Grape Waste To Paper

When the world is coming to terms with the dangerous implications of the environmental negligence by humans, any small or big step towards sustainability certainly brings a ray of hope. Thinking on the similar lines, Adrian Pinto, Senior Manager Wines, Pernod Ricard India came up with a unique concept to “Change the World One Sheet at a Time”. Here is how.

Do you know how much wine is produced in the world annually? Five billion cases, equal to 60 billion bottles. And do you know how much waste is produced as a result of the winemaking? Over 33 million tons of waste, that includes, seeds, stocks and skin of grapes. So what exactly is done with the waste? Almost nothing. As Adrian realised, the waste can actually be used to produce paper.  At Pernod Ricard ,“Approximately 500Tn/yr of stems are transported to a landfill and waste management at the cost of 24 €/Tn.”– Fernando Pozo, PRW Spain. “The Marlborough Winery currently sends the bulk of our marc to a third party vineyard at a cost of approximately $25/tonne.”

The advantages of grape paper are plenty. Needless to say that it uses the grape waste, Tree free, made from 100% Waste & Chemical free. It’s not just cost effective but grape farmers could also generate income by selling unsalable or damaged crop for paper production.

Adrian is already in talks with the Indian Institute of Packaging Mumbai (IIPM) to develop captive packaging for wine & spirits industry. The paper is currently being tested by IIPM for being a Food Grade packaging paper.

His PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) application has been filed with the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) and accepted by the European Patent Office, (EPO) (ISA/EP) on the 12th of May.

“Many external agencies in India are keen to learn more about this project. I am looking at the commercialisation of this patent and have been advised that this patent would be of more value, in regions that generate the grapes waste example EU, USA, Australia, South Africa, South America, to name a few”, said Pinto.

Well, this is a great initiative and the project certainly seems to have great potential. If you would like to know more about it do write to Adrian at info@greenpaperworks.com or itsadrianpinto@gmail.com.