For decades, non-renewable resources have been the basis of worldwide economic development. The extraction rate of natural resources has increased by 113% since 1990, which has led to overexploitation and generation of vast amounts of waste. For this reason, it is essential that a sustainable development model is adopted—one which makes it possible to produce more food and energy with fewer fossil fuels, low pollutant gas emissions and minimal solid waste. Certain management policies and approaches, such as the strategy of a circular ecocomy or bioeconomy, are oriented towards sustainable production and consumption. The present study focuses on the importance of intensive horticulture in the Mediterranean region, specifically in the province of Almería (Spain). After having conducted a study of the main crops in this area, it was determined that the waste biomass generated presented strong potential for exploitation. With the proper regulatory framework, which promotes and prioritises the circularity of agricultural waste, there are several opportunities for improving the current waste management model. In the same way, the results of the economic evaluation demonstrate that the alternative of self-management of waste biomass is profitable, specifically from tomato crops. Compost and green fertilizer production also prove to be a key strategy in the transition towards a more circular and sustainable agricultural production model. As for the said transition, government support is vital in terms of carrying out awareness campaigns and training activities and providing financing for Research and Development (R&D).

As of now, circular economic production models of the circular economy (CEPMs), which include circular economy, bioeconomy, and circular bioeconomy, are among the main tools characterizing development policies in different countries. During the last five years, policies and strategies regarding CEPMs have promoted and contributed to the development of research on this topic. The evolution and most relevant aspects of the three CEPMs previously mentioned have been analyzed from a sample of 2190 scientific publications obtained from the Scopus database. Bibliometric analysis has been used to evaluate the approach of these models in agriculture and to introduce the ways in which they address the management of agricultural waste biomass (AWB). Results show that the circular economy is the most studied and prioritized model in China and most European countries, with the UK leading the way. Germany leads in topics related to the bioeconomy. The management policies and strategies of the circular bioeconomy are key to promoting research focused on AWB valorization since bioenergy and/or biofuel production continue to be a priority.

In recent decades, ecosystems have suffered diverse environmental impacts caused by anthropogenic activities, including the dumping of plastic waste. This situation has prompted the European Union to introduce a new policy based on the circular economy. In this study, the present state and future perspectives on the generation and treatment of plastic waste in the intensive agriculture of Almeria (Spain) are analyzed. This activity generates 1503.6 kg·ha⁻¹·year⁻¹, on average, of plastic waste with an approximate treatment cost of 0.25 €/kg. The present study shows that the volume of plastic waste from intensive agriculture in Almeria is constantly increasing (48,948.2 tons in 2020/21) and it is suggested that the current management system does not meet the needs of the sector. Although it presents great opportunities for improvement under the framework of the circular economy. Furthermore, this work reports a direct relationship between the price of the raw materials needed for the production of plastic and the volume of recycled plastics. For this reason, it would be advisable for the administration to consider the implementation of a tax rebate system for the sector and specifically when the petroleum derivatives used to manufacture plastic are less expensive, and the recycling option is not so attractive.

The high-yield agricultural model in Almería is based on eight different crops. Having led fruit and vegetable exports in Spain for more than 50 years, a decrease in melon and watermelon growing areas in Almería caused a change in supply that affected the model’s profit. Papaya cultivation could reactivate the profit of the agricultural model in Almería and also improve the available product range. The papaya crop needs greenhouse infrastructures high enough to contain the growth and size of the plants during a cycle crop, which is possible in most of the greenhouses of the Horticultural production model of Almería. The papaya harvests obtained in the region meet the quality requirements demanded by European markets. Furthermore, yields obtained are equal or higher than yields obtained by other producing countries. This crop improves profit compared with the profit obtained from the rotation of other horticultural crops that have been traditionally grown in the region.

One of the major problems of watermelon production is the decrease of fruit yield and quality caused by soil diseases. Soil disinfection with methyl bromide (MB) has been used to prevent fungus attacks; however, its use is being restricted because this substance damages the ozone layer. Searching for new MB alternatives, field experiments were carried out in open field in soils infested with Olpidium bornovanus and melon necrotic spot virus in Colima, Mexico, where watermelons had only been grown previously using soil fumigation with MB. Yield and quality of watermelon cultivar triploid Tri-X 313 grafted on two rootstocks of Cucurbita maxima × Cucurbita moschata (‘RS841’ and ‘Shintosa Camelforce’) were evaluated during 2 consecutive years. Each experiment had five treatments, two of them with nongrafted plants at a density of 3472 plants/ha with and without MB fumigation. The remaining three treatments had grafted plants in nonfumigated soil with plant densities of 2778, 2083, and 1740 plants/ha. The use of watermelon grafted on ‘RS841’ and ‘Shintosa Camelforce’ rootstocks significantly increased the average fruit weight and the total yield of watermelon in soil without the need for MB. Grafting may be considered as an alternative MB fumigation. With the use of grafted watermelon plants, planting density may be reduced by 50%, obtaining higher yields than those obtained from nongrafted plants grown on fumigated soil except for ‘Tri-X 313’ grafted on ‘Shintosa Camelforce’ in 2006–2007. Fruits harvested from grafted plants had higher firmness than those harvested from nongrafted plants without affecting the content of soluble solids.

Sustainable development has become an essential criterion for structural policies of the European Union, and these policies have extended its environmental dimensions. The EU has decided that circular economy will be framed within the principles of sustainable development. Thus, the changes brought forth will affect activities like agriculture, where environmental policy can undermine the stability of agricultural systems by reducing their profitability. The objective of this study was to evaluate how the implementation of these techniques impacted the southeastern peninsula of Spain, a farming region that supports the sovereignty and food security of the European Union in terms of fruit and vegetable products. The production techniques evaluated can increase production costs by up to 5.5%, although there are no significant differences in crop profitability. It is necessary to guarantee that all producers can access the incentive system to reduce their economic pressure, due in many cases to financial losses. In this regard, it is necessary to establish a specific green architecture for this subsector that factors in the effects of inflation to balance the triple aspect of sustainability.