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Supply and destination of food and biomass residues for the circular economy in Flanders

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Supply and destination of food and biomass

residues for the circular economy in Flanders

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Document description

1. Title publication

Supply and destination of biomass and food waste/residues for the circular economy in Flanders: English management summary

2. Responsible editor

Danny Wille, OVAM, Stationsstraat 110, 2800 Mechelen

3. Depot number: /

4. Pages

19

5. Tables and figures

6 tables, 2 figures

6. Price*

/

7. Date publication

July 2017

8. Keywords

Market analysis, summary, supply, destination, biomass waste flows, circular economy

9. Summary

The market of biomass (waste) fluctuates strongly. This update shows the evolution, analyzes the actual situation of the use of biomass waste/residues in the circular economy in Flanders, together with the market players. It is executing to action 21 of the Flemish action plan “Sustainable management of biomass and food waste/residues 2015-2020”.

10. Authors: Ann Braekevelt, Nico Vanaken

Guidance group:

- members of the Flemish platform of biowaste;

- for the part of food waste/food losses : platform food losses.

11. Contactperson(s)

Ann Braekevelt, Nico Vanaken

12. Other titles on this subject

www.ovam.be; www.voedselverlies.be

Please write down the source, if you use data out of this report.

More OVAM-publications: http://www.ovam.be

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Content

Content 5

1 Management summary 7

2 The biomass (waste) flows mapped out 11 2.1 The three cycles 11 2.2 Overview of supply and uses for biomass (waste) flows in Flanders in 2015 12 2.2.1 The agriculture, food to consumer cycle 12 2.2.2 The cycle of biomass (waste) flows from garden, green, nature, forest, and

landscape management 16 2.2.3 The cycle of wood waste from industry and households 17

Annex 1: References 19

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1 Management summary Is prevention of food and biomass residues also possible? “Avoiding trash saves you cash” is making a lot of companies stop and think today. This definitely pays off in segments with higher added value. The food and distribution sectors are hard at work adjusting their stock management based on supply and demand, and longer shelf-lives for fresh, cut vegetables and fruits, for instance. Sectors that work with more expensive resources create less residues. Some sectors produce 10% biomass residues, while others 3%.

The demand for a circular economy is determined by separate collection and increased supply. The Biomass market analysis shows that, thanks to the waste and materials policies implemented in recent years, increasingly more households and biomass/food-processing companies are collecting their biomass residues separately. Moreover, a well-developed port infrastructure creates an increase in the supply of biomass flows for food, animal feed, materials, and energy in Flanders.

Use of biomass (residue) flows is influenced by several factors. Biomass use has varied throughout the years, but the primary applications are situated in the local Flemish economy. Supply and demand of fermentable and wood biomass (waste) flows are increasingly influenced by the evolution in the energy prices and the changing incentives within the energy policy. The waste, materials, and manure management policies have also resulted in the further development of the logistics and processing infrastructure in Flanders in the period from 2009 to 2015, both in terms of anaerobic digestion and incineration. Legal provisions, including the incineration ban on recyclable biomass, also influence the use as well as the region of use. The currently available data does show that the fixed biomass for green power generation is primarily fulfilled by the import of wood pellets from outside the EU. The strict provisions in the European legislation on animal by-products have an effect on animal waste. Animal waste is valorised and environmentally-hygienically managed as optimally as possible in the market partly due to the high market prices for animal protein and fat. Food waste and residue flows: contribution to the local circular economy. An estimated 3,5 million tonnes of food waste and residue flows were released into the Flemish agri-food chain in 2015. Three fourths (74%) of the food waste flows in 2015 were unavoidable by-products and one fourth is (edible) food loss. The food industry has been an important forerunner in terms of valorising the 2,3 million tonnes of food waste flows. The food industry is the largest industrial employer and represents one fifth of the turnover for the entire Belgian industry. This local production of, among others, frozen potato products, meat products, etc. immediately explains the large quantities of waste flows. Most of the supermarkets in the retail sector have recently started making additional efforts to reduce food waste flows through food donations to social ends and by keeping it out of the residual waste, and as a result of the separate collection obligation for former foodstuffs in the animal by-products regulations. Together with the food industry and the auctions, approximately 16 400 tonnes were redistributed in 2015. Since the declaration of commitment on food loss, other sector federations in the food chain (including hotels, restaurants, and the catering industry) have been raising awareness of actions to reduce food loss. Concerning the total production, the food loss in agriculture and the food industry is relatively low, at 4 and 1,5%, respectively.

