Cider maker Westons, whose brands include Henry Westons, Stowford Press and Rosie’s Pig, is creating the carbon dioxide it needs for its products from processing waste.
Apple pomace left after pressing 29,500 tonnes of apples each year is treated at Nicholas Layton’s on-farm anaerobic digestion plant some ten miles away, generating methane and CO2 with help from BioCarbonics Ltd.
Darryl Hinksman, head of business development at Westons said, “Thanks to our strong planning and sourcing credentials, we didn’t actually get caught out by last year’s shortage of food and drink grade CO2 ourselves, but with every chance of further shortages in future, we decided it was time to look for a more sustainable solution closer to home.
“By effectively generating our own CO2 from our left-over apple pomace, not only are we guaranteeing our own long-term supply, we are also meeting our own sustainability objectives. This will immediately remove 10,000 road miles a year from our supply chain, as we will no longer need to take deliveries of CO2 from further afield.”
Nicholas Layton added, “We had been looking at the possibility of turning food by-products into food and drink grade sustainable CO2 for some time. So, when we learned about Westons’ objectives to find a more sustainable solution for its carbonating requirements, both in terms of environmental considerations and guaranteed supply, we were keen to explore how we could take their left-over apple pomace and turn it into something much more useful. We’re delighted to have found a solution that is an industry first, provides a one-stop and sustainable solution for Westons, and which could also have a much wider application across the drinks industry as a whole.”
Photo caption: Westons is making CO2 from its own apple waste
Photo source: Westons Cider