The Christmas period is characterized by high consumption of pineapples. The student initiative of the University of Leibniz in Hanover has developed a way to turn this waste into paper.

Direct speech: “We have been in Costa Rica for five weeks to get an idea of ​​the situation. Sliced ​​fruit crowns produce 200 tons of waste per week on the plantation and usually remain unused and may even become a problem, ”explains Niklas Tegtmayer from the project.

Semi-finished products and juice production are the main components of the pineapple industry, and a large number of crowns are trimmed locally to facilitate export. In addition, the same plants produce fruit for only two years, and then are replaced by new ones.

In the dry season, production waste is delivered to local farmers who use it to feed their livestock. Residues in the fields are plowed or dried with chemicals, because if they remain, they contribute to the spread of local flies that can transmit diseases to livestock.

The paper industry created as part of this initiative can, on the one hand, solve the problem of waste, and on the other, provide a sustainable alternative to the paper and packaging industries.

Direct speech: “At present, we still work in our laboratory in very limited quantities, but on an industrial scale we expect that our alternative to plain paper will be slightly cheaper.

In addition, we do not use chlorine bleaching and would like to produce as much environmentally friendly paper as possible to avoid hazardous waste, ”the students say. Pineapple paper can be used in different ways, making both business cards and fruit export boxes.

The team is currently looking for a partner in Germany to expand the process and conduct further tests.

• Scientists from Singapore and Vietnam decided to turn hundreds of millions of tons of pineapple waste accumulated in their countries.
• Umberto Lopez Rosales, president of the local foundation Isla Bienestar, a municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz, said at least 1/3 of the more than 10 thousand hectares. the pineapple in the region was devastated by drought and heat.
• Mercer Amsterdam, a well-known brand in the Netherlands for the production of unique shoes, introduced an innovative pineapple leaf product.