The management of waste is a central theme of reflection in sustainable development, both in terms of its actual management and of the depletion of resources linked to their production.
Historically, the proportion of waste produced by the vitivinicultural sector has regularly increased. In addition to bottles and their packaging, the packing used for oenological and plant protection products and the waste related to vinification processes (descaling solutions, filtering media, etc.) Are also part of the environmental challenge facing wineries.
As far as by-products are concerned (marc, must deposit and dregs), there is a long-established system of valorization through distillation. The same is true for tartar crystals, transformed into tartaric acid. Similarly, composting is a means of returning organic matter to the soil, part of a sustainable ecological cycle that limits the greenhouse effect. Indeed, composting is one of the foundations of organic farming.
The optimal management of these by-products and waste depends on several techniques: quantitative and qualitative inventories, reduction at the source, selective collection and recycling.