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A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A Quantitative Sustainability Assessment of Food Waste Management in the European Union
In an endeavor to make Europe carbon-neutral, and to foster a circular economy, improving food waste management has been identified by the European Union (EU) as a key factor. In this study, we consider 21 pathways, covering: i) Prevention; ii) reuse for both human consumption and animal feed; iii) material recycling, as an input into the food and chemical industries; iv) nutrient recycling; and v) energy/fuel recovery. To include all types of impact, a sustainability assessment, encompassing environmental, economic, and social pillar, is performed and complemented with societal life cycle costing. The results indicate that after prevention, reuse for human consumption and animal feed is the most preferred option, and, in most cases, nutrient recycling and energy recovery are favored over material recycling for chemical production. While highlighting that the food waste management hierarchy should be supported with quantitative sustainability analyses, the findings also illustrate that biochemical pathways should be improved to be competitive, despite the technologies do have the potential to satisfy the EU demand for all the chemicals investigated. Yet, the results clearly show that the potential benefits of improving emerging technologies would still not eclipse the benefits related to food waste prevention and its redistribution. ; JRC.B.5 - Circular Economy and Industrial Leadership
A Quantitative Sustainability Assessment of Food Waste Management in the European Union
In an endeavor to make Europe carbon-neutral, and to foster a circular economy, improving food waste management has been identified by the European Union (EU) as a key factor. In this study, we consider 21 pathways, covering: i) Prevention; ii) reuse for both human consumption and animal feed; iii) material recycling, as an input into the food and chemical industries; iv) nutrient recycling; and v) energy/fuel recovery. To include all types of impact, a sustainability assessment, encompassing environmental, economic, and social pillar, is performed and complemented with societal life cycle costing. The results indicate that after prevention, reuse for human consumption and animal feed is the most preferred option, and, in most cases, nutrient recycling and energy recovery are favored over material recycling for chemical production. While highlighting that the food waste management hierarchy should be supported with quantitative sustainability analyses, the findings also illustrate that biochemical pathways should be improved to be competitive, despite the technologies do have the potential to satisfy the EU demand for all the chemicals investigated. Yet, the results clearly show that the potential benefits of improving emerging technologies would still not eclipse the benefits related to food waste prevention and its redistribution. ; JRC.B.5 - Circular Economy and Industrial Leadership
A Quantitative Sustainability Assessment of Food Waste Management in the European Union
ALBIZZATI Paola (author) / TONINI Davide (author) / ASTRUP Thomas Fruergaard (author)
2021-01-01
Miscellaneous
Electronic Resource
English
DDC:
690
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