Huge volumes of whey are wasted. We could do so much more with this nutrient-rich liquid.

7.6 million tonnes of food is lost or wasted in Australia every year. When we think about it, we might imagine moldy fruit, stale bread and overflowing refrigerators. But in fact, almost half of this waste occurs before the food even reaches us. Waste is widespread in food production, processing and transportation.

For example, in the process of making cheese from milk, a relatively small amount of cheese and a lot of whey are obtained – up to 90% of the mass of raw milk.

Whey is healthy because it contains about half the nutrients in milk. But whey remains one of the biggest sources of food loss and waste in Australia’s large dairy sector. Each year, around 350 million liters are dumped down the drain, costing businesses more than A$580 million to dispose of and resulting in the loss of some of the resources needed to produce milk.

In our new research, we surveyed cheesemakers from 42 companies representing almost a third of Australia’s cheese industry.

We found that cheesemakers knew what whey waste could be used for, but were put off by practical issues.

What can you do with the serum?

You can already buy whey products such as fermented drinks and protein powders. Infant formula may contain very valuable lactoferrin, which usually remains in the whey. The popular Swiss soft drink Rivella is also made from whey.

In Australia, some manufacturers have begun to produce alcoholic beverages by fermenting lactose in whey. Researchers have found that whey-based alcohol may emit fewer greenhouse gases than traditional grains.

Our research shows that more than half of our cheesemakers use multiple methods to reduce whey waste, from producing animal feed to making ricotta and irrigating paddocks. Despite this, there is still room for wider use of whey.

What did we find?

Each year, 43% of all milk produced in Australia is used to make cheese – about eight billion liters a year. When we conducted this study, there were 132 cheese producers who used cow’s, goat’s, sheep’s and camel’s milk to make cheese. The industry is characterized by the presence of several large manufacturers (about 2% of companies) and many small manufacturers (about 90% of the total). Cheesemakers are mainly concentrated in south-east Australia.

To understand the problem of preventing whey waste, we spoke to cheesemakers, large and small, across Australia between November 2022 and June 2023.

All of our cheesemaker respondents knew at least one whey-based product.

However, there were a number of barriers to using the serum, from the cost of setting up a new venture to issues of scale, competing priorities and distance from potential partners. As one respondent said:

Every part of the business must be changed, modernized or expanded to accommodate the use of whey in some way.

Another said:

We all work 60-70 hours a week and you (need) someone to actually drive the car.

How can we overcome barriers?

Based on our interviews, we found four possible ways to encourage cheesemakers to use whey:

1. independently transform whey into value-added products. This can be quite effective: one of our respondents reported making more money from whey products than from cheese. But installing it takes time and money.

2. attracting other companies to remove waste. Partnering with third-party companies can help overcome the challenges of time and money, but everyone needs to agree on the price of a product that was previously considered waste.

3. creating joint ventures, for example, teaming up with other cheesemakers. This method is suitable for cheesemakers who want to preserve the value of the whey. Successful businesses require clear leadership and transparent business plans.

4. scaling. Some cheesemakers already use their own whey. If they switch to accepting whey from other producers, they can scale up production—as long as the new whey sources meet their specifications.

We found that providing Australian cheesemakers with a full range of options significantly increased their desire to find ways to use whey.

When given only their own options, 33% of respondents said they would find ways to use them. This figure rose to 79% when all four options were available.

Which whey is ahead?

Our research shows that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to whey waste. We will have to approach this issue from different perspectives and focus on collaboration between cheese producers, governments, industry organizations and consumers.

It is very important to make sure that there is demand for these changes. In separate research, we found that consumers and retailers currently have little expectation of what will happen to whey waste. Increasing demand for whey-based products and setting expectations for cheese production methods may contribute to these changes. But food safety regulations and alcohol taxes could make things even more difficult for producers.

In regions with a cluster of cheese producers, it might make more sense to have one or two producers take all the whey waste and turn it into value-added products to benefit from scale. While many cheesemakers have told us they feel isolated from potential partners, we have found that a potential partner is right around the corner—in most cases, just a kilometer or two away.

This is where decision support tools can help in the future. These software tools will help you create a list of options so you can compare them and choose the best one. They may consider financial costs, risks and environmental impacts.

The good news is that there is an abundant, nutrient-rich byproduct that can be converted into other products. The challenge now is to find ways to increase collaboration between cheese producers and other companies, and to provide a market for whey-based products.