Unveil The Hidden Value Of Agrifood Sector Residues With Agro2Circular

It is time to design a new path for agrifood waste treatment to exploit its huge potential.

Every year, in the territory of the European Union, about 88 million tonnes of food is wasted. This has a huge associated cost in terms of money, social impact, and pollution.

In Europe, the agrifood sector is responsible for 40% of food waste: about 35,2 million tonnes per year. Not a big surprise that reducing food loss and waste is a key action of both the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy and the European Green Deal.

Agro2Circular is EU funded project born to mitigate the impact of the agrifood sector on EU food waste, economy and pollution. Agro2Circular vision for the future of agrifood industry tackles the current system affected by inefficient sorting and recycling food and vegetable waste and multilayer plastic film. Nowadays, the great part of agrifood residue is not recycled but ends up in landfills and incinerators. These aren’t the only options available, though.

It is time to move from recycling to upcycling. Reusing waste in a way that creates a product of higher quality or value than the original. Agro2Circular will boost upcycling of agrifood residues by turning waste into new cosmetic, nutraceutical, food formulations and biodegradable packaging. This process will be clear and transparent thanks to the implementation of a digital tracking system that will also help the decision- making process.