By-products and rendering services unit of Apostolos Papadopoulos Meat Company operates in the company’s Production Park in Lamprino, Xanthi. 

Operating two production lines, one for incineration and one for sterilization, the unit serves the company’s needs and the needs of Thrace Region in general, as the only unit of its kind in the area. 

The non-processable by-products of the slaughterhouse, the discarded carcasses, the dead animals of the livestock farms of the area and the food of animal origin that must be destroyed for various reasons end up in the rendering unit for incineration or sterilization. 

By-products of sterilization are transported to specialized processors or are transported to the Sanitary Landfill as completely safe for public health and the environment. 

Integrated management of high fat residues unit 

The pilot installation for the integrated management of high fat residues is connected to the company’s rendering unit. It was designed and built from scratch by the company, in collaboration with the School of Environmental Engineering of Democritus University of Thrace. 

In the pilot installation, with the development of innovative technology, biogas is produced from the treatment of residues with the possibility of being converted into electricity, capable of meeting the company’s needs. For the successful completion of the project, from 2010 to date, more than 30 people work in harmony: company’s technical staff, undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as doctoral candidates of the Department of Environmental Engineering. 

The efficient operation of the installation has offered a variety of benefits both to the environment and the company, as well as to the educational, scientific and local business community. The pioneering approach opened new horizons for research, innovative applications and business opportunities for joint utilization of organic residues. 

The pilot project inspired more than 20 undergraduate and postgraduate theses and a doctoral dissertation and has been awarded the Oikopolis Environmental Awareness Award in 2017 and the Environmental Award in 2018.