Producing energy from what olive mills leave behind
In autumn, when the leaves start to fall, trucks begin to arrive at a company in Lushnjë that turns olive waste into a sustainable source of energy, in the form of by-products called olive cake and olive stones. Last year, the trucks came from 115 olive mills in Vlora, Mallakastra, Berat, Lushnjë, Fier, Kavaja, Durrës and Kruja, bringing what was left of the olives after the oil had been pressed out: a dark, oily paste of skins, flesh and crushed pits.
“We built our business on processing olive pomace, an organic material that was once considered waste and was often disposed of improperly, with no economic value,” says Endi Ylli, administrator of LBM. “Investments in processing have made it possible for this waste to become a marketable product, including for the olive oil mills that produce it. Over the years, this experience has given us the structure and knowledge to handle large volumes of organic material while reducing its impact on the environment.”
The company produces three by-products from the pomace. “First, we extract the oil still left in it, which is a food product but has to go to a refinery,” Ylli says. “Then we produce pellets and olive pits. Sold in Albania and across the region, they are used for heating. The pellets contain more ash, so they are not very suitable for homes, while the pits are as good as wood pellets and are used in households. We produce pellets from waste, without cutting down trees.”
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In Albania, this method is new, but in the Mediterranean people were doing it two thousand years ago. Archaeologists often find broken, charred olive stones at ancient sites, left over from pomace that was burned as fuel. They discovered that pomace burns at a high and steady temperature. That is why people in ancient times, including the Romans, used it at home for heating and cooking, and in workshops to fire pottery and lime kilns. From the first century AD, pomace was sold in city markets and increasingly used in industry. Two thousand years later, following the same steps and reusing natural resources is becoming more important, as it is also environmentally friendly.
Besides pellets, the company also deals with other natural waste. Through BioLoop, a pilot initiative supported by the EU4Circular Economy and Livable Cities project (EU4CELC), they take other organic waste from the area, processing and reusing it. “A turner that mixes air into the compost, and sensors that measure the humidity and temperature inside the piles, are used to ensure better quality. In the first cycle of the pilot, we took in around 500 tonnes of material, mainly sheep and cow manure, pine bark and olive pomace. Through controlled composting, it is being turned into an organic product that we want to return to agriculture,” Ylli explains.
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The material is mixed and aerated regularly, the temperature is tracked day and night with probes, and the final product is tested before use. The company is now working to bring in green waste from the municipality of Lushnjë, including pruning material, as well as waste from farms and the food industry. “There is waste you can collect; you just need to process it. All it takes is going to greenhouses, to agritourism farms, and seeing what each one produces,” says Ylli.
EU Delegation to Albania
While environmental awareness is growing, he believes everyone has a role in this process. “People have become aware that the waste they produce needs a place where it can be channelled and given value.”
EU4CELC has also worked with a hotel on the Durrës coast. Its calculations showed that in just six months, the hotel used 3,500 plastic plates, 20,000 single-use plastic cups, 40,000 straws and 10,000 bottles. Through the Eco-Adriatik initiative, “Towards a Plastic-Free Future”, part of SUP2LOOP, it introduced refill systems, replaced single-use plastic with alternative products, set up waste separation and trained its staff. These measures are expected to significantly reduce the amount of plastic used, by approximately 1.48 tonnes a year.
Back in Lushnjë, Ylli talks about waste as a starting point. “The organic waste of this area will not be the end of a cycle, but the beginning of a new one. It can be processed, gain value and go back to agriculture as something useful for the land. For us, that is what the circular economy means in practice: from waste to raw material, and back to the soil.”
Background information
EU4CELC is a project funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It is implemented by GIZ Albania in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment of Albania. The project aims to promote the circular economy in Albania by supporting municipalities in creating sustainable cities, improving citizens’ health, and increasing energy efficiency. Its focus is on innovative solutions for reducing glass waste and ensuring more affordable and sustainable packaging options.