High-value food waste valorisation in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area
A combined environmental-, socio-technical- and network analysis of anaerobic fermentation technologies for fatty acids production, from a nexus governance perspective
M.A. Doolaard (TU Delft - Technology, Policy and Management)
José M. Mogollón – Mentor (Universiteit Leiden)
Alexander Wandl – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Environmental Technology and Design)
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Abstract
The unprecedented major scale and rapid rate of urban growth put an increasing pressure on natural resources for providing energy, materials, and food- and nutrition security. Likewise, an alarming major increase can be witnessed in the generation of food waste (FW) in urban areas. While megacities contribute to 6.7% of the global population, 12.6% of global waste disposal can be attributed to them1. 30 to 50% of produced food is never consumed, and FW constitutes 25 to 30% of municipal solid waste in high-income countries which is expected to grow 35% until 20252. One of these high-income, highly urbanized areas is the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (AMA), where the related impacts of FW treatment create important environmental and socio-economic challenges that demand optimisation in terms of reduced environmental impacts and enhanced resource recovery. The AMA poses an interesting case study with high ambitions for a circular economy in relation to organic and biobased resources, yet a comprehensive regional strategy for circular and sustainable FW waste treatment remains uncomposed, while effective FW prevention does not emerge. Especially with regard to techniques that obtain more high-value, circular products as aimed for by the Dutch government. Only few studies investigate these high-value techniques, and more importantly lack to demonstrate the role of governance in the socio-technical transition that is required, and the impact it has on the main actors in the current system, as it requires a change from a systems perspective. Therefore, this research applies a two-dimensional nexus governance approach specific to the context of three high-value valorisation techniques in the AMA that use fermentation technologies for fatty acids production (i.e. Chaincraft for feed additives, Amsterdam Green Campus for food additives, and the FABULOUS-project for bioplastics). It investigates how these technologies could contribute to more circular and sustainable FW valorisation. This is respectively analysed by means of a socio-technical analysis and social network analysis, including a baseline study of available FW flows and an environmental assessment (EA) of the investigated technologies.