Peel Pioneers

From wasted citrus peels to oils, fibres and food-safe ingredient

Peel Pioneers rescues citrus peel waste, especially orange peels, that would otherwise be burned in huge quantities across the Netherlands. They transform this overlooked, “too wet, too sour, too difficult” waste stream into high-value ingredients used in food, cosmetics, cleaning products, and even plant-based innovations. Pretty awesome huh?

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Orange peel waste next to the oils, orange cubes and citrus fibre created from it by Peel Pioneers | Waste Alchemists

About the alchemists

Peel Pioneers began in 2017 with Bas, Lindy, and Sytze experimenting in a garage in Amsterdam. Bas knew citrus peels were a huge waste problem; Sytze was researching new uses for waste streams; and Lindy added the technical power. Their first “factory” was two bikes, a few buckets, and restaurants willing to hand over their orange peels.

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About the waste

Every day in the Netherlands, supermarkets, hotels, cafés, and holiday parks generate mountains of orange peels from fresh juice machines. These peels are wet, acidic, heavy, and tricky to process , too sour for composting, too moist for regular recycling, and therefore usually collected as mixed waste and burned. In total, around 250 million kilos of citrus peels are discarded each year. Peel Pioneers exists to intercept exactly this overlooked, “impossible” waste stream.

About the process

Once collected separately by Renewi, the peels arrive at Peel Pioneers’ Den Bosch facility and are processed within 72 hours to preserve their quality. The first step is extracting essential oils through a pressing mechanism. After this, the remaining pulp, once considered unusable, is dried and refined further to create new high-value ingredients. The entire process is designed to capture as much value from the peel as possible and leave no part wasted.

About their creations

From the rescued citrus peels, Peel Pioneers creates five core ingredients: three types of citrus oils for flavour, aroma, colour, and natural degreasing; orange cubes for bakery applications; and citrus fibre, a neutral, multifunctional ingredient used for binding, emulsifying, and texturising. These ingredients are then used by partners in food, cosmetics, cleaning products, and plant-based innovations. Think of beers, mayonnaises and sauces, soaps, bakery products such as cookies, plant-based meat, cosmetics and much more.

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The peel that changed a law

When Peel Pioneers started, Dutch regulations didn’t allow anything labeled as “waste” to re-enter the food chain. So their founders worked with authorities to change the law, proving that citrus peels can be a safe, valuable ingredient rather than something to burn. This shift didn’t just unlock their own business; it opened the door for an entire new generation of food-upcycling companies.