Boosting the market deployment of safe, effective and sustainable innovations for soil improvement from bio-waste, towards regenerative soil systems

Project Information

BIN2BEAN

Grant agreement ID: 101113011

DOI

10.3030/101113011

EC signature date 19 May 2023

Start date 1 September 2023

End date 30 November 2026

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 3 279 086,25

EU contribution

€ 2 997 766,88

Coordinated by

CONSORZIO ITALBIOTEC
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BIN2BEAN (Boosting the market deployment of safe, effective and sustainable innovations for soil improvement from bio-waste, towards regenerative soil systems)

Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2025-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Around 70% of soils in the EU are unhealthy due to erosion, loss of organic matter, contamination, unsustainable practices and desertification, affecting water quality and availability, biodiversity, climate, and food security, with impacts on human health and the economy. At the same time, bio-waste — a valuable resource for soil fertility — is still mostly landfilled or incinerated (80%), while only 17% of municipal waste is composted or digested.
In this context, BIN2BEAN aims to help EU cities in their transition towards healthy soils and soil regenerative systems, by optimizing bio-waste recycling into soil improvers through innovative and economically viable value chains. BIN2BEAN concept focuses on identifying, evaluating, and scaling up promising local initiatives and practices that can be tailored to diverse urban realities. The project adopts a circular, multi-actor and evidence-based approach, implemented through 3 Living Labs (LLs) in Amsterdam, Hamburg and Egaleo, representing different pedo-climatic, social and regulatory contexts and serving as hubs for co-creation, stakeholder engagement and real-life testing of bio-waste valorization pathways.
Activities include mapping of local contexts, assessment of existing solutions’ environmental and socio-economic performance, and development of a scoring system to identify the most promising options. In parallel, BIN2BEAN co-designs circular business models and explores governance and policy frameworks to support implementation and replication. Through this integrated approach, BIN2BEAN delivers a toolbox for empowering cities in adopting and scaling efficient, sustainable and market-ready solutions for bio-waste valorization into soil improvers.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Within RP1, BIN2BEAN focused on the activation and operationalisation of three LLs in Amsterdam, Egaleo, and Hamburg, which engaged a total of 59 soil system actors and 86 households through co-creation activities, targeted workshops, and awareness-raising events. This was supported by a structured methodology for the setup and management of LLs, including a toolbox of 20 engagement tools tailored to diverse urban conditions and designed to support their long-term functionality and transferability.
In parallel, a Stakeholder Forum with 50 members was established to foster knowledge exchange and support the co-design of locally adapted biowaste management systems. A mix of participatory and analytical methods was deployed to understand urban biowaste flows, including Material Flow Analyses (MFAs) conducted in Hamburg and Amsterdam to identify waste generation hotspots and design fit-for-purpose interventions. In Egaleo, where no bio-waste was previously converted into soil improvers, this activity created the opportunity to build a circular system from scratch.
In terms of knowledge building, BIN2BEAN produced a wide European-scale overview of the bio-waste management landscape, integrating information from over 50 technical publications, 15 expert interviews, 455 citizen responses, and 18 surveys to EU cities. This resulted in a handbook of good practices and recommendations for bio-waste valorisation with a back-to-soil objective.
Scientific activities focused on developing a conceptual evaluation framework to assess soil improvers’ impacts on soil health and ecosystem services, drafting of QA/QC protocols, developing a protocol for laboratory analysis of carbon and nitrogen mineralization rate, with early experimental work conducted in Hamrburg. Additionally, recognizing that good quality soil improvers start from well-sorted biowaste, pilot urban actions were launched, notably in Egaleo, with the distribution of bio-bins and home composting initiatives, and the setting up of a grinder system in Amsterdam.
To support the selection and uptake of the most promising solutions, BIN2BEAN initiated the development of a scoring system integrating environmental, technical, and socio-economic indicators, with a demo version presented to partners. Complementary to this, early market assessments, preliminary feasibility studies and willingness-to-pay/accept analyses were undertaken. A survey was also launched to identify training needs along the value chain, supporting future capacity-building actions for innovators and local entrepreneurs.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

One of the main innovations is the replicable Living Lab model, which integrates stakeholder engagement, co-design, and technical validation into a unified framework for urban transformation. The structured methodology for LL setup defines a new reference model for implementing tailored regenerative soil strategies approaches in cities across EU and enables other regions to replicate and scale up similar approaches. This methodology does not only enable local ownership and contextual adaptation but also reflects a practical application of Social Sciences and Humanities within the project.Building on that, BIN2BEAN partners also contributed to co-designing and validating a mixed-methods approach to support a mental shift from linear supply chains to circular, regenerative soil systems. This includes MFAs to visualise bio-waste generation and movement in the city-regions, as well as participatory tools such as mental modelling, discrete choice experiments, and sense-making workshops. These are used to explore perceptions, decision drivers, and trade-offs, feeding into the co-development of business models and governance pathways that are both technically viable and socially accepted.
A novel contribution to impact assessment is the novel evaluation framework to assess soil improvers holistically in terms of their performance on soil quality and climate. This includes the design of a conceptual model linking ecosystem stressors to functional soil health damage pathways, applying LCIA principles. This methodological innovation provides the basis for a harmonised environmental performance benchmark for bio-waste-derived soil improvers. The scoring system under development further distinguishes BIN2BEAN from existing initiatives. While MCDA approaches are common, BIN2BEAN’s tool is uniquely tailored to the biowaste-to-soil value chain, integrating environmental, economic, technical indicators into the decision logic.

Graphical abstract of the BIN2BEAN project