Turning Rubbish Into biobased materials: a sustainable CHain for the full valorization of organic waste

The European Union, through the “New circular economy action plan for a cleaner and more competitive Europe” (March 2020), is dedicated to stimulating Europe’s transition to a circular economy that will make sustainable products the norm in the EU. The attention is focused on the sectors that use most resources and where the potential for circularity is high, and specific actions are planned to ensure less waste and empower consumers and public buyers. To fulfil this ambition and accelerate the transition towards a regenerative growth model that gives back to the planet more than it takes, two main aspects that are increasingly problematic from an environmental and sustainability perspective, i.e., plastics and waste reduction, must be necessarily considered. Consumption of PLASTICS is expected to double in the coming 20 years and plastics production will account for a greatly increased share of global oil use and GHG emissions. This increase will have a significant environmental impact since it is estimated that by 2050 the oceans could contain more plastic than fish. It is thus mandatory to promote a more sustainable use of plastics, increase the uptake of recycled plastics, and shift towards the use of biobased plastics, thus reducing the use of fossil resources. The other serious concern is represented by WASTE DISPOSAL. In fact, global quantities of wastes are continually increasing (e.g., 70% in the next 30 years for the organic fraction of municipal solid waste -OFMSW-) and waste management faces serious challenges, especially in urban areas, moving away from disposal to waste prevention, resource recovery, and recycling. Despite considerable efforts are being made to reduce the overall production and the harmfulness of waste, to limit its negative impact on the environment, as well as to mitigate the costs of waste management, there is an urgent need to enhance waste policy in support of waste prevention and circularity. In this scenario, the use of insects as a primary agent for organic waste reduction and bioconversion into usable biomolecules, could contribute to relieve problems related to its management and, at the same time, generate biobased products as protein-based materials and biofuels, to complement traditional waste management approaches for this kind of waste. RICH is a science-driven project that relies on a transdisciplinary approach and brings together different scientific expertise. The interdisciplinary nature of the proponent group, that involves national and international renowned research institutions, is a key point for the achievement of the project aims through a fully pre-competitive approach. The research will examine the use of the larvae of black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, to reduce low value organic waste while converting it into biomolecules to generate innovative products. In particular, THE PROJECT AIMS AT DEVELOPING AN INNOVATIVE AND INTEGRATED CIRCULAR ECONOMY SUPPLY CHAIN THAT, STARTING FROM THE BIOTRANSFORMATION OF OFMSW, LEADS TO THE TARGETED PRODUCTION OF BIOBASED MATERIALS WITH HIGH TECHNOLOGICAL VALUE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY. To this aim, five specific research objectives have been conceived: (i) development of an insect-mediated biotransformation system of OFMSW; (ii) targeted extraction and fractionation of insect proteins and lipids and proteins for further valorization; (iii) development of an innovative and reliable process for the production of protein- based materials (iv) valorization of other insect-derived products, as lipids and rearing residues; and (v) assessment of the environmental and socioeconomic impact of the supply chain The expected outcomes will generate innovation and provide a significant scientific and technological improvement about: new system for the management and valorization of OFMSW through insect-mediated bioconversion; improvement of quality and quantity of insect protein and lipid