# Harnessing Agri-Food Waste as a Source of Biopolymers for Agriculture  
[PERSON]  
1 Dipartimento di Scienza e Tecnologia del Farnaco, University of Turin, Via P. Giuria 9, 10125 Turin, TO, Italy; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (C.V.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.V. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (E.C.G. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.C.) [PERSON]  
1 Dipartimento di Scienza e Tecnologia del Farnaco, University of Turin, Via P. Giuria 9, 10125 Turin, TO, Italy; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (C.V.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.V. ); [PERSON]E.C.G. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.C.) [PERSON]  
1 Dipartimento di Scienza e Tecnologia del Farnaco, University of Turin, Via P. Giuria 9, 10125 Turin, TO, Italy; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (C.V.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.V. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (E.C.G. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.C.) [PERSON]  
2 Dipartimento di Scienza e Tecnologia del Farnaco, University of Turin, Via P. Giuria 9, 10125 Turin, TO, Italy; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (C.V.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.V. ); [PERSON]E.C.G. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.C. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.C.) [PERSON]  
1 Dipartimento di Scienza e Tecnologia del Farnaco, University of Turin, Via P. Giuria 9, 10125 Turin, TO, Italy; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (C.V.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.V. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (E.C.G. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.C. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.C. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.C. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.C.) [PERSON]  
1 Dipartimento di Scienza e Tecnologia del Farnaco, University of Turin, Via P. Giuria 9, 10125 Turin, TO, Italy; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (C.V.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.V. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (H.C.G. ); giancarlo.cravotto@unito. reason, the United Nations has delivered the 12 th sustainable development goal (SDG), which aims to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns [5]. These losses occur during the processing of fruits and vegetables, as substantial amounts of pulp, stalks, peels, or seeds are generated and are destined for disposal [6]. These undervalued materials are rich sources of biopolymers, such as polysaccharides, proteins, and dietary fiber, as well as other valuable functional molecules such as tannins, flavonoids, polyphenols, and fatty acids [7]. Recently, the reuse of agri-food waste (AFW) as a raw material to obtain biopolymers for application in agriculture has gained increasing interest. Biopolymers with varying purity degrees and properties can be obtained through microbiological fermentation or biotechnological processes, as well as by treatment of biomass waste with enabling technologies to shorten the extraction/conversion times. The employment of sustainable, promising processes for sustainable agricultural operations may help to solve the dual challenges of waste management and natural resource conservation. Utilizing renewable resources, such as AFW, for biopolymer production offers the advantages of lower dependence on fossil fuels, resource recovery, and waste management [8]. The use of AFW mitigates the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) [9], for example, the GHG emissions from synthetic plastics production range between 1.8 and 3.55 (t CO\({}_{2}\) eq./t plastic). Comparatively, for polylactic acid (PLA), the GHG emissions range between 0.4 and 1.3 (t CO\({}_{2}\) eq./t plastic) [10]. Furthermore, the production of biopolymers from waste aligns with the principles of the circular economy, as this process transforms AFW into value-added products, minimizing the environmental impact and promoting efficient use of natural resources. Biopolymers deriving from AFW are indeed a renewable, often biodegradable, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly alternative to polymers obtained from non-renewable sources, such as petroleum [11; 12]. However, the production cost of PLA is higher compared to conventional plastics: it costs between 1.31-2.02 \(\epsilon\) to manufacture petroleum-based plastics, meanwhile polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and PLA cost between 4.00-12.02 \(\epsilon\) and 0-2.0 \(\epsilon\), respectively [13].