Money for jam... and pits
- Well-established conserve-maker converts bio-waste into a revenue stream
- Selling its prune pits to a partner company cuts waste by 26 % and saves around € 3 600 a year
Favols is a jam manufacturer in southwest France. Created about 50 years ago, the company has been instrumental in promoting the region’s culinary culture and know-how.
Looking for ways to improve its production processes and be more environmentally responsible, the company teamed up with Ademe to perform a material audit, which revealed high volumes of non-hazardous waste compared to turnover and sector norms. By analysing the content of its waste bins, Favols calculated 21 tonnes of discarded organic material (i.e. prune pits), a growing amount that represented some 18 % of total waste volume.
Bio-waste regulations required the company to set up a waste procedure by 1 January 2015. This set in motion a procedure with a local service provider to re-use the pits to make oil for the cosmetic industry.
Key results
The partner buys the bio-waste which provides a new revenue stream for Favols while reducing its waste by 26 %, which saves around € 3 600 a year.
In parallel, Favols worked on ways to improve efficiency and cut material losses at source. A planned dashboard includes indicators to further measure and reduce material losses during manufacturing.
“The operation has enabled us to detect subjects on which we could act quickly, such as the valorisation of pits that ended up at our waste disposal company. These actions are totally in line with our desire to be a responsible company.” - Gilles Poloni, Production Manager
Ademe (2016), '3.6k€/an d'économies en valorisant les déchets de pruneaux', http://multimedia.ademe.fr/catalogues/fiches-entreprises/22_FAVOLS_FAM_F...