BOOSTING BIO-BASED CIRCULAR ECONOMY - NEWS FROM Nitra Self-Governing Region, SLOVAKIA
The Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra (SUA) is one of the partners of Interreg Europe project BIOREGIO – Regional Circular Economy Models and Best Available Technologies for Biological Streams. The project started in 2017 and was granted an extension to conduct additional activities until 31.12.2022. The aim of the BIOREGIO project is to strengthen the European circular economy in the field of biological streams.
The BIOREGIO project workshop titled Boosting bio-based circular economy together with the SMEs to overcome the impacts of COVID was held on 25 January 2022. The workshop focused on enabling SMEs to better access Structural Funds or other instruments. Each partner presented a special topic related to bio-based circular economy, COVID and SMEs, measures to support SMEs, new good practices and ideas for regional projects.
Policy Development
The Slovak University of Agriculture was represented by Martin Mariš from Faculty of European Studies and Regional Development, who acts as a BIOREGIO local coordinator, and researchers Eleonóra Marišová and Jaroslav Michalko. Martin Mariš presented the new Slovak Waste Management programme (WMP) for 2021 – 2025 prepared by the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic, introduced the current state of waste management in Slovakia and objectives and measures of the programme for the new period. WMP involves several objectives for individual waste streams, among them to increase the separate collection rate for municipal waste to 60% by 2025 and the preparation rate for re-use and recycling of municipal waste to 55% and reduce the share of biodegradable municipal waste in mixed municipal waste to 25% by 2025.
He informed also on its implementation into the upcoming Waste Management Programme of the Nitra Self-Governing region (SGR), since SUA in Nitra, communicates with the managing authority of WMP in Nitra. WMP of Nitra SGR will focus on composting plants as an option for the recovery of kitchen waste and undesirable new landfills in the Nitra region. However, it will also be necessary to consider the use of existing biogas plants, especially in terms of achieving a higher degree of technological variability of treatment capacities in relation to a broad portfolio of biodegradable waste. WMP of Nitra SGR will also support the construction and transformation of existing energy recovery facilities.
BioConvert - converting food waste into protein-rich animal food
Slovakia has a European EIT Jumpstarter winner since Jaroslav Michalko from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, SUA in Nitra, won the first place in the new category New European Bauhaus with the start-up BioConvert. He is a co-founder of this start-up. He presented how the BioConvert start-up works and how it uses fly larvae to convert food waste into protein-rich animal food. BioConvert is a unique project. In cooperation with a private company dealing with the collection and processing of food waste, a unique connection that allows converting fresh hygienized food residues from supermarkets and catering facilities into nutritious biomass of insect larvae, was created. Fresh or processed larvae become a high-value protein feed for livestock, which in turn becomes food for humans, thus closing the cycle of converting food waste back into food.
The audience was very interested in this presentation on upcycling wasted food.
