We are pleased to introduce the seventh Living Lab within the Waste4Soil project: the Polish Living Lab, established in the Lublin Province of Poland.
As a Replicative Proto Living Lab, it is coordinated by the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation (IUNG) and plays an important role in expanding the Waste4Soil network across Europe. The Living Lab serves as a collaborative platform that brings together stakeholders interested in food residue processing, circular bioeconomy solutions, and sustainable soil management.
The Polish Living Lab actively follows and learns from the experiences of the other Waste4Soil Living Labs while developing its own innovative approaches tailored to regional needs and resources.
Turning agricultural residues into valuable soil resources
The Living Lab focuses on waste streams generated by fruit production and processing, particularly:
- Apple pomace from juice production
- Blackcurrant pomace from juice production
- Apple branches resulting from phytosanitary pruning
- Blackcurrant branches resulting from phytosanitary pruning
Rather than treating these materials as waste, the Polish Living Lab is exploring ways to transform them into valuable soil improvers that can be returned to the land.
The objective is to create circular solutions that enable farms to recycle locally available organic residues into products that improve soil quality, enhance nutrient cycling, and support more sustainable agricultural practices.
Supporting circular nutrient management
By developing innovative methods for converting agricultural by-products into soil-enhancing materials, the Polish Living Lab contributes directly to Waste4Soil’s mission of promoting healthier soils and sustainable nutrient management across Europe.
The initiative demonstrates how circular bioeconomy principles can help close nutrient loops, reduce waste, and create practical solutions that benefit both farmers and the environment.
Through collaboration, experimentation, and knowledge exchange, the Living Lab aims to generate insights that can be replicated in other regions facing similar challenges.
To learn more, watch the innovation in action on YouTube:
