substitute. On the contrary, bio-physical allocation may attribute to the by-product a
considerable burden of the production process, above all when a huge amount of
by-product is delivered.
Concerning the impact assessment, Cristobal and colleagues [25] noted that it is
a common practice to consider only a narrow number of impact categories, affecting
the comprehensiveness of the results. Besides, some impact categories are based on
weak calculations models, which limit their applicability. Furthermore, impact
categories traditionally considered in LCA are often not enough to capture the
environmental pressures exerted by food waste generation [26]. The impacts on
biotic resources, for example, are generally not investigated in LCA [29]. Other
relevant impact categories are still under refinement for being comprehensive in
addressing issues such soil quality, biodiversity, water scarcity. All these aspects
are crucial when accounting for the impacts of food waste or when comparing the
environmental performance of bio-based and fossil-based products.
5 Conclusions
Applying circular economy principles to bio-economy represents a valuable
opportunity for our society, which is called to cope with complex and important
challenges, such as food security, competition for natural resources, fossil resources
dependence and climate change.
A broad range of options exists for valorising bio-based waste and by-products,
including already accomplished and innovative solutions, and the present paper
introduced a conceptual framework to support the identification of the most valuable ones. The application of such framework is not straightforward, reflecting the
complexity of multi-criteria decision-making processes and of the biological systems to which it is applied.
The main elements of the framework have been briefly introduced and discussed
in relation to a specific type of bio-based material: food waste and related
by-products. The accounting of food waste should be based on LCT, encompassing
all the potential sources of food waste within the supply chain. Existing estimations
showed some shortcomings mainly due to lack of data, uncertainties and data
inhomogeneity, therefore their interpretation requires a deep knowledge of the
underlying assumptions. The exploration of valorisation routes for food waste and
bio-based by-products have raised considerable interests in the last years in the
research field, however, part of the innovative solutions need to be further investigated, assessing their applicability at the industrial scale. Finally, LCA has shown
great potentialities in supporting the assessment of the most preferable environmental options for food waste management, however still some efforts are needed to
improve the comprehensiveness and robustness of LCA applied to bio-based and
circular systems.
Bio-Economy Contribution to Circular Economy
57
considerable burden of the production process, above all when a huge amount of
by-product is delivered.
Concerning the impact assessment, Cristobal and colleagues [25] noted that it is
a common practice to consider only a narrow number of impact categories, affecting
the comprehensiveness of the results. Besides, some impact categories are based on
weak calculations models, which limit their applicability. Furthermore, impact
categories traditionally considered in LCA are often not enough to capture the
environmental pressures exerted by food waste generation [26]. The impacts on
biotic resources, for example, are generally not investigated in LCA [29]. Other
relevant impact categories are still under refinement for being comprehensive in
addressing issues such soil quality, biodiversity, water scarcity. All these aspects
are crucial when accounting for the impacts of food waste or when comparing the
environmental performance of bio-based and fossil-based products.
5 Conclusions
Applying circular economy principles to bio-economy represents a valuable
opportunity for our society, which is called to cope with complex and important
challenges, such as food security, competition for natural resources, fossil resources
dependence and climate change.
A broad range of options exists for valorising bio-based waste and by-products,
including already accomplished and innovative solutions, and the present paper
introduced a conceptual framework to support the identification of the most valuable ones. The application of such framework is not straightforward, reflecting the
complexity of multi-criteria decision-making processes and of the biological systems to which it is applied.
The main elements of the framework have been briefly introduced and discussed
in relation to a specific type of bio-based material: food waste and related
by-products. The accounting of food waste should be based on LCT, encompassing
all the potential sources of food waste within the supply chain. Existing estimations
showed some shortcomings mainly due to lack of data, uncertainties and data
inhomogeneity, therefore their interpretation requires a deep knowledge of the
underlying assumptions. The exploration of valorisation routes for food waste and
bio-based by-products have raised considerable interests in the last years in the
research field, however, part of the innovative solutions need to be further investigated, assessing their applicability at the industrial scale. Finally, LCA has shown
great potentialities in supporting the assessment of the most preferable environmental options for food waste management, however still some efforts are needed to
improve the comprehensiveness and robustness of LCA applied to bio-based and
circular systems.
Bio-Economy Contribution to Circular Economy
57