RELEASE THE SUGARS! A VALUABLE BUILDING BLOCK FOR MAKING PRODUCTS FROM FOOD WASTE
Almost half of what we throw away is organic waste – banana skins, a few leftovers…
Most cities are collecting this type of waste separately from households. But very few cities are making good use of it.
The most common treatment methods – composting and anaerobic digestion – mainly result in low-value products.
SCALIBUR partners are developing a process to help cities make higher added products from this waste stream.
To find out more, we spoke to Inés del Campo, Senior Researcher at the Biomass Department of CENER, the National Renewable Energy Centre of Spain.
What is the concept for food waste valorisation being developed in the SCALIBUR project?
The aim of our work is to release and concentrate some of the valuable components from the household waste (sugars) and to transform them into high added value compounds such as biopesticides and biodegradable and compostable biopolymers for sustainable bioplastics.