Turkey's new eco-city planning is literally "going nuts."
According to Agence France Presse, Turkey is now in the process of figuring out a new way to use pistachios in its new eco-city project in the Gaziantep province...and it is not for the latest rendition of baklava.
"We are planning to obtain biogas, a kind of renewable energy, from burning pistachio shells [...] the ecological city could be heated by burning pistachio shells because when you plan such environment-friendly systems, you take a look at natural resources you have," Green building expeter Seda Muftuoglu Gulec told AFP.
Fondly called "green gold," Gulec, along with other Turks, are hoping to use pistachio shells to provide heating for the eco-city in both private and public buildings. The pistachio-heated Gaziantep eco city is planned to house 200,000 people within 3,200 hecatres, and will be 11 kilometers (6 miles) from the provincial capital (also named Gaziantep).
"Gaziantep's potential in pistachio production is known, as well as its considerable amount of pistachio shells waste," Gulec added, citing that the province produces thousand of tons of pistachios every year.
Turkey is one if the world's largest producers of the nut, along with Iran, the U.S. and Syria, exporting nearly 6,800 tons of pistachios last year alone.
The eco-city project is still pending approval from local authorities, however, and Gulec "declined to provide a firm timeline" for the project overall, according to AFP.
