From fruit waste to fruit: A circular economy scheme participated by urban residents and fruit farmers.

This study proposes a novel circular economy scheme that converts household source-separated fruit waste into fertilizers for fruticulture and evaluates its socioeconomic feasibility. The scheme establishes a "waste-to-fruit" loop, connecting urban residents and farmers through a reciprocal incentive system. Its socioeconomic feasibility was assessed via an integrated methodology including questionnaire surveys (313 residents), interviews (18 farmers), a two-stage social experiment (23 and 91 households, respectively), and cost-benefit analysis. Results demonstrated strong public supports, with 93 % of residents and 83.3 % of farmers expressing willingness to participate. Key findings indicate that (1) a two-phase promotion strategy may be adopted: progressing from targeted recruitment to wider engagement; (2) operational design must prioritize residents' convenience and farmers' economic benefits; (3) the scheme can be tailor-made to promote both circular economy and social equity, by engaging low-income elderly and addressing key challenges for farmers; and (4) hydrothermal carbonization emerges as the optimal valorization method, offering the highest greenhouse gas reduction and net economic benefit. Therefore, this scheme appears to be feasible and can be potentially scaled up with logistical refinements, simultaneously tackling waste management and fostering social equity.