''Energo-zelena''recycled 500 tons of animal waste from the flooded area - Products made of animal remains go into gummy candies, capsule packaging, nailpolishes...

(''Energo-zelena'' in Indjija)

In ''Energo-zelena'' factory in Indjja, nearly 500 tons of animal waste from the flooded areas in Serbia have been recycled so far, which is 95% of the whole quantity.

As the CEO of the factory ''Energo-zelena'', Dejan Basaric, told us, this factory worked in three shifts during the state of emergency, and that it recycled aproximately 660 tons of animal waste, from 17 – 28 May, claiming that the quantity includes 164 tons of waste from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Chairmen say that recycling of animal waste from the flooded areas in Serbia is almost done, but transport of carcass and food of animal origin from Bosnia, which cannot be used anymore, is still expected.

Basaric said that, according to rough estimation, between 1000 and 1500 tons of animal waste have appeared during the floods in Bosnia.

Tom Hanson, a CEO of ''Greenworks Holding'', which is a shareholder in the company ''Energo-zelena'', said that this factory is one of the most significant Belgian investments in Serbia, whose initial value was EUR 21.5 million.

He added that ''Energo-zelena'' is the only company for harmless animal waste recycling in Serbia and region, operating completely in accordance with Serbian and EU laws.

It is equipped with the latest technology for animal waste recycling and there could be recycled up to 150 000 tons of this kind of waste, which is 20 tons of animal waste per hour.

Contracts with slaughterhouses are mostly signed on annual basis and there is no limit in number of heads which a slaughterhouse must have, in order to cooperate with them, said Hanson for eKapija.

On the other hand, Hanson says that they, as investors, have thoroughly analized agro-market in Serbia, and they firmly believe that it has high potential, especially when it comes to meat and milk industry. However, it is still vague to him why Serbia, which has such a potential, imports milk and meat.

High level of clearness, ''smell'' still strong

Dejan Milosevic, a production manager, was showing all the factory sectors to the journalists, one by one, from the first stage of carnass reception, through ''tenks'' in which it is boiled, to the part where the final products of this company are released.

-After boiling in a kettle, water steam is percolated and burnt at the temperature of 800 degrees – explaines Milosevic.

-Remains, consisted of proteins, albumen and fats, are segreated and percolated at the following stages. Bones and meat are minced and the flour given is used as energy, while technical fat is used as biodiesel. That is why ''Energo-zelena'' is a factory with, so called, zero level of waste – said a production manager of this company.

The CEO, Dejan Basaric, says for eKapija that they are cooperating with majority of slaughterhouses in Serbia, and when it comes to final product sales, ''Lafarge'' purchases part of it and uses it further as energy. On the other hand, bone and meat flour, as an unrefined product, is exported to Czech Republic and other EU countries, where it is further processed.

Although the premises of ''Energo-zelena'' are very clean, unpleasant smell is still present everywhere. Off the record we find out that the average salary of 53 employees, is a lot above the republic average.
There are 52 employees from the municipality of Indjija and only one Belgian citizen, though.

The waste goes into gummy candies as well

Animal waste is divided into three categories, according to the level of risk which that waste represents for the human and animal's health.

Category 1 and 2 comprises animal waste and secondary products of animal origin from slaughterhouses, farms and meat processing factories which are dangerous for human and animal's health.

Category 3 consists of secondary products of animal origin which are not harmful and do not represent danger for human health.

This waste mustn't be mixed, by inappropriate separation e.g. If, by any chance, a piece of category 1 waste comes to lorry where category 3 waste is kept, during the separation or transport, the whole waste should automatically be treated as category 1.

What is interesting is the fact that the third category includes skin, blood, organs, horns and bones which are obtained from healthy animals.

-It is used for pets food, cosmetics, lipsticks, nailpolishes – says Hanson. He added that it is also used for antibiotics capsules packaging, even for gummy candies. However, as Hanson states, that shouldn't frighten us, because that kind of waste is harmless for human health.

Biggest Belgian investment in Serbia

''Energo-zelena'' , a modern factory for recycling of animal waste (secondary products of animal origin – SPAO, as the official name says), of category 1 and 2, with the capacity of recycling process up to 150 thousand tons of animal waste per year, started working in 2012. Company ''Zelena nv'', the owner of ''Energo-zelena'', is a mutual investment of ''Greenworks Holding'' (51%), ''Saffelberg Investments'' (37%) and ''EchotechSolutions'' (12%).

It is the direct foreign investment, valued EUR 21.5 million.

Jelena Djelic