Animal waste will be processed and transformed into fuel and fertilizers at a waste management center intended for animal by-products that are not intended for human nutrition. The project is supported by the World Bank and, according to the authorities, will ensure the correct management of animal waste without risks to public health or the environment, IPN reports.

Currently, the animal waste destruction methods do not comply with the best international practices and imply big risks to public health and the environment. The abattoirs, processing factories, public eating places annually generate about 26,000 tonnes of animal waste.

With the support of the foreign partners of the Republic of Moldova, there will be created a unit for processing all types of animal waste, the system for managing this waste being similar to that of the EU.

In the event held to present the feasibility study, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vladimir Bolea said the new waste management center will encourage the exports of products of animal origin. “The building of this processing center places a last part in the food safety puzzle of the Republic of Moldova. It is centered primarily on export. When we speak about the development of farms for producing poultry, swine or mutton, we evidently orient to export. We cannot be authorized to export these types of products if we do not present such waste processing centers to our foreign partners,” stated the minister.

The vice director of the National Food Safety Agency Alexandru Manciu said the animal by-products pose a threat to public health. Mankind heard about these risks after major hotbeds of African swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease and encephalopathy. If these by-products are not managed correctly, the consequences can be major and can have an impact on the economy, the health of animals and the environment.

The feasibility study concerning the creation of the system for processing animal by-products was carried out by international experts with financial support from the International Finance Corporation that is a member of the World Bank Group.