Sustainable transformation of waste from the potato industry into novel feedstock

The pilot project demonstrated that potato waste can be transformed from an environmental and economic burden into a viable feed ingredient. The project focused on designing and testing a scalable processing pathway using Whole Green Foods’ proprietary WINX™ technology. Two main waste streams were identified: steam-peeled skins, more digestible for non-ruminants, and cold-peeled skins, suitable for dewatering trials. The bacterium Bacillus cereus was identified as the key microbial risk, effectively managed through organic acid stabilisation.

Pilot-scale trials showed that WINX™ treatment dramatically improved dewatering performance, producing a pumpable, semi-dry material compatible with existing livestock feeding systems. Feeding models indicated that treated potato waste could replace up to 20% of barley in pig rations without compromising feed quality. Greenhouse gas modelling estimated that processing one tonne of potato waste could reduce net CO₂ emissions by 0.68 tonnes compared with landfill disposal and conventional grain use.

Crucially, the project highlighted strong interdisciplinary collaboration and effective knowledge transfer between the potato processing and livestock feed sectors. This partnership fostered innovation by combining expertise across industries, which was instrumental in developing practical, scalable solutions. The project also identified key success factors for adoption, including co-locating processing facilities near potato processors to minimise transport costs and integrating the process into existing workflows to ensure economic feasibility.