The SirkulærMat project continues to make strides toward its goal of creating a pioneering model for safe and efficient food waste utilization. Led by NMBUs GreenSmart sustainability arena, with key partners from Vitenparken, Lindum, and a new collaborator from NIBIO, the pilot project aims to demonstrate how food waste can be managed sustainably and effectively, contributing to a more circular food system where waste becomes a resource.
A recent highlight of the project has been the innovative work of three master's students from NMBUs urban agriculture course. The group included Oskar S. Aalholm, Hanne Kierulf, and Alette G. Rousseau. During their internship with GreenSmart Sustainability Arena and NMBUs Sustainability Hub, they developed a prototype bin designed specifically for handling food waste on campus.
The goal of the prototype is to manage food waste locally, reducing the amount of waste while producing nutrient-rich compost to support new food production. Their bin concept aims to make the food waste process more efficient and sustainable, aligning with the overall objective of the project's partners —to reduce waste and create value locally.
We are also thrilled to welcome Agnieszka Jasińska, a new scientist joining the SirkulærMat project team. Agnieszka brings valuable experience in sustainable food systems, particularly in mushroom cultivation using food waste as a substrate.
Agnieszka background includes work with the EU Marie Curie-Sklodowska Actions Fellowship, where she developed a project focused on integrated systems for commercial mushroom and vegetable production. Her research and practical knowledge center on creating biosystems that convert food waste into new food products.
She has also been involved with the Veg-Wa-Mus CirCrop project, an EU initiative aimed at promoting circular food systems. In Norway, she has established Soppas, a startup focused on mushroom cultivation using composted bio-fertilizers, tying her work to local sustainable food production practices. Her ongoing efforts will strengthen SirkulærMat's focus on innovative uses of organic waste and contribute to its goal of modeling a circular food system on campus.
Experimenting with new and practical solutions to increase the re-use of our valuable nutrients from local waste is an important cornerstone of our future circular economy. With great efforts and exciting work from our internship students, along with the addition to our team, we are very excited to continue the work.
For the future we're looking to work more closely with the NMBUs Department of Estates and Facilities, Mattilsynet and other key actors to test our small scale pilot solution, along with important research into the safety aspects of the food produced from waste. We look forward to sharing more updates as the project evolves.