ROOTS - Circular policies for changing the biowaste system.

Area of Science:

• Circular economy
• Sustainable resource management
• Urban biowaste valorisation

Background:

• The circular economy offers significant potential for societal sustainability and decarbonisation.
• Barriers such as technological readiness, funding, biowaste quality/quantity, and regulations hinder urban biowaste valorisation.
• The European Green Deal presents an opportunity to address regulatory barriers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To promote innovative solutions for the European circular bioeconomy.
• To overcome barriers in the deployment of a circular bioeconomy through collaborative projects.
• To provide policy recommendations and practical solutions for biowaste management.

Main Methods:

• Five Horizon 2020 projects (HOOP, VALUEWASTE, SCALIBUR, WaysTUP!, CITYLOOPS) teamed up under the ROOTS initiative.
• Piloting innovative solutions to transform urban biowaste (food and green waste) and wastewater.
• Identifying bottlenecks across various topics including prevention, recycling, treatment, and citizen behaviour.

Main Results:

• Successful piloting of diverse technologies for transforming urban biowaste into valuable products (feed, fertilisers, bioplastics, etc.).
• Identification of key bottlenecks in biowaste prevention, recycling targets, waste treatment, biopesticides, insect farming, protein production, citizen engagement, and investment.
• Development of policy recommendations and sharing of good practices from project experiences.

Conclusions:

• Addressing identified bottlenecks is crucial for the successful implementation of a circular bioeconomy.
• Policy interventions at all governance levels are needed to support biowaste valorisation.
• Collaboration and knowledge sharing among projects are vital for advancing sustainable urban biowaste management.