In an agricultural/food system that is changing from linear to more circular, focussing on the reuse, remanufacturing and recycling of 'waste'-streams, it is of utmost importance to not only regard the potential benefits, but also to be prepared for potential issues regarding food, feed and waste safety and quality. Clearly, a prerequisite of a circular system is that not only all individual processes, but also the system as a whole is safe. Issues regarding safety include chemical residues (resulting from use of drugs/medicines/biocides/feed additives), physical particles (e.g. plastics) and biological hazards (following from concentrations of viruses/bacteria/zoonoses). Chemical and biological hazards are introduced at various places and move through the system in different ways. The project is part of the Wageningen UR investment theme Connected Circularity.
Within this project a semi-quantitative safety assessment tool will be developed and applied to the flow of hazards in scenarios in which waste is optimally reused. High risk processes in the circular scenario will be restricted or, in case these are highly important processes in the system, the process itself and correlated/related processes will be redesigned to diminish the risks. In this project, you will be responsible for:
- Building a stock and flows model of waste streams in agriculture
- Expanding this model based on new insights
- Simulate the impact of novel scenarios for waste stream management, aimed at minimizing risks for human, animal and environmental health
You will closely collaborate with another junior researcher who is responsible for identifying the different hazardous substances and will investigate their behaviour in a dynamic environment. You will be part of a research team of professionals with the involved disciplinary backgrounds.