The use of vegetable subproducts from greenhouses (VSG) for animal feed in the Poniente region of Almería

Abstract The purpose of this research is to show that the vegetable wastes produced by the greenhouses of the Poniente region of Almería, which grow eight main horticultural crops, can be defined as vegetable subproducts and used for animal feed. These vegetable subproducts from greenhouses (VSG) meet existing legal maximum limits of waste from phytosanitary products at the European level, and they are free of other solid wastes. For this purpose, a farm must show that subproducts are traceable. The use of such VSG by sheep and goats would allow considerable reduction in biomass generated by vegetable greenhouses along with sustainable profit. At the same time, the cost of food for livestock would be reduced at a time when prices of fodder and concentrates are increasing. Finally, new traceability for vegetable wastes is proposed that would be compatible with and complementary to that existing nowadays, and would reduce the environmental impact of these wastes.