ORGANIC waste pruned from trees in Boort olive groves for re-use as tea has seen Cobram Estate awarded a major circular economy prize.
The company with more than 2.5 million trees in groves across north-west Victoria has been named winner of the Retaining Value category at Circularity 2023 hosted by Planet Ark and the Australian Circular Economy Hub.
Cobram Estate joint chief executive Leondro Ravetti said: “Thousands of tonnes of leafy material are produced every year through pruning at our groves.
“They are given ‘new life’ by using them to produce our olive leaf teas, our olive leaf extracts and to be used as organic mulching and conditioning to boost the organic material in our soils,” he said. 
“Similarly, the tens of thousands of tonnes of left over olive fruit pulp after the natural pressing of the extra virgin olive oil are managed so we can separate the olive pit that is used as a valuable renewable energy source with the remaining destoned pulp used as stock feed or composted before being reapplied to our soils as organic amendment rich in nutrients such as potassium that help reducing our fertilisation inputs.”
Mr Ravetti said social and environmental pressure for the efficient re-use of agricultural industry residues had led to the creation of large quantities of food co-products and wastes. 
“Utilisation of agro-industrial by and co-products in farm animal nutrition, as organic fertilisers and or as sources of valuable phytochemicals reduces the environmental impact of the food industry ... olive and olive oil processing by-/co-products are promising sources of valuable substances such as phytochemicals, anti-oxidants, antimicrobials, vitamins, or dietary fats that possess favourable technological activities or nutritional properties.”
Mr Ravetti said Cobram Estate cared for its trees from nursery and to planting through to harvest, “committed to ongoing scientific research and the essential role olive products play in health and wellness”.
The company has made olive leaf tea since 2018 using a traditional Japanese method.