Narrator: This is waste from making apple and pear cider.
It's a mixture of skin, pulp, and seeds.
After squeezing the juice out,
about a third of the fruit is left over,
and cideries have to figure out what to do with it.
Narrator: An Argentine inventor saw a gold mine in this goop.
José Alberto Aramberri found a way to turn it into logs
that can replace firewood and charcoal.
But in a country that's been barbecuing for centuries,
are people willing to break up with firewood?
We visited Argentina to see how one company
is using worldwide waste.
Three rivers run through Alto Valle,
creating a patch of fertile ground
perfect for growing apples and pears.
Each year, the country's apple cider industry alone
creates about 75,000 metric tons of leftovers.
This fruit waste is called pomace,
and it's the heart of Jose's business, Biót.
It all started with a dried piece he took home
to run some tests on.
Narrator: He realized pomace could be used for fires.
But the real challenge was figuring out
how to turn tons of slushy fruit into solid logs.
Narrator: He had lots to experiment with,
since cider makers like Marcelo García
are usually happy to have someone take it off their hands.
Narrator: Making this cider starts with fruit
that would have otherwise gone to waste.
Narrator: On the way to the grinder,
the fruit travels through the factory in channels of water.
A belt of buckets lifts the fruit to a mill that crushes it.
Narrator: But the pomace can't get too dry,
or it won't move smoothly through the machinery.
So the cidery adds water back into the mixture.
Narrator: Marcelo says the pomace has lots of uses,
like composting, heating, and making vinegar.
Narrator: The biggest problem is moving
the wet, heavy mixture.
José gets pomace delivered to his property
by the truckload.
Narrator: He's considered many ways to get that water out.
Narrator: So far, the cheapest option
is simply dumping pomace on the ground
and waiting a few days.
Narrator: Then, a worker uses a bulldozer
to move the gunk into a specialized machine.
Narrator: With the help of a tractor,
the machine dispenses a line of pomace onto the ground
and slices it into brick shapes.
Narrator: José piles up the dry pieces.
He often tries out other systems,
like drying smaller batches in a rectangular mold.
Narrator: The mold could help him make thinner bricks
that don't need to be flipped.
Narrator: He's considered making other products
like animal feed, but right now,
he only sells the so-called bio logs.
Narrator: He founded Biót with his wife, Cristina.
Narrator: She helps with the marketing and sales side of the business.
Narrator: José says their different skills
make them a good match.
Narrator: She sells the logs to some local businesses
and to people who use them at home.
Traditional Argentine barbecues, or asados,
date back to the 16th century.
Nowadays, lots of people use charcoal,
but some say wood gives meat the best flavor,
so it's popular with restaurants.
Narrator: José says meat grilled with Biót
doesn't taste any different.
Narrator: Biót logs provide about
the same amount of energy as regular firewood,
and burning them has about the same effect on air quality.
José says it costs the same, too,
and the business is profitable because costs are low.
Customers have to come to his farm to pick up the product.
Narrator: In 2019, José and Cristina supplied the local government with Biót,
which gave it out to low-income households.
But elections brought in a new government that didn't renew the deal,
leaving them with almost 100 metric tons of extra inventory.
Cristina says their current processes are slow
and difficult to scale up.
Narrator: But José thinks the technology
will become more popular.
Narrator: No matter what,
he's proud to leave behind a legacy of invention.