PARTNER NAME
Green Apple Foundation
FIRST INVESTMENT
2018
THEME
Sustainable Planet
INVESTMENT TYPE
Grant
Green Apple is a not-for-profit social enterprise based on the island of Tierra Bomba - 30 minutes from Cartagena, Colombia.
The Foundation is dedicated to implementing long-lasting change in the way waste and natural resources are managed by the hospitality industry in their city, while creating long-term, dignified employment opportunities for local people.
Through glass processing for the local hospitality industry, an artisanal glass workshop, waste collection and consultancy, and an organic waste and kitchen garden, Green Apple has diverted nearly 350 tons of glass and food waste since 2018, which would have gone to landfill. They have also helped over 25 local businesses to reduce and recycle, and created 11 jobs for local people.
Green Apple's glass processing centre on Tierra Bomba has now reached capacity and in 2024 they will be expanding to a new site on the mainland, increasing capacity from 8 to 160 tons of glass processing per month and creating 10 - 15 further permanent, full time jobs.
Following a start-up grant in 2018 which enabled Green Apple to purchase its first glass crushing machine, Treebeard provided a second grant in 2023 to support the foundation's expansion to the mainland.