Malta’s primary waste recycling company recently approached Stronga with a thoughtful and well-considered waste reduction proposal. Following careful consideration by our ‘steam heat-treatment’ team, Stronga were able to offer a pasteurisation system which enabled the client to utilise digestate leftover after the AD process.

With a passion for the opportunity of a genuinely beneficial circular growing economy, the client’s mission was made possible with the help of FlowSteama; Stronga’s well-proven steam pasteurisation solution.

Food waste and green waste in Malta is increasing with improved collection and waste separate programmes. As a densely populated on a relatively small island, the country cannot afford to use up useful land with landfill sites which create odours and are generally unpleasant, along with other issues.

Research indicates that globally, an estimated 45% of fruit and vegetables are wasted annually and that increasing tourism in Malta is one of the main contributors to the problem, producing 1.25kg of municipal waste per person per day, on average. Additionally, Malta is also susceptible to soil erosion and has a limited supply of the resource, losing an average of 700,000 cubic meters every year. This client has purchased FlowSteama equipment from Stronga to repurpose this waste - transforming the feedstock into valuable, fertile, pasteurised compost for use as a soil enhancer for growers and for general wholesale.

Clearly, there is a need for change. Valuable organic waste is being abundantly disposed of.

Using Stronga’s steam heat-treatment systems, the client is making positive contributions to reusing organic waste safely in Malta’s growing economy. The map below, from the ‘Environment and Resources Authority’, illustrates Malta’s average annual soil loss and erosion risks. Although there is some potential for arable land usage, land and soil is not widely available and despite topography reasoning, land management and cultivation need reassessing. If there is any chance of preserving and enhancing the available land and soil, it should be explored. Reducing organic landfill waste and enriching available soil with sterile organic fertiliser will help combat the lack of soil, encouraging agricultural prosperity.

As an already well-established recycling and waste resource management company, our client was seeking assistance in reaching the next step in transformative waste management. After learning of FlowSteama’s steam sterilising qualities, the client wanted reassurance that the equipment could effectively pasteurise digestate recovered from waste for reuse as an organic fertiliser. Stronga’s steam heat-treatment team were able to, through extensive discussions, provide necessary assurance.

Once organic waste has been sorted and collected, the client is then able to transform it at their anaerobic digestion (AD) plant. The anaerobic digestion process extracts biogas from the organic fraction waste, leaving behind a rich organic fibre and digestate which can then be used as a fertiliser or compost improver for soil. In order for this fibre to be used safely and to contribute to hygienic growing cycles, the soil enhancing fibre should be steam pasteurised to remove harmful bacteria and pathogens. Not only does this process help to combat a major problem, repurposing food and green waste, it also increases arable soil, reduces landfill waste and lowers disposal/import costs.

FlowSteama has given this client the opportunity to reliably steam pasteurise organic fibres, converting organic waste into a valuable asset. This enables a circular economy with the opportunity to grow healthy crops from soil mixed with fertile, organic compost, rich in humus. Farmers will benefit through improved cropping yield using enriched soil, further benefiting the Maltese economy and encouraging sustainability on the island.

Compared to expensive chemical sanitation and windrowing, FlowSteama uses pure, super-heated, low pressure steam to pasteurise contaminated organic digestate fibre. With a “30 minute:80’C steam” time and temperature combination, all weed seeds and harmful pathogens are killed, outputting a fibrous, fertile organic soil enhancer and bio-fertiliser. A number of positive outcomes include reduced waste, minimised carbon emissions, significantly lower use of costly artificial fertilisers and more.

FlowSteama is an insulated in-vessel heat-treatment system offering easy monitoring of substrate pasteurization via the HMI’s live logging function. The client is in control of residency time and temperature settings and can easily adjust parameters on-demand. More benefits of FlowSteama equipment are available below.

● In-vessel steaming reduces re-contamination and odour fumes released into the atmosphere associated with windrowing and disposal in landfill.
● The FlowSteama ‘Rova’ model offers clients a fully mobile solution which can reduce transport costs from the stockpile.
● The super-heated steam pasteurisation system not only removes weed seeds, viruses and pathogens, but also speeds up the composting process of the digestate.
● The twin-tier PulseWave™ system allows steam to penetrate the digestate fibre fully and pasteurize the entire organic fibre load.
● Using limited fuel supply and with an optional heat recuperation system, FlowSteama equipment is extremely energy efficient with super low operating costs.
● FlowSteama automatically modulates down when there is sufficient steam in the vessel, allowing for further energy savings, supporting the company’s waste prevention values.

With costs to dispose of organic food waste and green waste extremely high, FlowSteama’s ability to pasteurise the recovered nutrient-rich digestate fibre has been transformative. The pasteurised soil-enhancer output can now be used by growers and farmers, reducing costs from soil and food importation.

Research suggests that feedstock with food-based digestates added to soil contain more nutrients and create a better cropping yield. Not only does the AD and FlowSteama pasteurisation process utilise organic waste, it also benefits soil, crop growth and improves food security on the island. Seeing the benefits of a more sufficient and sustainable environment should act as an incentive for further development and reduced environmental impacts and land degradation in the future.

Our client’s processes have already reduced black bag usage significantly. Enabling food and green waste to be repurposed for conditioning Maltese soil, FlowSteama directly contributes to reduced greenhouse emissions from black bag dumping, food and organic waste loss reduction and a circular growing economy through repurposing waste.

With 5,000 tonnes of recycled organic fraction readily available for reuse annually, landfill sites can be repurposed and disposal costs reduced. Malta can now focus on turning landfill spaces, typically receiving 15 tonnes of waste daily, into greener areas, while reimagining the island with self-sufficient preservation and conservation practises.

Using FlowSteama, our client is now able to pasteurise digestate extracted from organic waste at anaerobic digestion plants and contribute 11,000 cubic meters of humus-rich, soil-enhancing fibre – per annum. This enhanced soil creates increased agricultural opportunities, improved yields and enhanced crop quality. Soil can be sold to consumers, creating economic security and value.

The graph below, from the ‘European Environment Agency’, highlights how high landfill rates are in Malta, a small island in comparison to some of the larger countries displayed. If Malta is to reach their net zero targets and decrease their existing waste problem, they must repurpose organic waste with the help of the energy efficient FlowSteama system.

FlowSteama equipment fit exactly with our client’s requirements, allowing them to transform organic waste digestate fibre into a pasteurised, repurposed resource. Contact Stronga today to discuss your pasteurising requirements and begin your steam heat-treatment journey today – info@stronga.co.uk