PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Food waste refers to the discarding or alternative (non-food) use of food that was fit for human consumption. In the EU, the most recent estimates (Fusion, 2016) found that 20% of the total food produced is lost or wasted. This means around 88 million tonnes, €143 billion, or 173 kg food per individual per year; more than 50% of which is considered to be still edible at the time it is thrown away.
Food waste has a huge environmental impact. It accounts for about 6% of total EU greenhouse gas emissions and puts an unnecessary burden on natural resources, such as land and water use. The reuse of food waste through the food chain is therefore a necessity.
At EU level, food waste prevention is singled out as a priority area of the Circular Economy Package, as well as of the waste legislation adopted in 2018 (Directive 2018/851). The EUs action plan aims to help achieve the global Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3 to halve per capita food waste at the retail and consumer level by 2030, and reduce food losses along the food production and supply chains.
France established in 2016 a strong legislative framework on food waste prevention with the Garot law. The main measure was to oblige every retailer over 400 square meters to donate their unsold products (compulsory and untaxed). This measure was extended in 2018 to the food industry and catering industry.
The French regulation on the support to products manufactured by disabled people is also important to the context of the project.
OBJECTIVES
LIFE SOLI FOOD WASTE (SFW) aimed to contribute to food waste reduction and the social economy. The project aimed to build a transformation unit to process 600 tonnes of discarded or unsold bread and 500 tonnes of discarded or unsold fruit and vegetables, to demonstrate the economic feasibility of this supply chain.
SFW would manage its environmental impacts through five main indicators (Carbon, Water, Fertilizer and Pesticides footprints, and Utilised agricultural land footprint). The project also aimed at creating sustainable employment positions for disabled people. Within the project lifetime, the replication phase would be prepared and implemented using a communication campaign targeted at current or future partners (e.g. retailers, social and solidarity economy operators) and the launching of other food transformation units.
RESULTS
The SoliFoodWaste project did not achieve its aim to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of food waste reuse at large scale, while creating jobs for workers with major disabilities, since it failed to develop a large-scale processing unit. The team were unable to find an adequate building in the area of Nantes, which was central to the project. In the small scale tests, they experienced difficulties related to variable quality of unsold food products, transport and cost-efficiency. Adapting an industrial process for people with mental disabilities was also a challenge, but the collaboration with some monitors of disabled people was promising.
However, at small scale, the following outcomes were achieved:
- The consolidation of ESAT Services 44 production line of hand-made cookies including unsold bread, with improved recipes, stable provisioning and client networks;
- The successful testing of anti-waste and solidarity "corners" installed in shopping malls;
- Several collaborations with ESATS including jam production from unsold fruit and the transformation of bread into dried powder for animal feed;
- A large communication that raised awareness on the issue of food waste, possible solutions and the working abilities of people with mental disabilities;
- A study mapping the main features of food waste and protected work in EU Member States to understand the different contexts and international consider networking; and
- A life cycle assessment on food production containing unsold bread showing the environmental contradiction or challenges to unsold bread valorisation.
The project partners have pledged to continue their efforts to reduce food waste, share the lessons learned of SoliFood Waste and support other initiatives locally or in other countries after the end of the project.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).
