Agricultural and Municipal Biowaste Within the Circular Economy Framework: A Bibliometric Analysis

Municipal and agricultural biowaste are a significant portion of the global waste stream and represent an environmental challenge that must be addressed sustainably. The literature on the topic has increased dramatically, and a bibliometric analysis is a necessary guide through this ever-growing pro...

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Main Authors: Ginevra Giacomello, Niccolò Leonardi, Davide Assandri, Niccolò Pampuro
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Agriculture
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/5/546
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author Ginevra Giacomello
Niccolò Leonardi
Davide Assandri
Niccolò Pampuro
author_facet Ginevra Giacomello
Niccolò Leonardi
Davide Assandri
Niccolò Pampuro
author_sort Ginevra Giacomello
collection DOAJ
description Municipal and agricultural biowaste are a significant portion of the global waste stream and represent an environmental challenge that must be addressed sustainably. The literature on the topic has increased dramatically, and a bibliometric analysis is a necessary guide through this ever-growing production. This study gives an objective overview of the state of the art and topic evolution of biowaste within sustainability/circular economy frameworks. This bibliometric analysis serves as a starting point for further qualitative research, while offering opportunities for future collaborations. Two parallel searches were conducted in Scopus, agri-food/agricultural (2391 papers) and municipal (264 papers) biowaste within sustainability/circular economy concepts, and analyzed with VosViewer (version 1.6.20.0) and Excel (version 1808). This review analyzes the following: annual scientific production and countries involved, showing the US and Italy as leaders on both topics; most productive authors (only 0.2% wrote at least five papers) and affiliations and underlying international, even if static, collaborations; most influential publications and sources (<i>Science of the Total Environment, Journal of Cleaner Production, Sustainability</i>); evolution of keywords over time; and strengths and limitations of the bibliometric approach. It also highlights the potential for future research and collaboration. Furthermore, it underlines waste management’s evolution from a sustainable point of view towards a circular economy approach and differences between municipal and agricultural biowaste scientific production.
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spelling doaj-art-f803c2a1b386464695209e2c068cd8252025-08-20T02:04:34ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722025-03-0115554610.3390/agriculture15050546Agricultural and Municipal Biowaste Within the Circular Economy Framework: A Bibliometric AnalysisGinevra Giacomello0Niccolò Leonardi1Davide Assandri2Niccolò Pampuro3Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, ItalyInstitute of Sciences and Technologies for Sustainable Energy and Mobility (STEMS), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135 Turin, ItalyInstitute of Sciences and Technologies for Sustainable Energy and Mobility (STEMS), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135 Turin, ItalyInstitute of Sciences and Technologies for Sustainable Energy and Mobility (STEMS), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135 Turin, ItalyMunicipal and agricultural biowaste are a significant portion of the global waste stream and represent an environmental challenge that must be addressed sustainably. The literature on the topic has increased dramatically, and a bibliometric analysis is a necessary guide through this ever-growing production. This study gives an objective overview of the state of the art and topic evolution of biowaste within sustainability/circular economy frameworks. This bibliometric analysis serves as a starting point for further qualitative research, while offering opportunities for future collaborations. Two parallel searches were conducted in Scopus, agri-food/agricultural (2391 papers) and municipal (264 papers) biowaste within sustainability/circular economy concepts, and analyzed with VosViewer (version 1.6.20.0) and Excel (version 1808). This review analyzes the following: annual scientific production and countries involved, showing the US and Italy as leaders on both topics; most productive authors (only 0.2% wrote at least five papers) and affiliations and underlying international, even if static, collaborations; most influential publications and sources (<i>Science of the Total Environment, Journal of Cleaner Production, Sustainability</i>); evolution of keywords over time; and strengths and limitations of the bibliometric approach. It also highlights the potential for future research and collaboration. Furthermore, it underlines waste management’s evolution from a sustainable point of view towards a circular economy approach and differences between municipal and agricultural biowaste scientific production.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/5/546bibliometric analysiscircular economysustainabilitymunicipal biowastefood wasteagricultural waste
spellingShingle Ginevra Giacomello
Niccolò Leonardi
Davide Assandri
Niccolò Pampuro
Agricultural and Municipal Biowaste Within the Circular Economy Framework: A Bibliometric Analysis
Agriculture
bibliometric analysis
circular economy
sustainability
municipal biowaste
food waste
agricultural waste
title Agricultural and Municipal Biowaste Within the Circular Economy Framework: A Bibliometric Analysis
title_full Agricultural and Municipal Biowaste Within the Circular Economy Framework: A Bibliometric Analysis
title_fullStr Agricultural and Municipal Biowaste Within the Circular Economy Framework: A Bibliometric Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Agricultural and Municipal Biowaste Within the Circular Economy Framework: A Bibliometric Analysis
title_short Agricultural and Municipal Biowaste Within the Circular Economy Framework: A Bibliometric Analysis
title_sort agricultural and municipal biowaste within the circular economy framework a bibliometric analysis
topic bibliometric analysis
circular economy
sustainability
municipal biowaste
food waste
agricultural waste
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/5/546
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AT niccololeonardi agriculturalandmunicipalbiowastewithinthecirculareconomyframeworkabibliometricanalysis
AT davideassandri agriculturalandmunicipalbiowastewithinthecirculareconomyframeworkabibliometricanalysis
AT niccolopampuro agriculturalandmunicipalbiowastewithinthecirculareconomyframeworkabibliometricanalysis