PepsiCo makes fertilizer from potato peelings

Food giant PepsiCo is going to give potato waste a new purpose. To this end, the company is working together with the British CCm Technologies, which is developing a technology to capture carbon for the production of fertilizers, among other things.

PepsiCo will use CCm Technologies' technology in the production of chips in the United Kingdom. The largest potato chip factory in the world is located in the British city of Leicester. Almost 300.000 tons of potatoes are processed here every year. These are used for the Walkers chip label. PepsiCo now wants to add value to the potato skins that are left over from the production process.

Return fertilizer to growers
The potato peelings are converted into low-carbon fertilizer. This fertilizer is then returned to the growers who supply potatoes for Walkers. The results from a previous trial are promising, according to PepsiCo UK. This is the reason to install CCm's equipment in the factory in 2021 and to increase the production of fertilizer. The chip manufacturer expects to reduce the CO2 emissions of potato chip production by 70% with this.

By converting potato waste into a reusable raw material, PepsiCo wants to promote the circularity of potato cultivation and thus help farmers to reduce their impact on the environment. The initiative is part of PepsiCo's wider agricultural program. This has already helped British growers to halve their water use and to reduce their CO2 emissions.

Rollout to other countries and crops
PepsiCo also wants to roll out sustainable fertilizer production to other European markets. In addition, the application in various other crops, such as oats and maize, is also being looked at. According to David Wilkinson of PepsiCo Europe, potatoes are just the beginning. “We are extremely excited to test the fertilizer on a larger scale and see the potential it has.”

Pawel Kisielewski, founder of CCm, is pleased with the collaboration. “This is an important step forward in proving that agriculture can play a role in reducing carbon emissions and contribute to a circular economy, in this case through sustainable reuse of waste sources and capturing captured carbon back into the environment. soil."

Jeanette Pennings

Jeannet has her roots in the flower bulb sector and she grew up on an agricultural company in the northern part of North Holland. As a generalist she reports for Boerenbusiness across all sectors. She is also exploring the possibilities of sponsored advertising.

j.pennings@boerenbusiness. Nl

© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.