On the 27th of December 2022, a workshop was held in the premises of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center Tehnopolis: The use of agricultural waste for the production of sustainable building materials with high energy efficiency.

After a short presentation of the project, the audience was addressed by Dr. Nataša Kopitovic Vukovic, a teaching assistant at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Podgorica, presenting in detail the legal regulations related to the energy efficiency system in Montenegro.

Speaking about NZEB buildings - near-zero energy buildings, Mrs. Kopitovic Vukovic explained that they represent buildings with very favorable energy characteristics, high efficiency, which are determined in accordance with the Directive. The insignificant required amount of energy, which is close to zero, should be covered to the greatest extent from renewable sources, including energy produced on-site or in the immediate vicinity.

The second part of the workshop was dedicated to the use of agricultural waste for the production of sustainable construction material with high energy efficiency, which was discussed by Dr. Radomir Zejak, professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Podgorica.

Mr. Zejak referred to the types of construction materials that exist, as well as use of agricultural waste in the construction industry and its advantages.

Speaking about the use of agro waste in Montenegro, statistical data indicates that the total amount of generated waste for 2019 is over 1,200 tons, of which the smallest part is waste in agriculture, forestry and fishing (about 10 tons), followed by the waste in construction, which is about 150 tons, household waste about 300 tons, waste related to production in other industries close to 800 tons, etc. In his presentation, Mr. Zejak presented proposals for the use of agricultural waste in Montenegro for products in the construction industry, clay products, composite materials - mortar and concrete, fiber briquettes, replacement of part of coarse aggregate with shell waste (mussels, mussels, oysters, etc.) into composites of the type of mortar and concrete with inorganic binders and multi-layered (lamellar) packets.

In the final part of the presentation, the attendees were also presented with examples of good practices in the use of agricultural waste for the production of sustainable building materials with high energy efficiency.