92% of all food waste flows are valorised, with the majority of this being done in Flanders. Most of the food waste flows (43%) go directly into animal feed or are used in mixed feed after treatment. This primarily concerns plant-based residues. Composting/fermentation of, among other things, former foodstuffs (yogurt, pizzas, etc.) in Flanders is good for 27% and has increased significantly in recent years in terms of use. Just 6% of the residual waste is

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incinerated, usually due to (food) regulations, contamination, etc. The tonnage that is processed as biofuel and in biochemical applications is small, as a result of the nature of the materials. Wood waste market: an opportunity for the circular economy? The primary production of wood waste in Flanders remains fairly stable both for households and the primary business sectors. The supply of wood waste from the waste processing sector has increased since 2010 due to better separate collection. In addition to this, the increase has been caused by the reduction in incineration within the wood processing industry, which has resulted in this quantity of wood coming into the waste processing sector. Flanders annually produces between 1 and 1,1 million tonnes of wood waste.

The processing of wood waste has been subjected to significant shocks in the last three years due to a combination of warmer winters, better sorting, loss of capacity, and increased demand from the neighbouring countries. This has resulted in an acute capacity shortage for processing at least 100 000 tonnes in Flanders that still has not been processed in 2017. When it concerns post-consumer wood waste, a significant portion can be easily utilised in the production of chipboard via separate collection (e.g. packaging wood) or pre-treatment (manual or automatic sorting of recyclable wood fractions). The increased use of wood waste in the chipboard sector cannot entirely absorb the current oversupply.

Specifically for wood dust, the stoppage of wood dust incineration in the Langerlo electricity power plant has led to an acute processing problem for the estimated 80 000 to 90 000 tonnes of wood dust that are produced annually in Flanders. In 2012, OVAM was already signalling the threatening capacity shortage for the processing of wood dust in its ‘2011-2012 Biomass Inventory’.

We see a completely different picture in the longer term (as from 2020). Based on the planned and known processing initiatives in Flanders, Wallonia, and the United Kingdom, we will head towards a shortage of more than 500 000 tonnes in Flanders. The first signs of this break in the trend were already visible in the spring of 2017. Flanders will then be strongly reliant upon the import of wood waste to satisfy its need for energy and materials. After 2020, a more effective ETS system could also lead to an increased demand for wood waste from the energy-intensive industry.

Green waste: Supply from companies is increasing and composting continues to score well The separate collection of green waste via recycling centres, supplemented by door-to-door collection in certain regions is increasing in importance. There is an increasing trend from within companies and public administrations, which has led to a total annual supply of 680 000 tonnes of green waste. When it comes to processing, composting is by far the most important and most available method; 600 000 tonnes of green waste are composted.

The strategy in the 2015-2020 Sustainable Management of Biomass (Waste) Flows action plan states that should there be a surplus of woody materials left over from the green composting, this can – depending on the quality – be used for other purposes (renewable energy, biofuels, chemicals, etc.). 13 400 of pruning/thinning waste has been used in this way to generate renewable energy. The current low pricing for woody materials does not, however, cover the cleaning and transport costs, which limits the potential markets for renewable energy generation. So there is still significant unutilised potential. There is an increasing demand for mulching materials among public administrations in order to reduce the use of herbicides.

