Re-use/reduction of food waste

About this good practice

By project SinCE-AFC

Published on 23 April 2021

Ireland

Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) is facilitating an Industrial Symbiosis innovation demonstration pilot between St Mel’s Brewery and Panelto Food (both based in Co. Longford) funded by the EPA’s (Environmental Protection Agency) 2019 Green Enterprise Fund.

Waste bread from a bakery will be utilised as a malted grain substitute to produce a novel beer by a brewery, while spent grains will be used as an added high nutritional value ingredient in bakery products.
Furthermore, barriers and enablers to widespread adoption of this industrial synergy in Ireland will be analysed within the bread and brewing sectors and beyond.
As part of this project, IMR will also develop policy recommendations to inform the scaling up of Industrial Symbiosis in Ireland.

Resources needed

Collaboration, innovation.

Evidence of success

Alternative use for waste streams for both businesses. By products from the two production processes with the potential to create novel co-products.

Potential for learning or transfer

There is both potential for learning and transfer from this pilot project. Industrial symbiosis, whereby the waste from one process is transformed into a resource for another, is a key principle of a circular economy model.