Covid-19 has impacted many sectors; one such sector is the waste management and recycling industry. The amount of waste generated by households in the 'first wave' of the pandemic has increased significantly, whilst the collection of recyclables has been suspended by many local authorities. The current waste management and recycling sector struggles to efficiently cope with changes in waste volumes and composition. In parallel there are calls for a 'green recovery' for the UK, with waste management, recycling and renewable energy at the forefront of the much-needed transformation. The ReSuB (Renewable & Sustainable Biomass) project responds to both these challenges. The project will demonstrate and develop new value chains and markets for recycled paper, simultaneously supporting the UK's growing renewable energy industry. Fiberight has developed an innovative circular economy solution to create value-added products from residual waste, which is typically landfilled or incinerated. The ReSuB project will demonstrate the recovery of pulp from residual waste and the manufacture of products for the biomass fuels market. This market is actively searching for alternative products to current wood-based materials due to shortage of supply and therefore increasing costs. The project will carry out market testing with a biomass plant producing electricity. The ReSuB project will generate significant positive environmental impacts by diverting recyclable waste from landfill, by recovering valuable materials to be used again, by displacing virgin materials and helping to combat climate change. There will also be wider advantages of developing UK industry, with associated job creation and wider socio-economic benefits.

BIOREVIEW is a biorefining collaboration between industry and academics in UK and India that aims to develop innovative economically viable pilot scale industrial biotechnology (IB) processes to produce value added products from waste streams (spent wash (SW) from ethanol production and sugarcane bagasse (SCB) fibre) of the Indian sugarcane industry. Volatile fatty acids acetic, propionic and butyric acid with a predicted market value of £11.9Bn will be produced from SW and xylitol, a diabetic compatible sweetener that prevents tooth decay, will be produced from SCB that has a predicted market value of £1Bn by 2025. Microcrystalline cellulose for food and pharmaceutical applications will be produced, along with depth filters for pollution abatement, from residual SCB fibre. It is envisaged that the integration of these IB biorefining processes into Indian sugar mills will be of economic, environmental and societal benefit to both industry and the Indian population.