On 10th of June, the EU-funded Projects NewFeed, Landfeed, and Sea2Land joined forces in an insightful networking webinar dedicated to advancing sustainable practices in agriculture and food systems. With a shared focus on reducing food waste and converting a variety of organic waste streams into high-value fertilizers and animal feeds, the event highlighted the innovative approaches each project is taking to support circular economy goals.
Participants had the opportunity to present their latest findings, demonstrate cutting-edge tools and technologies, and explore future directions. The webinar promoted collaboration and knowledge, strengthening ties among the projects as they work toward shared sustainability goals in Europe’s food system.
Three Projects with common vision
NewFeed Project: Transforming Food Industry By-products into New Feed Ingredients.
Focus: Developing alternative animal feed from food waste streams, such as grape stems, orange peels, and olive cake.
Landfeed Project: Transforming waste into sustainable biofertilisers.
Focus: Use of sustainable, local resources to create bio-based fertilisers, enhancing soil health, and reducing environmental impacts.
Sea2Land Project: Producing advanced bio-based fertilizers from fisheries waste.
Focus: Turning fisheries and aquaculture waste into sustainable fertilizers by promoting local, large-scale fertiliser production in the EU, supporting food systems, climate goals, and circular economy principles.
Transforming Food Industry by-products into Animal Feed
The first part of the webinar was dedicated to the NewFeed project, coordinated by AZTI, which focuses on transforming agri-food by-products into high-value feed ingredients for livestock and poultry.
Following the project’s introduction, the NewFeed team presented the three case studies, each demonstrating the potential of different food industry by-products to be valorized into sustainable feed:
- Case Study 1 showcased the transformation of grape stems, a waste stream from the wine industry, into a nutritious feed ingredient for dairy sheep and cattle. The process involved optimizing the fiber content and enhancing digestibility through innovative hydrolysis techniques.
- Case Study 2 focused on orange peels, turning citrus waste from juice production into an improved feed ingredient for dairy sheep, enhancing milk quality and reducing methane emissions.
- Case Study 3 presented the successful use of olive cake, a by-product of olive oil production, as a feed ingredient for broiler chickens. Through microbial fermentation, the NewFeed team managed to reduce the high fiber content and improve protein availability, making it suitable for poultry diets.
Landfeed Project: Overview
LANDFEED Project (Horizon Europe), runs from September 2024 to August 2028. Its mission is to transform under-utilized organic waste—sourced from agri-food, forestry, urban, and natural sectors—into innovative bio-based fertilizers, enhancing soil health and reducing environmental impact
The project aims to valorize five types of biowaste through dedicated use-cases across Europe, leveraging waste producers, fertilizer companies, farmers, and other stakeholders.
LANDFEED features five pilot use-cases, each targeting different biowaste types and processing methods:
- HORECA waste (Spain): Transform HORECA waste into biobased fertilizers through a biotechnological process suitable for agricultural use.
- Animal waste (France): Enhance twin-screw extrusion by incorporating enzymatic treatment to process fish and meat waste into bio-based fertilizers and biostimulants.
- Olive‑oil waste (Greece): Showcases a zero-emission method for drying olive mill waste using biomass burners with CO₂ capture. The ash is turned into slow-release fertilizers, and the captured CO₂ is used to grow algae for biofertilizer production.
- Multi‑waste (Italy): Aims to develop a high-performance, safer alternative to chemical fertilizers by combining treated wastewater sludge with other waste materials, following circular economy principles. It will optimize mixtures, ensure pollutant removal, and pilot a zero-waste integrated system for scalable, sustainable use.
- Dairy waste (Poland): Aims to convert nutrient-rich dairy by-products into bio-based fertilisers using a dual treatment process. A pilot facility will optimize production and testing, targeting at least 30% nutrient recovery for more sustainable agriculture.
Sea2Land Project: Overview
SEA2LAND Project (Horizon 2020), was active from January 2021 to December 2024. The project aims to transform fishery and aquaculture by-products into bio-based fertilisers (BBFs), applying nine technologies across seven pilot sites in six European regions.
By recovering nutrients from seafood waste, SEA2LAND promotes large-scale production of EU-sourced fertilizers that reduce dependency on imports and close nutrient loops within a circular economy framework.
Also, the Project assesses environmental, soil health, social, and economic impacts, preparing business plans to support regional replication and boost local economies.
Looking Ahead
This joint webinar not only highlighted the shared mission of NewFeed, Landfeed, and Sea2Land to advance sustainable waste valorization in the agri-food sector but also reinforced the value of cross-project collaboration.
By coming together, the projects demonstrated how integrated approaches can support the EU’s transition toward a circular economy and more resilient food systems.
The event created valuable opportunities for knowledge exchange, networking, and future cooperation among researchers, industry stakeholders, and policymakers. It sparked meaningful dialogue around challenges and solutions, inspired new synergies, and strengthened the visibility of each initiative’s work.
The insights and connections made during the webinar are expected to enhance project impact, accelerate innovation uptake, and contribute to more sustainable agricultural practices across Europe.
Join the Movement
The NewFeed Landfeed, and Sea2Land webinar was an exciting step forward in the journey towards a more sustainable and circular food system. By working together, project partners are shaping the future the agricultural sector.
For more information on the projects networking activities read here.