The quantities of clippings from mowing (verges and meadows) vary significantly depending on the method used. Composting is currently the most important technique for processing these clippings. In certain regions, the clippings are ensiled to cover the peak demand in June and September and are later sent off for green composting. An analysis by Vlaco shows that, in

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2016, approximately 82 000 tonnes of verge clippings from municipalities and other verge managers were sent off to a composting plant in Flanders; this is based on a total estimated supply of approximately 130 000 tonnes of verge clippings. Pollution (litter, etc.) remains a point for attention and requires the necessary pre-treatment when processing. Increase in valorisation of wood (waste) flows from the forests The supply of wood (residue) flows from the Flemish forests is estimated at 726 000 m³. The market is estimated at 1 000 000 m³, with 67% of this being destined for firewood for private use and 33% as stemwood for the industrial sector. The difference in supply-use is partly explained by a lack of data in the supply of (fire)wood for private use. Different site managers are already making efforts to improve the data availability and the accuracy so as to reduce the error margin by extrapolation. Uniformity in the methodology used has been lacking up till now, however, which obstructs the exchangeability or aggregation of the data. The trend in which the wood residue flows from forests are being increasingly valorised, often as energy applications, seems to be continuing. However, analysis refers more to unutilised potentials and, at least in theory, to new opportunities for these wood flows. It is best to provide these opportunities with significant room to manoeuvre to allow this step towards realisation and implementation to be taken in reality. As the forest groupings continue to be better managed, it is expected that more stemwood will be sold (estimated at 25%). The creation of new (local) value chains requires knowledge, which is already available and must be further harmonised and made accessible, and the creation of partnerships is recommended. Given the current energy application and the local character, an expansion of the call green heat can act as a facilitator in order to provide opportunities for more small-scale installations (as from 300 kWth instead of 1 MWth). Lastly, a framework for digitising the management plans and implementing the management in Flanders is recommended, whereby the uniformity, the exchangeability, and the reliability of data will increase so that better substantiated valorisation strategies and policy monitoring can be achieved.

Waste flows from landscape management The management of landscapes can result in approximately 77 000 m³ of woody materials per year from roadside trees, hedges, wood edges, etc. This is almost 30% of the annual theoretical potential. There are various uses: firewood, composting, mulching, etc.

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2 The biomass (waste) flows mapped out

2.1 The three cycles The Flemish action plan ‘Sustainable management of biomass residues 2015-2020’ (OVAM, 2015) divide the biomass up into three cycles: – the cycle of organic-biological food waste/residues from the agriculture, food to consumer

chain; – the cycle of waste flows from green management and open spaces; – the cycle of wood waste flows from industry and households.

Table 1 shows which biomass residue/waste flows are included in this per cycle.

The chain agriculture, food to consumer:

Green management and open spaces:

Industry and households:

Food waste from hotels, restaurants, catering, and distribution

Waste flows from forest operation and maintenance (including branches)

Wood waste from the wood processing industry (primary wood waste)

Agricultural harvest/residues (plant/animal)

Woody waste flows from environmental and landscape management

Post-consumer wood waste (A and B wood)

Plant-based and animal fats & oils, animal proteins

Green waste Hazardous wood waste (C wood)

Vegetable, fruit and garden waste (households) and kitchen waste that contains animal by-products

Green waste: fine fraction

Waste flows from the (animal) feed industry (incl. sludge)

Animal manure is included in the policy plan to the extent that it can be processed together with other biomass (waste) flows.

Clippings (verge/nature)

Other organic materials from nature management

NOT: energy crops, algae, sewage sludge

NOT: sewer sludge, short-cycle wood

Table 1: The analysed biomass residue/waste per cycle

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2.2 Overview of supply and uses for biomass (waste) flows in Flanders in 2015 This chapter sketches out the general synthesis image of the supply and the use of biomass and food (waste) flows in Flanders. The biomass and food (waste) flows from the three cycles are then discussed in more detail concerning the data collection, analysis of the supply and the valorisation/use, in the Flemish report “Aanbod en bestemming biomassa(rest)stromen voor de circulaire economie in Vlaanderen” (OVAM, 2017).

2.2.1 The agriculture, food to consumer cycle

Figure 1 provides a general overview of the food waste/residues in the agri-food chain, starting from the harvest through to consumption, in 2015.

