Iceland: strawberry grower uses geothermal source for tray washing

Steinar Jensen and his wife, Hólmfríður Geirsdóttir, grow strawberries for the local market and aim to work sustainably. Their greenhouse company's name is Jarðarberjaland, which is Icelandic for Strawberry Land. The company uses its near-boiling geothermal water source for energy and heat.

After the storm: Back to the drawing table
In 2022, a storm blew away one of the production houses, forcing the two owners to go back to the drawing table. “We had to do everything from scratch,” Steinar recalls. “We got new gutters and new trays from Bato. Of course, we also needed a new washer for those trays, so we asked Bato for a recommendation, and they came up with Limex.”

Preference for refurbishing rather than recycling
Steinar did some research and approached Limex to ask if they had a washer available for their needs.“It just so happened that we had a used washer of the required type,” says Joep Janssen of Limex. “We replaced all the electrical components, pumps, controls, etc. From a sustainability perspective, we always prefer such refurbishing projects – because, with recycling, you end up having to melt metal, which isn’t very environmentally friendly.”

Washing without chemicals thanks to geothermal heat
Jarðarberjaland aims to work sustainably. Steinar says: “We value good hygiene, without using chemicals. We also use biological crop protection and UV-C lights, and we get our electricity from the local water-powered plant.” In addition, the company possesses a geothermal source with water that’s 90 to 95 degrees Celsius. Steinar elaborates: “The water is so hot that we can feed it straight into the washer without adding chemicals – actually, when we’re washing, you can’t see the machine because of all the steam!”

Washing trays with the Limex washer
Jarðarberjaland supplies strawberries year-round. Every week, they harvest and plant a new row which also involves the rotating and washing of trays. Steinar comments on the matter of hygiene: “You don’t want plant remains and potential mold risk being spread to the next cycle, and so far the Limex washer seems to be doing just that”.