Waste4Soil - Improving food systems sustainability and soil health with food processing residues

The project has 28 partners in ten European countries. Waste4Soil project aims at developing applicable recycling technical pathways to transform FPR (food processing residues) into soil improvers, through a circular, systemic and multi actor approach at regional level involving all food chain actors, thereby closing specific loops (nutrients, organic matter, water).

The project relies on four key innovative approaches (IA): 1) Knowledge sharing regarding waste at source and circularity, 2) Innovative technologies, 3) Social innovation and co-creation in food value chain, and 4) Circular business models.food chain actors, thereby closing specific loops (nutrients, organic matter, water).

The project implements socially innovative process management using the living lab method in order to optimize current practices and technologies. These 7 living labs of the project act as research platforms and enable "cross-pollination", which speeds up a smart, sustainable, flexible and comprehensive food system, which must be pursued for all circular economy-friendly and waste-free communities.

Project period

1.6.2023 - 31.5.2027

Project state

On-going

Project area

International

Project funding

Horizon Europe

Read more about the project

Project website

LAB role

Partner

Unit

Technology

Project focus area

Multipurpose materials

Takes place in project

Read junior researcher Mari Eronen's LAB Pro -article Sustainable business models for valorizing food processing residues

Objectives

The main goal of the project is to implement solutions for the ecosystem, which also include stakeholders from various fields outside the project, based on the farm-to-table principle: 1) farmers and their ecosystems, 2) food industry, 3) waste management companies, 4) fertilizer industry, 5) research and training institutions, 6) local and regional authorities, 7) citizens and consumers.

Realisation of goals

As a Research and Innovation Action, Waste4Soil aims at delivering knowledge, tools and methodologies that intend to be further developed and reused for widening project impacts. First of all, Waste4Soil will develop key Project Results: a standardised Evaluation Framework, a End-User driven Evaluation Tool and associated Guideline, and 3 standards for supporting the recycling of FPR into SI.

Exploitation of these key results after the project end will be framed to ensure continuation of the developed service (Evaluation Tool) and successful uptake of the results. Beyond these major outcomes, several technologies, tools, products/services created within the project will be relevant for commercial exploitation after the end of the project.

Outcomes

Key Exploitable Results (KERs):

10 solutions (methodologies, processes and technologies) for recovering nutrients from FPR (food processing residues)

- KER1: Selective Electrodialysis of digestates (SED)

- KER2: Anaerobic digestion with bio-electrochemical systems (AD-BES)

- KER3: Protein hydrolysis for obtaining hydrolysates acting as SI

- KER4: 3R BioPhosphate processing

- KER5: Thermochemical valorisation process

- KER6: Optimised composting process intended for FPR

- KER7: Optimised pyrolysis process and combination to digestate

- KER8: Hydrophobic membrane systems (HMS)

- KER9: AD-Microalgae combined process

- KER10: FPR Management platform and sensorised containers (IoT devices)

6 soil improvers made of local food processing residues (co-development of multiple partners)

- KER11: Digestate-based soil improver

- KER12: Protein hydrolasytes as soil improver with biostimulant properties

- KER13: Novel BIO-NPK-C compound biofertilizer

- KER14: Nitrified compost as soil improver

- KER15: AD-Microalgae soil improver with biostimulant properties

Sustainable Development Goals