Figure 1: Overview of supply and valorisation of food (waste)/residues in Flanders, 2015 (Flemish Food Loss Chain Platform, 2017)

FLANDERS

FOOD RESOURCES AND PRODUCTS

FOOD RESIDUES (non-edible biomass)

*incl. production for export

FOOD

CONSUMPTION FOOD LOSS

FOOD RESIDUE EDIBLE

NON EDIBLE

92% VALORISED

VALOR I SA T I ON

PREVENTION

FOOD

FEED

MATERIALS

BIOFUELS

INCINERATION

DISPOSAL

16 400 ton to food donation

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Preventing food waste is a point for attention across the entire sector. However, there really aren’t any actual figures on this. Donations are not registered everywhere, at least an estimated 16 400 tonnes of leftover food is donated.

Food waste/residues created

An estimated 3 485 000 tonnes of food waste/residues (both edible food loss and non-edible residues/by-products) were released into the Flemish agri-food chain in 2015. The table below shows the quantities per link in the chain.

Sector Food residues

Tonnes Share in the total chain

Fishing industry 10 402 > 1% Agriculture* 449 352 13%

Auctions 15 277 > 1% Food industry* 2 349 445 67%

Retail 64 828 2% Hotel, restaurant, pub 67 450 2%

Catering 60 098 2% Households 468 305 13% Total chain 3 485 157 100%

Table 2: Overview of food residues in the Flemish agri-food chain, per sector (in tonnes) (Flemish Food Loss Chain Platform, 2017)

* Flemish agricultural and food industry have increasingly become more export-oriented. Production for export is included in the figures.

The food industry links, and to a lesser extent agriculture and households, releases the majority of the Flemish food residues. Due to the ever increasing orientation towards export, the food industry produces approximately half of the turnover for the foreign market. The links from retail through to households, on the other hand, only relate to the domestic market. Large quantities of non-edible food residues (peels, bones, pulp, etc.) are released through the processing of resources into food products in the food industry, which is good for 90% of the food residues in the food industry.

Valorisation of food (waste) residues

92% of all food (waste) residues are valorised, with the majority of this being done in Flanders. The relevant sectors are an important forerunner in the application of the cascade in the circular economic story. Figure 2 shows that most of the food residues (41+2%) go directly into animal

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feed or are used in mixed feed after treatment. This primarily concerns plant-based (waste) flows. A number of flows from the food industry comply with the federal legislation on animal feed (e.g. carrot scrapings, beet pulp, etc.) without any additional processing. These flows are not experiencing any market issues and often have a positive market price.

Composting/anaerobic digestion is good for 6% and 21%, respectively, and has increased significantly in recent years in terms of use. The tonnage that is processed as biofuel and in biochemical applications is currently very small, as a result of the nature of the materials.

Just 6% is incinerated as residual waste.

Figure 2: Overview of the valorisation of food waste/residues in Flanders

Cascade index

A cascade index has been calculated in order to express the valorisation of the food residues in a contemplative manner in the context of the monitoring of food loss per link in the chain. The cascade index weighs the food residues that are released by the sector against their valorisation position on the cascade of value retention (OVAM, 2015a). The cascade index in Figure 1, respectively, show how highly a sector valorises, independant from the absolute quantity of food residue that it produces. It is important to place the index value of a sector within its context. For example, not all valorisations are technically possible or legally allowed in each sector. For more information on calculating the cascade index, we refer you to the food loss monitoring (Flemish Food Loss Chain Platform, 2017). Valorisation per sector

The table below shows the use per sector. Feed for agricultural animals or house pets (consumers) is the most important valorisation for the food residues from the food industry and auctions. Most of the residues in agriculture are spread out on the farmland. Fermentation is growing in importance along the entire chain. Food waste flows (in, among others, separate collected vegetable, fruit and garden waste) from households is primarily composted or fermented with post-composting.

17%

41%

2%

0.3%

27%

0.7%

5%

6%2%

Bodem (incl verlies) Dier- voeding diervoeding na behand.

Bio-chemie Compostering /vergisting Biobrandstof

Dierlijke verwerking Restafval verbranding Slibbehand. Riol.

Total quantity: 3.48 million tonnes

Disposal, etc.

