Bioeconomy industry association Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) has teamed up with environmental group Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) to produce what it describes as a ‘first-of-its-kind report’ identifying the untapped potential to valorise biowaste (garden and food waste) in Europe.
The report details the current generation and capture rates of biowaste for each EU27 Member State, plus Norway and the United Kingdom. For food waste, the current capture is only 9,520,091 tonnes per year, just 16% of the theoretical potential, estimated at 59,938,718 tonnes. The report and country factsheets provide examples of how the bio-based industries contribute to tackling this waste challenge as well as citing best practices in waste management at municipal level.
“The report shows that biowaste management remains an untapped potential for the European Union to further transition to a Circular Economy. Only 16% of the potential is currently captured and, through proper initiatives, this number could be multiplied by 5 so as to reach 85%. This shows the need for the EU and Members States to maintain and strengthen their effort in biowaste collection and treatment as key steps towards soil regeneration, circularity and climate neutrality,” added Pierre Condamine, Waste Policy Officer at ZWE (@zerowasteeurope).
Source: Bio Market Insights
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