Food Waste Management (Sector)
in a Circular Economy
Nicole Unger and Francesco Razza
Abstract The presentations addressed the topic of food waste management in a
circular economy from various angles. Understanding the amount of food waste
generated and setting measures to prevent it should be the starting point. Any not
prevented food waste should be valorised aiming at a positive triple bottom line
(social, economic and environmental). The huge environmental and economic
potential of co-digestion of dairy manure and food wastes by linking waste producers
with costumers for derived products was demonstrated for the US. Further the link
between bio-waste, compost and soil quality is highlighted which contributes to
food security and the wider bio-economy. Looking forward research into the application of selected agri-food wastes to produce alternative sources of protein could
result in more sustainable source of proteins able to compete with industrial chicken
production. Overall, the presentations and discussions showed the multi-facetted
nature of food waste management emphasising that a range of measures by many
stakeholders are required to move towards a circular economy society.
1 Introduction
The Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, focuses on the food waste sector and sets
the target to halve the per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level by
2030 and to reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including
post-harvest losses. The European circular economy package [1] explicitly aligns to
this target and made food waste one of its priority areas. In the same document, the
N. Unger (&)
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences,
Institute of Waste Management, Vienna, Muthgasse 107,
1190 Vienna, Austria
e-mail: nicole.unger@boku.ac.at
F. Razza
Novamont—Ecology of Product and Environmental Communication,
Piazz.le Donegani 4, 05100 Terni, Italy
© The Author(s) 2018
E. Benetto et al. (eds.), Designing Sustainable Technologies,
Products and Policies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66981-6_15
127
in a Circular Economy
Nicole Unger and Francesco Razza
Abstract The presentations addressed the topic of food waste management in a
circular economy from various angles. Understanding the amount of food waste
generated and setting measures to prevent it should be the starting point. Any not
prevented food waste should be valorised aiming at a positive triple bottom line
(social, economic and environmental). The huge environmental and economic
potential of co-digestion of dairy manure and food wastes by linking waste producers
with costumers for derived products was demonstrated for the US. Further the link
between bio-waste, compost and soil quality is highlighted which contributes to
food security and the wider bio-economy. Looking forward research into the application of selected agri-food wastes to produce alternative sources of protein could
result in more sustainable source of proteins able to compete with industrial chicken
production. Overall, the presentations and discussions showed the multi-facetted
nature of food waste management emphasising that a range of measures by many
stakeholders are required to move towards a circular economy society.
1 Introduction
The Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, focuses on the food waste sector and sets
the target to halve the per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level by
2030 and to reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including
post-harvest losses. The European circular economy package [1] explicitly aligns to
this target and made food waste one of its priority areas. In the same document, the
N. Unger (&)
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences,
Institute of Waste Management, Vienna, Muthgasse 107,
1190 Vienna, Austria
e-mail: nicole.unger@boku.ac.at
F. Razza
Novamont—Ecology of Product and Environmental Communication,
Piazz.le Donegani 4, 05100 Terni, Italy
© The Author(s) 2018
E. Benetto et al. (eds.), Designing Sustainable Technologies,
Products and Policies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66981-6_15
127