Soil

Bio-based prod.

Treatment animal by-products

Feed

Digestion/compost.

Incineration

Feed after treatment

Biofuel

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Sector

Anim

al feed

Organic-based

ti

l

Soil

Fermentation

Com

posting

Energy

Incineration w

ith energy recovery

Landfill/discharge*

Unknow

n use Total

(tonnes)

Fishing industry - - - - - - - 100

% - 10 402

Agriculture 11% - 70% 4% 4% 1% - 4% 6% 449 352 Auctions 36% - 28% 11% 17% - - - 8% 15 277

Food industry 55% 0

% 11% 26% - 7% 0% - - 2 349 445

Retail 3% 2% - 49% 16% - 29% - - 64 828

Hotel, restaurant,

pub - - - 31% - - 69% - - 67 450

Catering - - - 24% - - 76% - - 60 098 Households 28% - - 6% 40% - 24% 3% 0% 468 305

Total chain 43% 0% 17% 21% 6% 5% 6% 1% 1% 100%

Table 3: Overview of the valorisation of food residues per sector in Flanders, 2015

In the context of this inventory and the food loss roadmap, these data are further refined in consultation with the relevant sectors. Based on the above overview, we can conclude that the agri-food sector is significantly advanced in the valorisation of food waste/residues. Hotel-restaurant and catering are the sectors that have the most potential for separate collection because many food waste flows currently still wind up together with the residual waste and end up being incinerated.

Food loss and by-products When we make a distinction within the food waste/residues between the edible and non-edible fractions, we gain an overview of the food loss and by-products, respectively, as shown in Table 4.

Flow→

Indicator

Link↓

Food loss (= edible food residues)

By-products (= non-edible food residues)

Absolute quantity (tonnes)

Share in chain

(%)

Food loss (tonnes)

with regard to total production in the link* (%)

Absolute quantity (tonnes)

Share in chain (%)

Fishing industry 5 201 1% 21% 5 201 0% Agriculture 330 319 36% 4% 119 033 5% Auctions 14 629 2% 1,4% 647 0%

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Food industry 225 481 25% 1,5% 2 123 964 82% Retail 43 391 5% 2,6% 21 437 1%

Hotel, restaurant, pub 19 108 2% unknown 48 342 2%

Catering 57 090 6% unknown 3 005 0% Households 211 858 23% 5,9% 256 447 10% Total chain 907 077 100% unknown 2 578 076 100%

Table 3: Overview food loss and residues, absolute and relative, per link, 2015

Of the 907 000 tonnes of food loss in Flanders, 36% originates from agriculture, 25% from the food industry, and 23% from households. This is closely related to the high production volume in the food industry and agriculture (important part for export), as well as the specific production circumstances in the agricultural industry. After all, farmers are directly dependent upon ‘natural’ production circumstances (e.g. climate) that he or she cannot personally control. These circumstances can have a great impact on things like losses during harvest, sorting, and storage.

With regard to the total production, there seems to be little food loss in nearly all the sectors: 1,5% in the food industry and 4% in agriculture. Food loss in households with regard to the total food consumption amounts to 5,9%.

2.2.2 The cycle of biomass (waste) flows from garden, green, environmental, forest, and landscape management

Green waste

The separate collection of green waste via recycling centres, supplemented by door-to-door collection in certain Flemish regions is increasing in importance. There is an increasing trend from within companies and public administrations, which has led to a total annual supply of 680 000 tonnes of green waste (excl. clippings) in 2015. When it comes to processing, composting is by far the most important and most available method; 600 000 tonnes of green waste are composted. The strategy in the 2015-2020 Sustainable Management of Biomass (Waste) Flows Action Plan states that should there be a surplus of woody materials left over from the green composting, this can – depending on the quality – be used for other purposes (renewable energy, biofuels, chemicals, etc.). 13 400 tonnes of pruning/thinning waste has been used in this way to generate renewable energy. The low pricing for woody materials does not, however, cover the cleaning and transport costs, which limits the potential markets for renewable energy generation. There is an increasing demand for mulching materials among public administrations in order to reduce the use of herbicides.

