Velzenbeek (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – In Vlezenbeek, Waste Warriors and Thomas Schiltz plan to quickly harvest 70,000 kg of pears from a family orchard and turn them into juice to prevent waste by New Year’s Eve.
As VRT News reported, in Vlezenbeek, in the province of Flemish Brabant near Brussels, Belgium, a family faces a problem with their 3-hectare pear orchard. The trees are full of ripe pears ready to be harvested, but the family can’t pick them.
They inherited the orchard from their late grandparents and used to hire a company to care for the trees and harvest the fruit. Now, that company has stopped working, leaving the pears at risk. They mentioned that without help, the entire harvest could be lost, wasting a large amount of fruit
How will waste warriors save 70,000 kilograms of pears in Vlezenbeek?
The family has asked for help from Waste Warriors, a company that saves fruits and vegetables. Thomas Schiltz from Waste Warriors said their team wants to quickly pick the pears before they spoil and turn them into pear juice.
Since early 2025, Waste Warriors has saved 25,000 kilograms of fruit and vegetables that might have been thrown away. Thomas Schiltz from Waste Warriors says the group turns this rescued food into items that last longer, such as soups, sauces, juices, jams, and cookies.
Schiltz says,
“We also want to do the same with the pears from Vlezenbeek. We’d like to make pear juice from them. That has a longer shelf life than the fruit itself, and we want to sell it on New Year’s Eve.”
Waste Warriors is planning to save the ripe pears in the Vlezenbeek orchard, where about 70,000 kilograms of fruit are ready to be picked. Thomas Schiltz says the pears need to be harvested quickly to turn them into pear juice, which lasts longer and can be sold for New Year’s Eve.
To decide how to do this, Waste Warriors will meet with helpers on Monday, Aug 9, 2025. They will choose whether to hire pickers or hold a “pick-your-own” event where people can gather pears, keep some, and donate the rest for juice.
Waste Warriors is a group from Belgium that started in 2025. They save fruits and vegetables that would normally be thrown away because they look odd or are not perfect in size. The group collects these foods and turns them into things like juice, soup, jam, and cookies. Some of the food is given to food banks, and some is sold to help local people. They work with farmers and want to grow bigger by selling more products.
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