Turning citrus waste into value-added raw materials
PeelPioneers, an organic refinery for citrus peels, has been located in Prodock since 1 March 2017. Each year, more than 250 million kilos of citrus peels are thrown away in the Netherlands and then incinerated or fermented.
It’s a pity these processing methods are used because the peels actually contain lots of valuable raw materials.
PeelPioneers has developed a process that makes it possible to convert these peels into, for example, fibres and aromatic compounds. These raw materials are subsequently processed into end products in various industries including the food, packaging and cosmetics sectors. This is how PeelPioneers transforms waste into raw materials and helps bring about the circular economy.
Since opening in March, PeelPioneers in Prodock has processed more than 200 kilos of orange peels a day that come from the catering facilities at Amsterdam Central Station. The ultimate aim is to upscale and to become the leading peel processor of the twenty-first century.