Food waste
Food waste is any food that has become waste under the condition that (1) it has entered the food supply chain, (2) it has been removed or discarded from the food supply chain or at the final consumption stage, and (3) it is finally destined to be processed as waste[1]. In this context food (or ‘foodstuff’) means any substance or product, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed, intended to be, or reasonably expected to be ingested by humans[1].
Specific waste streams
Depending on its origin the food waste can be divided into different groups. The following non-exhaustive list shows the potential main groups. The decision support tool aids the search for suitable conversion technologies capable to process these streams into chemicals, energy and fuels, food ingredients, and materials.
- 2G sugar
- 2G sugar – food
- 2G sugar – industrial
- Food related sidestreams
- Chitin
- Coffee ground
- Food waste
- Fruit waste
- Green peas
- Marine waste
- Mushrooms
- Potato peel
- Starch
- Vegetable waste
- Industrial sidestreams
- Glycerol
- Paper & cardboard
- Plastic waste
- Process waters
- Oils & derivatives
- Fatty acids
- Fatty alcohols
- Oils
- Used cooking oil
- Vegetable oils
- Other feedstock
- Formic acid
- HMF
- Municipal solid waste
- Small organic molecules
Occurrence and treatment
| Area | Food waste generated [kg/capita] | Food waste collected [kg/capita] |
|---|---|---|
| EU-27+ | 116.7 | 18.8 |
| Austria | 118.5 | 22.8 |
| Belgium | 105.7 | 16.4 |
| Bulgaria | 80.2 | - |
| Croatia | 84.4 | 1.5 |
| Cyprus | 79.8 | 3.8 |
| Czechia | 93.7 | 9.1 |
| Denmark | 103.5 | 22.6 |
| Estonia | 111.8 | 3.3 |
| Finland | 102.0 | 15.3 |
| France | 122.3 | 25.7 |
| Germany | 94.4 | 25.0 |
| Greece | 142.7 | 6.1 |
| Hungary | 110.0 | 5.5 |
| Ireland | 118.2 | 9.4 |
| Italy | 127.7 | 60.6 |
| Lativa | 107.4 | 4.5 |
| Lithuania | 121.4 | 6.9 |
| Luxembourg | 118.4 | 15.9 |
| Malta | 55.9 | 4.7 |
| Netherlands | 111.8 | 17.0 |
| Norway | 78.8 | 35.2 |
| Poland | 112.0 | 5.4 |
| Portugal | 127.2 | 2.2 |
| Romania | 127.7 | 3.6 |
| Slovakia | 84.4 | 7.9 |
| Slovenia | 108.4 | 14.6 |
| Spain | 144.0 | 3.7 |
| Sweden | 105.7 | 14.5 |
| UK | 118.21 | 14.9 |
References
- ↑ a b eurostat, 2021: Guidance on reporting of data on food waste and food waste prevention according to Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/2000 - version of July 2021 , Last access 2021-08-03. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/342366/351811/Guidance+on+food+waste+reporting/5581b0a2-b09e-adc0-4e0a-b20062dfe564
- ↑ Favoino, E., Gavini, M., 2020: Bio-waste generationin the EU: Current capture levels and future potential. Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC), Brussels, Belgium.