๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ:
Europe is generating almost 1.5 billion tonnes of waste each year, of which about 700 million tonnes are directly from the agricultural industry. As the population continues to grow, an increase in agri-food production is expected to rise by two-thirds by 2050.ย Nevertheless, an increase in food production is followed by waste volume growth.
One of the most important issues in the agri-food sector and its supply chain is the existence of by-products, treated as wastes and discarded immediately to waste disposal (to landfills or incineration), leading to loss of economic value. Misshaped fruits are estimated to account to 20-40% of produce rejection, a major source of value destruction. A circular economy closes the loop of resources and materials and implies a reorganization of production systems in which all steps of value chains are planned, without the need for wastes to be discarded directly, but instead become the resources for other means, such as for animal feed or used as sources of high-value compounds obtained by extraction processes.
This webinar focused on the Valorisation of agri-food residues and aimed to describe, by using two case studies in the food industry, how this sector is adapting its business models.
