Circular Economy: Assessment of Circularity in Olive Oil Mills

A central issue for academics and politicians regarding the circular economy in the last few years has been the evaluation and monitoring of the circularity level, so that conclusions can be drawn about how the implemented policies have been transitioning toward sustainability. Even though the research community has been working extensively on this subject, there has not been a consensus on what indicators to use to measure circularity in the agri-food industry so far. The aim of this paper is to highlight the circular economy (CE) indicators used in the agri-food sector, based on scientific literature and practice, so as to identify those that could assess circularity in olive oil mills. Furthermore, the project aims to develop a tool that will be able to assess the success of CE strategies and remove some of the ambiguity surrounding CE in practice. Due to the uncontrolled disposal of waste from olive mills, the Mediterranean countries that produce the majority of olive oil have to cope with major environmental issues, so the transition to a CE in olive oil industry is essential.