The black soldier fly as a tool for a beneficial local circular economy system

Results presented at: Insect to Feed the World, Canada June 2022

Partner: A. Cattaneo^1,2, S. Dabbou¹, M. Meneguz² and B. Scaglia³

¹University of Trento, Center Agriculture Food Environment, Via Calepina 14, 38122 Trento, Italy, ²BEF Biosystems s.r.l.,

Via Tancredi Canonico 18/c, 10156 Turin, Italy, 3University of Milan, Ricicla Group Labs, Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Via Giovanni Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy;

Person of interest: Siehm Dabbou, associate professor at the University of Trento

https://webapps.unitn.it/du/it/Persona/PER0222577/Didattica

Barbara Scaglia, associate professor at the University of Milan

https://www.unimi.it/it/ugov/person/barbara-scaglia

Link to download pdf with results: https://doi.org/10.3920/jiff2022.s1

Summary:

Every year, about one-third of the food produced for human consumption in the world is lost. This is nutrient-rich biomass that traditional disposal methods do not fully value. The black soldier fly (BSF) can convert organic waste into nutrient-rich raw materials with a new sustainable circular economy (CE) approach. This study evaluated BSFs as a tool for biomass valorization, creating a local CE system.

A census of the most representative agribusinesses in the area was selected and contacted. A database was created regarding by-product categories (BPs), quantities, seasonality and their current management. BPs were evaluated in terms of their suitability for BSF by analyzing their literature evidence toward BSF farming considering nutritional quality and quantity surveyed.

The 115 farms were divided into 6 categories: brewery (BRE), milling (MIL), fruit and vegetable (FRU-VEG), rice (RIC), winery (WIN), and distillation (DIS). A total biomass of 87,325 tons was recorded. The largest contributors were the MIL (81,225 tons), DIS (3,710 tons) and FRU-VEG (1,190 tons) BPs. Only a few of the identified BPs were recognized as suitable for BSF breeding: BRE, MIL, FRU-VEG, WIN, DIS. Only 0.37% of BPs were included in the EC process, 0.30% were managed through the combination of agricultural principles and EC, and 97% were used for agro-livestock purposes. In addition, 1.37% of BP (1,201.8 tons) was disposed of as waste.

Management through BSF breeding would be more efficient and cost-effective than traditional breeding, as revealed by the economic evaluation and comparison of the two scenarios. This bioprocessing technology can be scalable and customized, depending on the geographical area under study, and contributes to the creation of a new source of protein for the feed industry, reducing the underestimation of BPs and their management costs.