Bornholm has approved a vision on being a zero-waste island by 2032, date in which the island’s incineration plant will be decommissioned. In this sense, with no clear strategy on food waste and considering it as a global issue, as more than 30% of worldwide produced food is lost (FAO data from 2017), there is a need to shift the current food waste stream into a more circular loop, where food waste is treated in a different way within the island.
Starting from 2022, waste separation at the consumers end by fraction will be mandatory, meaning organic waste will be collected in a separate stream to other fractions. Commercial waste will also subscribe to this collection system by the end of 2022. In this sense, and with the goal of creating a circular food loop that departs from the current throw-transport-burn at the plant linear model, the research aims at finding the key actors in the retail food value chain and seeking for this circularity potential.
Hence, answers to the following research questions will be pursued: What is the role of the different involved actors in the prevention of retail food waste on Bornholm? Which solution or solutions have the potential to prevent retail food waste on the island of Bornholm?
The analysis maps out existing actors and their roles within the retail food waste supply chain, as well as providing ideas on how to collaborate to prevent retail food waste on the island of Bornholm.