The Problem of Olive Mill Wastewater in Turkey and some Solution Alternatives

Olive, as a fruit, cannot be consumed directly due to the oleuropein substance it contains and needs to be processed into either table olives or olive oil through various production systems. The process of olive oil extraction results in olive oil as the main product, and two by-products, with olive pomace being one and brown-coloured Olive Mill Wastewater (OMWW) as the other. OMWW has no direct use and it is usually discharged directly to soil, small rivers, lakes or sea, resulting in potential contamination of the environment. Turkey is the fourth largest olive producing country in the world and fifth in olive oil production. Turkey produces approximately 891 393 tonnes of OMWW on average per two years using the current mill production technologies, and hence faces the problem of OMWW. This study proposes and discusses various solution alternatives to overcome the problem of OMWW in Turkey.The results of this study aim to contribute to the ongoing efforts in resolving this problem by the olive industry and to aid policy making to tackle this important issue.