The Growtech Trade Expo which took place between November 27th and 30th in Antalya, Turkey was visited by 90.000 visitors from 130 countries. More than 850 companies from 32 countries have participated in the Expo, which is one of the most important trade events for greenhouse companies and other agricultural technology and equipment companies.
Numerous seminars and panels were also held over the course of the exhibition and one of those panels was about the greenhouse plant waste in cyclical agriculture. Speaking at the panel, Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kaplan from the Akdeniz University Faculty of Agricultural Sciences: “There is a lot of valuable waste in all regions of Turkey and we need compost facilities to recycle this waste. We can recycle greenhouse waste to organic fertilizers and energy through biogas facilities. Unprocessed greenhouse waste which was discarded improperly represents a significant environmental and health risk for human beings and animals in the area.”
Another panel member, Baumann General Manager Fatih Akdag added: “Greenhouse waste should be processed properly to create organic fertilizers. In our facilities, we produce organic fertilizers after we separate banana waste as solid and liquid. We have a zero-waste facility. The growers need to be educated about the process of creating organic fertilizers from their greenhouse waste and they should be incentivized by the state to implement this into their operations as it will create significant added-value for the national economy in addition to its environmental and health benefits.”
Prof. Dr. Orhan Ozcatalbas from the Akdeniz University Faculty of Agricultural Sciences noted: “Through recycling of greenhouse waste, the electricity needs of 120.000 families can be met at zero cost. Right now we are recycling only 13 % of our greenhouse waste. This figure is 64 % in EU countries. In 5 to 10 years, we need to increase this figure at least up to 50 %. The local municipalities should take the lead in this process and inform growers in their areas so that they will adopt greenhouse waste recycling processes.
Source: Findik TV