In order to meet the ever growing market demand for sustainable protein for animal and human consumption to augment existing supply, OASIS (Organics & Aquaculture Sustainable Industrial Symbiosis) uses a novel combination of proven technologies to divert separated food waste from landfill while producing valuable products for both human and animal consumption.

This AU$1 million project, an exemplar of the circular economy in practice, uses anaerobic digestion to treat separated food waste with the resulting digestate acting as nutrients for growing spirulina for human consumption and duckweed (lemna) for animal consumption. This combined treatment seeks to maximise the recovery of nutrients while generating valuable by-products.

The project seeks to demonstrate the practical and financial parameters necessary to make lagoon cultivation of spirulina and duckweed using anaerobically treated digestate viable in non-tropical climates. Anticipated outcomes include:

• Report on market acceptability & demand for aquacultured products

• Demonstration pilot anaerobic digestion and aquaculture plant

• Formal feedback from the market partners as to acceptability of aquacultured products