Glossary
Value chain
A value chain covers the whole production from raw material to product applications
Sustainable
A product or a way of life is sustainable when does not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Renewable
Non-depletable or naturally replenishable
Home compostable
A “home compostable" product can be placed in a home compost garden heaps where they will decompose due to the action of microorganisms and become organic rich soil, within a measured period of time
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a community of interacting organisms and their environment, which means living creatures intersecting with non-living things like soil, water and air. In ecosystem each organism has its role to play
Compostable
Compostable means that a product can degrade under specific conditions, like heating and pressure. This process can happen only in a plant (does not mean a tree! But a system of machineries)
Compost
Compost is an organic material that can be added to soil to help plants grow. It can be made with leaves, branches, vegetable waste, fruit scraps, and coffee grounds.
Circular bioeconomy
Is the production of renewable biological resources and the conversion of these resources and waste streams into value added products
Circular economy
Covers the cycle from production and consumption, to waste management and the market for secondary raw materials. In a circular economy, the value of products and materials is maintained for as long as possible and waste and resource use are minimised
Biorefinery
A biorefinery transforms biomass into bio-based products (food, feed, chemicals, materials) and bioenergy (biofuels, power and/or heat)
Biomass
Biomass is the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from biological origin from agriculture (including vegetal and animal substances), forestry and related industries including fishery and aquaculture, as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal waste.
Biodegradable
Biodegradability is the ability of a material to be converted by the action of microorganisms present in nature into simple natural molecules and a new biomass.
The term «biodegradable» should always be associated with the surrounding environmental conditions (e.g. type of medium, temperature and humidity) and the duration of the biodegradation
Bioplastic
Bioplastic simply refers to plastic made from plant or other biological material (like corn, cassava, sugarcane or sugar beet pulp) instead of petroleum. It is also often called bio-based plastic.
Biofuel
Biofuels are usually produced from plant materials that cannot be eaten by humans, such as corn stalks, grasses and wood chips
Bio-based product
A bio-based product is wholly or partly derived from biomass
Biodiversity
With “Biodiversity” we refer to the number and variety of animal
Bioeconomy
The bioeconomy uses biological resources from land and sea, like crops, forests, fish, animals and microorganisms to produce new products, food, materials and energy.
The bioeconomy covers all sectors and systems that rely on biological resources (animals, plants, micro-organisms and derived biomass, including organic waste)
