In the south-west of The Hague, Yespers has opened the world’s first total value factory. A factory processing apples. Nothing but the whole apple. Every single part of the apple is valued and used. A factory with zero waste, where every residual flow is put into use.
At the factory, the stems, seeds, cores and fruit are separated before entering the processing process. The stems are dried and made into an apple tea blend and the seeds finely pressed into apple oil. Yespers makes the most impact with the cores and pulp. The cores go into the pressing process along with the fruit to be processed into apple juice. The pulp remaining after pressing is dried and ground into apple fruit powder. This unique process allows every part of the apple to be valued.
The new total value factory is also referred to as the world’s first zero waste factory. Stefan Baecke notices that the term ‘zero waste’ appeals to many people, but he himself prefers to speak of total value: “In our view, waste only exists when you misuse resources. It is quite strange that apple juice is often considered more valuable than the other parts of the apple, while apple juice is actually mainly sugar water. We actually want to emphasise the maximum value of all parts.”
The factory makes optimal use of both resources and human resources. It offers additional employment for people who have difficulty finding a job. Founder Stefan Baecke: “Our goal is to bring both raw materials and people to maximum value. Part of the Total Value factory is the Yespers Academy. Employees are coached in all areas, from learning new skills, increasing self-confidence to obtaining certificates. With the experience gained and certificates obtained, they can move on to a job in the factory or are guided to enter the job market confidently.
Founder Stefan Baecke: “We already had one apple line where we used the whole apple for our breakfast products. In the new factory, we can start running larger volumes. More food producers will be able to use the products processed from the whole apple. The idea is to make the Total Value factory the centre for innovative and socially sustainable food production.”
“The Hague has many entrepreneurs combining doing good and doing business. Yespers takes this to the next level. Their impact goes beyond their own company by engaging -step by step- the whole food chain in their mission.” Saskia Bruines, Deputy Mayor of the City of The Hague
Read the whole story on StoriesofPurpose.thehague.com
