EWC Code
Wastes from the preparation and processing of fruits, vegetables, cereals, edible oils, cocoa, coffee, tea and tobacco preparation and processing
EUR-Lex Commission Decision 2000/532/EC — Official Journal L 226, 06/09/2000Annual Volume
~35 Mt/year EU plant-origin food processing waste
Valorisation Range
Spent grain €25–60/t (feed); olive pomace €80–150/t (fuel/extraction); fruit pomace €20–40/t
Primary Route
Animal feed and biorefinery valorisation
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Get contacts for EWC 02 03EWC 02 03 covers process residues from plant-based food manufacturing: brewery spent grain and yeast, grape marc and wine lees, olive mill waste (pomace and vegetation water), fruit pomace from juice pressing, sugar beet pulp, cereal bran, vegetable trimming waste, spent coffee grounds, tobacco processing residues and edible oil refining sludges. These streams are largely organic, biodegradable and non-hazardous, offering high value-recovery potential.
Brewery spent grain (~8 Mt/year EU) is the single largest stream — 85% used as animal feed or exported to compound feed. Olive mill wastewater (vegetation water, ~2.5 Mt/year in Mediterranean countries) contains polyphenols and is an environmental challenge despite high biogas potential. Edible oil refining produces soap stocks and spent bleaching earths; the latter (02 03 04) may carry residual solvents requiring hazardous classification. Fruit pomace is pressed, dried and used as biomass fuel or pectin source.
Valorisation pathways are well-developed: spent grain to biogas or animal feed; coffee grounds to mushroom cultivation substrate, then biogas; grape marc distillation to grappa and marc spirit (controlled by national spirits regulations); olive pomace extraction to crude pomace oil, then solid fuel. The EU Bioeconomy Strategy promotes biorefinery approaches to extract maximum value from multiple fractions before energy recovery as the last resort.
Typical Generators
Established valorisation pathways for EWC 02 03, ranked by economic value and market depth. Animal feed and biorefinery valorisation is the primary route.
Spent grain, fruit pomace, sugar beet pulp and similar wet residues sold directly to livestock farmers as feed supplement (requiring feed hygiene compliance under EC 183/2005) or processed in biorefinery to extract proteins, fibres or phenolic compounds.
Wet organic residues unsuitable for feed (olive vegetation water, fruit juice residues) co-digested for biogas. Solid fractions composted for horticultural application. Both routes require permit and compliance with digestate/compost quality standards.
Dried pomace, spent grain pellets and similar biomass fuels combusted in industrial boilers for heat and steam. Requires bioenergy sustainability criteria compliance under RED II where above threshold capacities.
These are the established routes for EWC 02 03. Which one your stream qualifies for depends on its composition, volume and region.
Get the ranked options for your streamPrimary & secondary off-takers
Generates and internally manages significant fruit and vegetable residue streams
Grain processing generates bran, germ and screenings for feed and biorefinery
Livestock farms receive spent grain, sugar beet pulp and fruit pomace as feed
Breweries generate spent grain; wineries generate marc and lees; distilleries generate spent wash
Biogas plant operators process residues not suitable for direct feed use
Source: NACE Rev.2 — Eurostat, 2008
Key legislative frameworks governing EWC 02 03 classification, transport, and treatment.
Operators supplying food processing by-products as animal feed must be registered and comply with feed safety, labelling and traceability requirements. Approved substances list governs permitted feed ingredients.
Food processing by-products that meet all four conditions of Art. 5 (certain further use, produced as part of production process, marketable directly, no further processing needed) may be declared by-products and exit waste regulation without a permit.
Food processing residues used for biogas or biofuel production qualify as advanced biofuel feedstocks under Annex IX Part A, attracting double-counting toward Member State renewable energy targets.
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Sectors that valorise EWC 02 03 as an input material or secondary raw material.
Waste-stream pages and resources connected to EWC 02 03 valorisation.
Explore EU waste flows — Waste Atlas
Visualise 17 years of E-PRTR industrial facility data. See how EWC 02 03 and related waste streams flow across European industries and sectors.
Source: EUR-Lex Commission Decision 2000/532/EC · NACE Rev.2 — Eurostat 2008
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