be combined to produce new types of products, not just biogas and fertiliser, but also new feed sources. However, the expression “circular bioeconomy” can be seen as something of an idealised concept, since some materials
will always be lost or degraded as they move along supply chains.
What is organic waste? There have been several attempts to define organic
waste streams by providing important inclusion and exclusion criteria. The
United Nations Statistics Division distinguishes waste from other residues in
the following way: waste includes materials which are not prime products and
1.1.2 Defining the concepts – waste valorisation, circularity,
sustainable business models and the bioeconomy
This book explores how streams of organic waste and residues can be transformed into valuable products and thus foster a transition towards a sustainable and circular bioeconomy. When investigating this subject, some
questions immediately arise: what is the bioeconomy, what is the circular
bioeconomy and why is it sustainable? And, last but not least, what is organic
waste and what are valorisation pathways?
A number of different definitions of “bioeconomy” exist (Bugge et al.,
2016; Schmid, Padel & Levidov, 2012). In this book, we define bioeconomy
as the set of economic activities related to the sustainable production and use
of renewable biological feedstock and processes to generate economic outputs
in the form of bio- based food, feed, energy, materials or chemicals. A bioeconomy is “sustainable” as far as it is maintaining our environment and protecting food quality and biodiversity. A “circular” bioeconomy means that
the existing renewable bio- resources are used in an efficient way, which
means that organic waste, co- products and by- products are treated as
resources for the bioeconomy. Strategies to achieve this circularity include
the following processes: prevention and reduction of organic waste streams,
finding new highly valued bio- products based on the re- use of organic byproducts, co- products, residues and waste streams, recycling of organic waste
and residues, and recovering of the energy content of organic waste streams.
The cascading use of biomass and waste resources has become an important
way in which to improve resource efficiency. This principle implies that
burning such resources should be the last option, to be adopted only when
no other use can be envisioned (de Besi & McCormick, 2015). Biomass
resources have been extensively used for energy production, both for heat
and power, as well as in relation to waste- to-energy processes. However, following the principles of cascading use of bio- resources, other renewable
energy resources should instead be used for energy production (Knauf, 2015;
Suominen, Kunttu, Jasinevicius, Tuomasjukka & Lindner, 2017).
These processes often cross existing sectoral borders in the bioeconomy:
waste streams and by- products from agriculture or forestry might become a
resource for aquaculture or biochemical industry, or vice versa. Urban
organic waste can be transformed into biogas for transport and into fertiliser,
replacing artificial fertiliser or peat- based compost. Different waste streams
can be combined to produce new types of products, not just biogas and fertiliser, but also new feed sources. However, the expression “circular bioeconomy” can be seen as something of an idealised concept, since some materials
will always be lost or degraded as they move along supply chains.
What is organic waste? There have been several attempts to define organic
waste streams by providing important inclusion and exclusion criteria. The
United Nations Statistics Division distinguishes waste from other residues in
the following way: waste includes materials which are not prime products and