The WASTELESS project (Waste Quantification Solutions To Limit Environmental Stress (January 2023 – May 2026) reached its conclusion and has achieved much more than the development of scientific results and technical solutions. Over the past years, we have built a truly collaborative and multidisciplinary community committed to addressing one of the major challenges facing our food systems: how to better measure and reduce food loss and waste in a harmonised and practical way. Throughout the project, partners from different countries and sectors worked closely together to develop methodologies, digital tools and toolbox, as well as practical resources capable of supporting stakeholders across the food chain. One of the most valuable outcomes of WASTELESS was precisely this ability to connect scientific research with real needs from industry, policymakers and society.
Bringing together researchers, European initiatives, companies, policymakers and other stakeholders WASTELESS created an important space for discussion and exchange of experiences. It also reinforced the idea that reducing food loss and waste requires collaboration, shared methodologies and long-term commitment from all actors involved. Among the legacy of WASTELESS are not only the scientific publications and research outputs, but also the tools and the WASTELESS toolbox developed during the project, which will continue supporting future work in monitoring, measuring and preventing food loss and waste across different sectors.
As coordinator, I would like to sincerely thank all project partners, advisory board members, stakeholders and participants who contributed to this journey. The dedication, flexibility and collaborative spirit demonstrated throughout these years were fundamental to overcoming challenges and successfully achieving our goals. Although WASTELESS is now at its end, I strongly believe that the connections created, the knowledge generated and the solutions developed during the project will continue to contribute to more sustainable and resilient food systems in the years ahead.
Ana Novo Barros
WASTELESS Coordinator
University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD) / CITAB
Email: abarros@utad.pt