Table 5 shows the estimated quantities of verge clippings coming from verges subject to the verge directive (both water and road verges), and the ‘meadow’ clippings with less pollution/contamination originating from the management of (public) green domains, parks, nature reserves, etc. The quantities of clippings vary significantly depending on the method used. A limited portion of the verge clippings is valorised in June and September due to pollution and peak supply.

Forest management

The supply of wood (waste flows) from the Flemish forests is estimated at 726 000 m³. The market is estimated at 1 000 000 m³, with 67% of this being intended for firewood for private use and 33% as wood for the industrial sector. The difference in supply-use is partly explained by a

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lack of data in the supply of (fire)wood for private use. Different site managers are already making efforts to improve the data availability and the accuracy so as to reduce the error margin by extrapolation.

Landscape management

The management of landscapes results in approximately 77 000 m³ of woody materials per year from roadside trees, hedges, wood edges, etc. This is almost 30% of the annual theoretical potential. There is not always a clear overview of the use of the share intended for firewood, composting, mulching, etc.

Green waste (tonnes of fresh materials)

2014 Supply 2014 Use

Household garden waste

450 000 Composting (88%), mulching (10%), energetic valorisation (2%)

Corporate green waste

132 000

Pruning/thinning waste management of roads (public administrations)

98 000

Verge clippings 129 000 Composting, anaerobic digestion, unutilised

Meadows 98 000 Composting, unutilised

Wood flows from forest management (m³)

Trunk wood 547 000

Branches wood 179 000 Materials (industrial wood: 33%), firewood (primarily private use: 67%)

Waste flows from landscape management (m³)

Trunk and branches (forest fringes, trees, etc.)

77 000 Mulching, firewood, unutilised

Weedy vegetation 15 000 unknown Table 4: Estimate of the supply and use of biomass waste flows from garden, green, environmental, forest, and landscape management (2014-2015).

2.2.3 The cycle of wood waste from industry and households

The primary production of wood waste in Flanders remains fairly stable both for households and the primary business sectors. The supply of wood waste from the waste processing sector has increased since 2010 due to better separate collection. In addition to this, the increase has been caused by the reduction in incineration within the wood processing industry, which has resulted in this quantity of wood coming into the waste processing sector. Flanders annually produces between 1 and 1,1 million tonnes of wood waste.

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The processing of wood waste has been subjected to significant shocks in the last three years due to a combination of warmer winters, better sorting, loss of capacity, and increased demand from the neighbouring countries. This has resulted in an acute capacity shortage for processing at least 100 000 tonnes in Flanders that still has not been processed in 2017. When it concerns post-consumer wood waste, a significant portion can be easily utilised in the production of chipboard via separate collection (e.g. packaging wood) or pre-treatment (manual or automatic sorting of non-recyclable wood fractions). The increased use of wood waste in the chipboard sector cannot entirely absorb the current oversupply.

Specifically for wood dust, the stoppage of wood dust incineration in the Langerlo electricity power plan has led to an acute processing problem for the estimated 80 000 to 90 000 tonnes of wood dust that are produced in Flanders.

0,8-0,9 million tonnes of wood pellets are imported in the context of the renewable energy generation objectives.

Woody waste flows (tonnes)

2014 Supply 2014 Use

Primary wood waste from the wood industry and industrial post-consumer wood waste

(incl. import/export)

1 231 000 chipboard industry (46%), incineration (54%)

Household post-consumer wood waste

160 000

Table 5: Supply and use of collected wood waste (2014).

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Annex 1: References

OVAM (2015). Actieplan Duurzaam beheer van biomassa(rest)stromen 2015-2020, goedgekeurd door de Vlaamse Regering op 10 juli 2015, 94 p.

OVAM (2017). Aanbod en bestemming biomassa(rest)stromen voor de circulaire economie in Vlaanderen, 113 p.

Vlaams Ketenplatform Voedselverliezen (2017). Voedselreststromen en voedselverliezen: preventie en valorisatie, monitoring Vlaanderen 2015, 89 p.