Beer And Crisps Could Be Secret Weapons In Battle Against Climate Change

What if I told you that you could consume all the beer and crisps you fancy, and you’d be doing your bit for the environment too?

It sounds too good to be true, particularly when we know that the process of beer fermentation typically produces a whole lot of carbon dioxide.

But one tech company has a bright idea to turn all of that around, and do Mother Nature a favour in the process.

UK-based CCm Technologies captured the CO2 produced by breweries and mixed it with potato waste, which can then be turned into fertiliser.

The company trialled the fertiliser on potato seed beds earlier this year, which have been picked up by none other than crisps giant Walkers.

Seriously, beer and crisps could actually be the way to saving our beloved Mother Earth.

Walkers now has plans to install the equipment needed to capture the carbon in its Leicester-based factory in time for the 2022 crop, while bosses seek out ways to source gas from within the business.

Once the scheme is finally in action, the crisp company is expected to reduce its carbon foot print by 70%, and it has visions of becoming fully carbon-negative in the next decade.

‘From circular potatoes to circular crops, this innovation with CCm Technologies could provide learnings for the whole of the food system, enabling the agriculture sector to play its part in combating climate change,’ said David Wilkinson from PepsiCo, which owns Walkers.

‘This is just the beginning of an ambitious journey, we’re incredibly excited to trial the fertiliser on a bigger scale and discover its full potential.’

This initiative is a step in the right direction, and we will continue working hard to lower the carbon impact of our products from field, through manufacturing sites, to consumption.

‘CCm is delighted that PepsiCo has chosen our technology to demonstrate the huge potential that innovative approaches can have in promoting sustainable agriculture across the UK,’ CCm Technologies’ Pawel Kisielewski said.

‘By enabling the sustainable reuse of waste resources and the locking of captured carbon back into the soil, our partnership represents a significant step forward in proving that agriculture can play a role in carbon reduction and the circular economy.’

I think this calls for a beer and a packet of Walkers’ finest, don’t you?