Conversion of Fruit and Vegetable Waste into Sustainable and Value-Added Materials

Dear Colleagues,

Due to the increasing world population and, therefore, the consumption of resources, the societal challenge of climate action, and the diminishing resources and raw materials in the environment, we must find innovative solutions for the development of new materials with high-value functionalities compared to conventional ones, in terms of environmental compliance and well-being.

In recent years, fruit and vegetable waste has been of significant interest due to its specific features: biodegradability, abundance, renewability, valuable compounds, and relatively low cost. Thus, it is simultaneously beneficial both for reducing environmental pollution and increasing economic value.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to identify how best to valorize the useful bioactive compounds and residues from fruit and vegetable waste, such as cereal, grape or olive pomace, husk, peel, the rind and seeds of fruits, medicinal and aromatic plant waste, etc., based on their valuable chemical compositions and multifunctional properties, and transform them into value-added materials for food, medicine, cosmetics, energy, agriculture applications, etc. The creation of new sustainable products requires adequate protocols for the extraction of bioactive compounds, nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and fibres, as well as characterization methods and eco-efficient technologies to minimize CO₂ emissions, together with the use of biodegradable polymers and knowledge on the impact of testing new value-added materials.

We kindly invite scientific researchers to contribute original papers and reviews related to innovative solutions for reducing the negative impact of inappropriate fruit and vegetable waste management.

Dr. Raluca Nicoleta Darie-Niță
Dr. Maria Râpă
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Waste is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.