Solving the fruit waste problem

from Murrindindi Guide Spring 2023

Buxton – its past present, people and places – how it evolved

By Emily Friedel

Sam Bate and Rob Christopher have an ambitious vision for the mountains of fruit waste currently going into stock feed or landfill. They want to build a local fruit-processing plant that can handle the thousands of tonnes of perfectly edible, but unsaleable, fresh produce coming off farms every year. Such a processing plant would enable fruit that is not fit for retail sales to be converted into highquality food products.

The problem of unwanted fruit harvests is a big one, according to Sam, and desperately needs a solution.

“We calculated that it’s probably around 3,000 tonnes which is wasted from cherries alone in Victoria [each season], so there’s obviously still more contribution from New South Wales and Tassie, but that’s what we’ve anecdotally worked out from speaking to growers. And that represents around 20 to 30 percent of the crop,” he says.

“The industry is expanding positively, and this problem is not going away. There have been concerted efforts from certain people within the industry to tackle it, but no-one’s been able to do it really successfully just yet.”

Rob says the copious amounts of discarded produce also represent a substantial monetary burden for growers, who get no financial return from this imperfect fruit and may even have to pay for its disposal.

“These farmers have had to pay to grow that fruit all year, they’ve fertilised the trees, they’ve pruned the trees, they’ve then paid to have the fruit picked, they’ve paid to have it transported and then graded, to then throw it away at a cost. So that’s massive losses for these growers,” he says.

Determined to find a fix for the enormous fruit waste problem, Rob and Sam set to work on their project: “Transforming cherry waste into commercially viable high value products”. Late last year, the project became a successful funding recipient through the Victorian Government’s Circular Economy Business Innovation Centre, delivered by Sustainability Victoria. This grant has seen Sam and Rob make tangible progress towards their grand vision, giving them the resources to invest in some infrastructure and devote more time to the venture. Their initial goal, as set out in the grant, is to divert 500 tonnes of would-be waste into food products. With Rob’s family owning Cathedral Cherries, cherries made a logical starting point for working towards this goal.

Cherries that are perfectly edible don’t make the cut for retail sales for a number of reasons, including split skin, being a bit too small, or not having the right firmness. Sam and Rob are figuring out how to turn these cherries into high-quality food products.

“We have been taking Cathedral’s current season’s crop, plus cherries from Wandin Valley, CherryHill Orchards, and Koala Orchards. So, they’re the three main growers, and they’ve all been donating cherries to us for processing. They’ve been supporting us not only with cherries but in any way they can,” Sam says.

Bellevue Orchards in Officer has also supplied equipment to pulp and juice the cherries. This equipment has been set up on Rob’s property, which also houses the Bonfire Station Brewery, allowing the fruit waste experimentation to begin in earnest.

Some of the waste cherries have gone into this very popular cherry and apple cider, which makes good use of cherry juice with minimal processing.

Sam, who has a background as a chef and caterer, has gladly accepted the challenge of developing high-end products from unwanted cherries. Rob’s brewing knowledge, and the brewery itself, have also come in handy. So far, they have developed several viable products, two of which should hit the market in October. One of these is a unique “cherry fruit bark” made from cherry puree.

“When you start to pulp cherries, you have juice and pulp. Separating the juice and the pulp is really difficult with cherries. They’ll give you, say, 40% juice, and if you want any more than that, they’ll fight you for it. They don’t make it easy. We wanted to not fight as much, and then hopefully trade off the virtues of what we had. So, the cherry fruit bark is simply cherry puree that has been freeze dried, and the freeze-drying process makes it crispy like honeycomb. We’ve also gone one step further and coated it in chocolate – it’s perfect for chocolate,” Sam says.

The versatile cherry pulp has also served as a base for producing some innovative alcoholic beverages.

“Cherries aren’t a stable product; they love to ferment. There’s a lot of sugar in cherries, they come off the tree with around 18% sugar, which is like wine grapes. The other thing that happens when you pulp fruit is that you release pectic enzymes, which further break that fruit down. And that releases more juice. However, it’s not easy to use that juice for still juice anymore because it’s starting to ferment. So what we’ve done is develop a distilled spirit using the pulp,” Sam says.

“It’s such an easy product to use a lot of cherries. So, one regular 700ml bottle of spirit at 40% ABV takes ten kilos of cherries. And there’s no sugar added, there’s no grain added, we’re just using the most amount of fruit possible in order to get that product.”

The pair are also trialling cherry vinegar, a 100% cherry liqueur, cherry and apple cider, and whole cherries in liqueur. Sam says he is confident that all of these are promising products, and they’re only the tip of the iceberg.

“There’s definitely a market for any one of these products. And then there’s bulk juice products and bulk pulp products that we haven’t even dipped into”.

Their exciting range of cherry-based prototypes marks substantial progress, which has been facilitated by the generous industry support. However, Rob and Sam emphasise that they’ll need more people on board to achieve their ultimate goal.

“Our long-term vision is to see a big processing facility set up locally here where all the growers can bring their waste fruit, we process it, and then distribute it out to the big food businesses. That would be a multimillion-dollar facility, so we’re looking for financial partners,” Rob says.

