Circular Bioeconomy Practices in the Greek Pig Sector: The Environmental Performance of Bakery Meal as Pig Feed Ingredient

Lefteris Melas (), Maria Batsioula, Apostolos Malamakis, Sotiris I. Patsios, Dimitris Geroliolios, Evangelos Alexandropoulos, Stamatia Skoutida, Christos Karkanias, Anna Dedousi, Maria-Zoi Kritsa, Evangelia N. Sossidou and George F. Banias
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Lefteris Melas: Institute for Bio-Economy and Agri-Technology (IBO), Centre for Research and Technology-Hellas (CERTH), Thermi, 570 01 Thessaloniki, Greece
Maria Batsioula: Institute for Bio-Economy and Agri-Technology (IBO), Centre for Research and Technology-Hellas (CERTH), Thermi, 570 01 Thessaloniki, Greece
Apostolos Malamakis: Institute for Bio-Economy and Agri-Technology (IBO), Centre for Research and Technology-Hellas (CERTH), Thermi, 570 01 Thessaloniki, Greece
Sotiris I. Patsios: Institute for Bio-Economy and Agri-Technology (IBO), Centre for Research and Technology-Hellas (CERTH), Thermi, 570 01 Thessaloniki, Greece
Dimitris Geroliolios: Institute for Bio-Economy and Agri-Technology (IBO), Centre for Research and Technology-Hellas (CERTH), Thermi, 570 01 Thessaloniki, Greece
Evangelos Alexandropoulos: KAFSIS S.A., 190 03 Athens, Greece
Stamatia Skoutida: Institute for Bio-Economy and Agri-Technology (IBO), Centre for Research and Technology-Hellas (CERTH), Thermi, 570 01 Thessaloniki, Greece
Christos Karkanias: Institute for Bio-Economy and Agri-Technology (IBO), Centre for Research and Technology-Hellas (CERTH), Thermi, 570 01 Thessaloniki, Greece
Anna Dedousi: Veterinary Research Institute, Hellenic Agricultural Organization DIMITRA, 570 01 Thessaloniki, Greece
Maria-Zoi Kritsa: Veterinary Research Institute, Hellenic Agricultural Organization DIMITRA, 570 01 Thessaloniki, Greece
Evangelia N. Sossidou: Veterinary Research Institute, Hellenic Agricultural Organization DIMITRA, 570 01 Thessaloniki, Greece
George F. Banias: Institute for Bio-Economy and Agri-Technology (IBO), Centre for Research and Technology-Hellas (CERTH), Thermi, 570 01 Thessaloniki, Greece

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-26

Abstract: Food systems and, to an extent, the pig sector are major contributors of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally. At the same time, significant amounts of waste are produced from the food sector. The aim of this study is to examine the implementation of circular bio-economy practices in the Greek pig sector to improve its environmental performance. More specifically, in collaboration with a pig farm in Northern Greece and a waste management company, the collection and processing of bakery by-products was organized to produce bakery meal (BM) to integrate it in the diets of fattening and growing pigs. Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, the environmental performance of 20% BM inclusion in pig diets was examined in comparison with the conventional feedstock. BM experimentally replaced corn, wheat, barley, and soya bean from conventional feedstock. The Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) was based on the yearly average values of feed and energy consumption to produce 1 kg of living weight of pig on the pig farm. Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) was conducted with SimaPro v3.5, using Recipe Midpoint Hierarchical v1.6. The LCIA calculations exhibited that BM inclusion in pig diets can lead to significant land occupation decrease, approximately 30%, which is mostly related to reduced wheat and soya beans. The reduction of cultivated croplands also led to reduced fertilizer and pesticide application, which improved marine eutrophication and freshwater ecotoxicity impact by 20% while it significantly reduced risks of human carcinogenic toxicity by 25%. Moreover, the Greek pig sector exhibited a 5% capacity for overall improvement of its environmental performance, which relies on minimizing logistics when the pig farm conducted collection and processing of by-products. A basic assumption of this study is the assessment of bakery by-product quantities in the wider region of the pig farm. The availability of by-products, based on the reported experience, was limited, and the reliability of the supply was frequently disrupted. As such, the supply chain model of the central hub for the collection and processing of bakery by-products is proposed as more efficient for regulating logistic challenges and availability.

Keywords: pig feed; bakery meal; livestock sustainability; circular bioeconomy; life cycle assessment; food chains (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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