WAVA: Valorising Food Waste into Value Added Commodities
- Challenge:Food Challenge
- Phase:Seed
- Team Lead:Dr Sushanta Kumar Saha, Technological University of the Shannon
- Team Co-Lead:Dr Ajay Menon, University College Dublin
- Societal Impact Champion:Adam Lord, Food Surplus Management Ltd.

Food waste valorisation is an important goal of sustainable development. In Ireland, 4.2 million tonnes of food-waste is generated annually with the food-processing sector accounting for 19% of this total producing 36,900 tonnes of fruit and 758,650 tonnes of vegetable waste each year. This food waste represents a valuable untapped source of commercially important compounds (e.g., fatty acids) that can be used for a range of applications.
Develop a disruptive anaerobic digestion technology that will transform organic food waste, destined for landfill, into nutrient-rich foods, ingredients, clean energy and balanced fertiliser thus providing a unique zero-waste circular bioeconomy solution.