Environmental and commercial solutions for wastewater from olive mills

An EU-funded Mediterranean cross-border cooperation project tackling the treatment of wastewater from olive mills is organising a workshop on 3 July in the Italian city of Genoa to present the results achieved in its efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of olive oil extraction processes.

The project ‘Mediterranean Cooperation in the Treatment and Valorisation of Olive Mill Wastewater’ (MEDOLICO) is funded under the Mediterranean Basin Cross-Border Cooperation programme (CBCMed) Project partners, experts, scientists and olive mill owners will present cost-efficient solutions that allow the treatment and reuse of olive mill wastewater for irrigation.

Market opportunities for recovered by-products during olive oil manufacturing - including energy, cosmetics, phytotherapy, and dietary supplements - will also be addressed.  

MEDOLICO’s budget is €1,964,500 of which €1,768,050 provided as ENPI contribution (90%). Led by the University of Cyprus, International Water Research Centre, the partnership is further composed of organisations from Israel, Italy, Portugal and Jordan. The EU Neighbourhood Info Centre produced a feature story on the work of the project in Jordan. 

The ENPI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme 2007/2013 is a multilateral cross-border cooperation programme funded by the European Union under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument. It aims at reinforcing cooperation between the EU and partner countries' regions located along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. 

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Workshop agenda 
EU Neighbourhood Info Centre feature - Turning olive oil waste into euros while protecting nature 
MEDOLICO project sheet 
MEDOLICO website 
ENPI CBCMED – website