A Macroeconomic and Technological Perspective on the Sustainable Valorization of Plant-Based Waste Streams in European States

The transition toward a circular, sustainable food industry requires efficient valorization of biological resources while minimizing environmental pressures. This critical review focuses on the sustainable use of bioactive compounds recovered from plant-based waste and side streams through green extraction technologies as a core element of circular economy strategies in the agri-food sector. By integrating EUROSTAT indicators, a multivariate analytical approach, combining correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), K-means clustering, and agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC), was employed to assess the relationships between greenhouse gas emissions, energy productivity, economic activity, and environmental employment across European States. The results reveal two main structural dimensions that explain nearly 90% of the total variability, reflecting the balance between economic scale and environmental pressure, and the role of energy efficiency in supporting sustainable consumption. Cluster analysis identified converging economies with greater circularity potential and structurally distinct economies that require targeted transition pathways. These findings emphasize that circular bioeconomy solutions, such as integrating green-extracted bioactive compounds into food products, must be tailored to each country’s economic and energy profile. This review highlights the strategic role of circular economy principles in strengthening the sustainability, resilience, and innovation capacity of the European food industry.