AWARENET: AGRO-FOOD WASTES MINIMISATION AND REDUCTION NETWORK

摘要

AWARENET is the first Thematic Network aiming at the Prevention, Minimisation and Reduction of Wastes from the European Agro-food Industry. Funded by the GROWTH Programme of the European Commission with a global budget of 1,470 M € for a three and a half year duration (2001-2004), it focuses on 5 main agro-food sectors: meat, fish, dairy, wine and vegetables, going deeper into 19 production processes. Co-ordinated by the Spanish Technology Transfer Centre GAIKER, it counts with the participation of agro-food wastes producers (manufacturing industries), waste valorisation industries, equipment manufacturers, consultancies and RORs and Universities. Up to 34 members from 15 different European countries, including newly associated states, have contributed to its results, gathered in the Handbook for the prevention and minimisation of waste and valorisation of byproducts in European agro-food industries.The innovation of AWARENET is integrating the vision of the agro-food industrial waste problem from three different and critical points of view: regulatory issues, technology and market, with the final objective to propose a global R&D European strategy for agro-food industrial wastes and by-products. Thus, European environmental and food wastes and by-products prevention, minimisation and valorisation-related legislation has been compiled. Furthermore, an inventory of agro-food waste figures and critical points in production processes has been made. The network activities aim to help the European agro-food industries (with special emphasis on SMEs) describing simple tools and rules for wastes prevention and minimisation. In fact, AWARENET has contributed to the BREF IPPC documents on Slaughterhouses and animal by-products and Food, drink and milk processes. Lastly, AWARENET has performed a market analysis of waste management and valorisation options together with the market values for products from agro-food valorised by-products and defined the R&D needs for minimising and valorising agro-wastes.