Sam adds: “We’d also love people to get in contact with us with their own stories, trials, needs, ideas. Anybody. Even people with a small crop that they don’t know what to do with.”

And while cherries have been a convenient starting point, Sam and Rob want to expand their capabilities to deal with any fruit, including any other stone fruits and citrus, that would otherwise be wasted. They believe that with strategic collaborations, it is entirely possible to eliminate fruit waste and all its associated drawbacks.

“We’re doing all the development, and we’re looking for the right people to partner with to see this to fruition, to tackle this problem to the end,” Sam says.

For more information contact Rob and Sam via cathedralcherries@gmail.com.au or sambate@customcuisine.com.au

You can also find Sam on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelbate-14309473/

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By Emily Friedel

Pete Olive of Custom Carpentry & Construction in Alexandra has found a niche among local building businesses. His skill set is perfectly suited to jobs that are too small for a builder but too big for a handyman.

And when it comes to those mediumsized jobs, Pete is willing to do anything that doesn’t require a licensed trade. This means he will tackle everything from post-and-beam structures all the way down to intricately tiled splashbacks.

“I don’t really let anything get in my way, so I tend to give everything a go. I’ll put my heart and soul into whatever I’m doing. But the finish has to be as good as – preferably better – than what I’d pay someone else to do, and if I wouldn’t put it in my own house, I wouldn’t put it in someone else’s,” Pete says.

Pete didn’t start out in carpentry and construction. His prior career was in the engineering sector, predominantly working as a qualified automotive machinist and professional engine builder. Although he enjoyed the work, having a family meant it was no longer the financially sensible option.

“Nearly 15 years ago we had my first daughter, and a year later we had another daughter, and a year and a half later we had a son. In between those three crazy years, I realised that as much as my prior trade was lots of fun and I really loved it, it wasn’t really paying the bills,” he says.

“I had already renovated a house and was on a second house of our own. I enjoyed carpentry and I was able to turn my hand to most things. I had a friend in the building game at the time who offered me a bit of building work.”

Pete subcontracted to other builders, first in the Yarra Valley then in the Murrindindi Shire, until the subcontracting work slowed down in 2018. Rather than being a setback, this was a turning point for Pete.

“I took on a couple of jobs of my own and haven’t looked back. My current business has got to a point where I’ve been considering putting someone on for a while – I think the opportunity’s there to ramp things up.”

And while he no longer works as an automotive machinist, Pete says the skills he developed in that trade have transferred to his current one and help set his work apart.

He also credits the engineering background for developing his keen attention to detail, which is especially important when taking on his favourite type of job: ones that other builders don’t want.

“I like doing jobs on older houses as well as new ones, but I get more of a kick out of doing older ones. I particularly like taking on jobs that no-one else will touch. When you’ve got old finicky stuff it could take a week, but it could easily push out to two weeks. So I guess that’s why other people don’t take it on, because you just don’t know what you’re getting into. To try and get that high-quality detail on something old is that much harder, but I like that – I like a challenge. And I like getting the detail right; all those tiny little aspects are important, and I think it makes the job what it is in the end.”

Pete describes his style as modern rustic and says that doing it well is more a matter of resourcefulness and creativity than money spent on materials. He put those qualities to good use when building a shed for himself.

“I’ve got a bit of a theme going at home with barns. Our house is actually an American-style barn, so I thought I’d do an Australian barn [for the shed]. I only had a certain amount of money, but I’ve found the rustic style is better with no money because there are certain aspects that money just can’t buy. It takes lots of time, lots of effort, lots of thought, and lots of looking for material.

“The finish on my barn came about with four recycled packs of seasoned hardwood timber from the Yarra Valley that were a nightmare to get here. I paid a slab of beer for them, then it took an entire weekend to drag them here, with a multitude of problems. Once I got them here, I spent I don’t know many days and hours machining bits and pieces and making the timber workable, and the end result is a unique timber-clad barn.”

Pete’s main lines of work are decks, pergolas, bathrooms, and general renovations. But his willingness to think outside the box and do most processes on his own have led to some unique projects.

“I had a client with an old concrete water tank they wanted to turn into something, so I had to construct a hexagonal-style roof. It was all exposed beam and was actually quite complex once I got into it and realised there’s a lot more compound angles than first thought, but the finished result was amazing. I ended up doing all the stonework, all the tiling, I rendered all the inside walls, I made the kitchen bench, barn doors, the list goes on. When you look in that building and you look at each little detail, that’s all my work, so that’s probably been one of my favourites,” he says.

The satisfaction Pete gets from this type of job has spurred him on in his second career, and he is now on the cusp of expanding. His attention to detail, can-do attitude and love of a challenge will no doubt mean taking on more jobs that are too small for the builder but too big for the handyman in the future.

Decking is another one of Pete’s specialities, and spring is a great time to get one for the pool or outdoor area before the heat of summer hits.

“Changing trades was a bit of a gamble, but I think it’s paid off in the end. And I have always been able to enjoy it too, which has been helpful. I’m quite happy with where it’s gone and hopefully where it’s going.”

To contact Custom Carpentry & Construction you can call Pete on 0407 095 220, email pete@customcc.build or go to www.customcc. build

You can also find more information on Facebook and Instragram #customchippy

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