The Concha y Toro Vineyard, located just outside of Santiago, Chile, reached its sustainability goal this year: 100% of its industrial waste will now be recycled or reused. Most of the winery’s waste is made up of organic residue leftover from the process of making the wine and fermenting it. Over 62% of that waste will be used to make tartaric acid, used in cooking, and the other 38% will be composted.
The vineyard produces 50 thousand tons of solid waste every year, as well as one million cubic meters of water waste. The water used in the wine-making process is now being returned to the soil or the water cycle. The most challenging part of the process, says Valentina Lira, sustainability manager for Concha y Toro, was figuring out how to manage the waste from the offices, homes, and restaurants on their property.
Depending on the season, up to 85% of Concha y Toro’s waste is made up of organic material from the wine-making process, while just 3% comes from the homes/office, and 5% goes to paper and glass recycling.
Read more in the original article for El Mercurio.
