EcoSwiss for Fishing Cooperatives

Founded in 1997, the Fish Cooperative operates with a fleet of 25 boats, from Viareggio to Carrara (MS) and Piombino (LI). Each boat fishes using gillnets, applying the rules of “responsible fishing” to protect the environment.

The cooperative project is based on selling fish to canteens, especially for school: the product must be of good nutritional and hygienic-sanitary quality, responding at the same time to logistical and organizational needs, as well as cost criteria.

To respond to these needs, the cooperative has developed an innovative process for the preparation of the fish, subject to an industrial patent, which is based on three elements – temperature, humidity, and oxygen – allowing the product to maintain sensory characteristics equal those of freshly caught fish.

The fish species treated are some of lesser-known ones, such as mullet, thorny skates, sailfish, and torpedoes. Both sides of the supply chain benefit from this: canteens and large-scale distribution can source national products at low cost, with guaranteed nutritional, hygienic-sanitary and sensorial qualities. On the other hand, the project promotes the consumption and value of autochthonous species that are difficult to place on the market, giving this “poor” product an important added value.

The cooperative currently operates in Tuscany, with a small-scale processing center, but the degree of consumer satisfaction lays the foundation for a future increase in the quantities produced. All processing, preparation, packaging, and distribution activities are managed entirely by the structure.

In this scenario was included a project to manage the organic waste produced in the structure in a sustainable and local manner, thanks to the use of EcoSwiss EFR devices.

All the waste produced daily (almost entirely fish) varies according to the season, with values between 80-100 kg, it is collected in plastic food containers and immediately presents a bad smell and tendency to putrescence, factors that become extreme in the summer season.

Wet-organic waste collection service

Collection is managed by a private company in agreement with the local administration, charged with collecting Category 3 special waste.
The frequency was bi-weekly with a cost of €0.35 per kilogram.
There were complaints of bad smells, massive presence of insects and cats, and an indecorous look of the containers. Frequent cleaning and washing were therefore required, with a significant use of work hours and staff.

Issues

  • Eliminating noxious odors from the waste collection and storage area (plastic bins) and avoiding the implementation and use of a dedicated refrigerated cell
  • Reducing the presence of insects and wild animals (mice, cats, and birds) that nest near waste containers, attracted by fish
  • Eliminating the need to collect the containers containing organic waste
  • Reducing the frequent need for washing, conditioning, and sanitizing the bins dedicated to the collection of organic waste
  • Reducing the extra costs of sanitation and rat extermination due to the presence of insects and rodents
  • Finding a sustainable solution in line with the Cooperative's policy of promoting a sustainable activity capable of reducing the impact of the CO2 produced

Solution adopted

Purchase and implementation of a EcoSwiss EFR50 device to manage the wet organic waste produced daily by the facility.

Discover the benefits and savings

Quantifiable benefits and economic savings

  • Total elimination of noxious odors in the vicinity of the entire structure. Unquantifiable value with great impact/image for the company; a key factor in the choice of purchasing the devices
  • Elimination of the refrigerated cell for the storage of organic waste, deemed necessary in the spring-summer seasons. Value: approximately €8,000
  • Total elimination of the maintenance and repair costs for the refrigerated cell. Value: €1,200/year
  • Reduction of personnel costs to clean, recondition and sanitize the refrigerated area and to store the organic waste (about 80%). Value: €1,200/year
  • Improvement of the decorum and general cleanliness of the external area of the structure. Unquantifiable value with great impact/image
  • Elimination of extra costs for periodic extermination of insects and rodents. Value: over €1,000/year
  • Total elimination of the need to collect organic waste (currently at a cost of €0.35/Kg). Value: over €10,500/year

Impact on waste with the use of EFR

  • Kg of annual organic waste produced: around 30,000
  • Reduction of organic waste produced/year: about 85%
  • Kg of dry residue that can be used as a resource: over 4,500

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