In a global context increasingly strained by water scarcity, food security challenges, and the demand for sustainable industrial practices, water is no longer an invisible input. Today, it is a vector of risk—but also a powerful lever for transformation. In the Río Negro Valley, one of South America’s leading fruit-growing hubs, thousands of liters of water are wasted every day during the washing of reusable plastic crates used in the packaging and distribution of fresh fruit. A scarce resource literally going down the drain, without having fulfilled a productive purpose, and without any traceability regarding its quality or environmental impact.
This project aims to reverse that logic, recovering and reusing the water used for crate washing through a chemical-free technological solution based on advanced oxidation, ultrafiltration, and chlorine-free disinfection. The result is safe water, suitable for reuse in internal processes or even redirected to non-potable applications with sanitary guarantees, thereby reducing fresh water consumption, lowering pollutant loads, and improving the operational efficiency of packing facilities.
The intervention is located in a fruit-packing plant in the Alto Valle region, within Río Negro Province (Argentina), an area facing increasing pressures on its water sources due to climate change, expanded cultivation, and competition between agricultural and urban uses. The project’s raison d’être lies in anticipating these pressures, making industrial operations more resilient, and generating quantifiable water benefits under the principles of additionality, traceability, and intentionality embedded in the Water Positive approach. The technology was selected for its ability to eliminate chemicals, ensure microbiological quality, and enable real-time monitoring, ensuring benefit validation in line with A-2 and A-6 indicators of the VWBA 2.0 framework.
Key actors include the agro-industrial operator (end user of the water), the technology provider (modular solution validated for reuse), the project structuring entity under VWBA/WQBA, and a network of technical and regulatory partners for water quality traceability. In this model, every cubic meter recovered and reused is not only an internal improvement: it is a tangible contribution to the basin’s water sustainability, verifiable and reportable in external audits, ESG plans, or Water Resilience Coalition disclosures.
In the fruit industry of the Río Negro Valley, every harvest season involves washing hundreds of thousands of returnable plastic crates used to transport apples, pears, and other fresh fruits to domestic and international markets. This process, essential to meet phytosanitary and logistical requirements, generates large volumes of wastewater that, until now, have been discarded without treatment or reuse, despite their high recovery potential.
The strategic opportunity lies in closing that cycle through a concrete solution: the installation of a compact treatment and reuse system that includes physical pre-filtration, advanced oxidation, ultrafiltration, and chlorine-free disinfection. The selected technology enables treatment of 100% of the crate-washing flow, returning high-quality regenerated water to the system. This not only reduces fresh water consumption by more than 70%, but also eliminates the need for corrosive chemicals, generates associated energy savings, and improves the sanitary traceability of the process.
The benefits are immediate: reduced pressure on surface or groundwater sources, lower discharge volumes, early compliance with future industrial reuse regulations, and stronger competitive positioning in front of global buyers with increasingly strict water sustainability requirements. The model is fully replicable: it can be scaled to multiple fruit-packing facilities in the region, including cooperative or shared schemes, and applied to other agro-industries with similar batch-washing processes.
In the short term, the project is expected to reduce water abstraction by at least 2,000 m³ per season per washing line. In the medium and long term, this model can help consolidate a more resilient fruit economy, aligned with international standards such as SBTn and the CEO Water Mandate. The initiative is led by the end-user company in partnership with Aqua Positive as project structurer, and can be integrated into ESG reports, volumetric water replenishment certificates, and brand strategies with positive social and environmental impact.
The proposed intervention involves installing a modular on-site treatment and recirculation system, with a plug-and-play design adaptable to washing lines. The system operates without chemical inputs, with low energy consumption, and without compromising food safety.
This enables up to 80% reduction in the use of fresh water in container washing processes, over 70% reduction in generated effluents, and avoidance of chemical use—thereby lowering operational costs and environmental risks.
Technologies or Actions Applied:
The implemented system combines various treatment and automation technologies designed to adapt to the operational environment of a fruit packing plant:
These solutions ensure the safety of the reused water without adding chlorine or generating harmful by-products.
Monitoring Plan:
System monitoring is based on a combination of technological tools and verification procedures:
Implementing Actors:
The project’s implementation requires coordination among various key actors:
The project addresses the need to modernize water resource management in a key productive sector for the economic development and regional identity of the Río Negro Valley. The fruit industry, especially in the Alto Valle, is characterized by a large-scale, export-oriented production model that demands high standards of quality and food safety, while also facing increasing challenges related to water availability and quality. In this context, packing plants represent strategic nodes where the integration of technological solutions can yield significant environmental and operational impacts.
The recirculation and reuse of water used in washing bins, plastic crates, and fruit trays represent a concrete opportunity to transition toward a more resilient, efficient, and competitive industrial model. The implementation of the proposed system will enable plants to move toward water circularity, reduce their operational water footprint, lower costs associated with water use and treatment, enhance regulatory compliance in increasingly demanding environmental frameworks, and strengthen their positioning in international markets that prioritize sustainable supply chains.
The proposal aligns with multiple public policy strategies: from the objectives of Argentina’s National Water Plan to the climate adaptation guidelines of the Patagonian region and the environmental commitments required by international certifications. Being scalable and modular, this model is replicable both in large cooperative packing houses and in mid-sized facilities, and can be integrated with traceability, water footprint, and circular economy schemes. Its potential environmental, reputational, and operational return makes it a strategic solution to transform the Alto Valle fruit chain into a benchmark for water sustainability in Argentina’s agribusiness sector.
