Tomato market and industrial processing activities generate significant waste, including overripe, damaged, or pomace residues, which are often discarded despite containing valuable nutrients. This study evaluated the physicochemical characteristics of two tomato waste streams: market waste (MW) from the Koyambedu Wholesale Market, Chennai, and industrial processing waste (IW) from ketchup production in a Food processing plant to explore valorization potential. MW exhibited higher moisture content (95.57±0.40%), total soluble solids (4.50±0.00 °Brix), and pH (4.10±0.00), whereas IW showed higher titratable acidity (0.32±0.01%), reflecting differences in origin and processing. Both wastes require stabilization, such as drying, prior to practical applications. Their compositional profiles indicate suitability for direct food incorporation, bioactive extraction, and fermentation-based products. Recovering and transforming these by-products exemplifies a circular economy approach, converting potential losses into high-value functional ingredients, promoting sustainability, and mitigating food loss and waste.