Grupo BBF (Brasil BioFuels) is moving forward with its initiative in the palm oil sector, expanding the composting process to make economic use of industrial by-products. The company transforms natural waste from palm oil extraction into organic compost, promoting sustainable practices in its agricultural areas.
Composting, which began in a pilot phase at the Moju Pole, is now being implemented on a larger scale at the Acará Pole. This practice, according to the company, reduces the volume of effluents sent to the field, promoting a more efficient disposal of organic waste in the palm-growing areas. It also helps to reduce the use of petrochemical fertilizers, in line with Grupo BBF 's goal of strengthening the concept of carbon neutrality in its operations.
The area dedicated to composting at the Acará Hub is 25,930 m2 and has the capacity to process up to 90,000 tons of organic compost a year. This volume is enough to fertilize around 3,000 hectares of palm, replacing more than 1,800 tons of fossil-based fertilizers with organic ones.
Fabio Pacheco, director of Grupo BBF, points out that the operation uses the "empty fruit bunches" and water from the industrial process, bringing environmental and operational gains, as well as reducing agricultural costs. The composting process, he says, uses industrial nutrients to produce organic compost, replacing conventional mineral nutrients in agriculture.
Grupo BBF, as the largest palm oil producer in Latin America, stands out for its 75,000 hectares of plantations and annual production capacity of more than 200,000 tons of oil. The company maintains more than 60,000 hectares in the state of Pará, encouraging more than 450 family farmers with sustainable practices. The company stresses that the initiative contributes not only to environmental preservation, but also to socio-economic development, generating direct and indirect jobs in the state and investing in improvements in the communities around its operations in the Amazon.
