Afbeelding
This project comprises a solution-oriented approach/route to support the circular economy in the north of the Netherlands in a business-oriented way, in which new value chains and business models with newly to be developed circular products will emerge and through which the ecosystem will be tested and developed with concrete cases. Local plastic waste streams will be identified and used as new raw material for making circular products through mainly injection moulding technology.
What is the motivation for the project?
Much research has been and is already being done on the topic of circular economy and the various issues involved. Many initiatives are also being undertaken to promote circularity. The aim is to remove barriers to the production and purchase of circular products. This project starts from the business with putting into practice developing and preparing to market circular products to better use, develop and expand the ecosystem from this experience.
What problem is the project solving?
There is a clearly observable turnaround in which entrepreneurs and companies see usefulness and necessity in offering a product that is circular. Many entrepreneurs want to be able to offer a circular product in addition to their existing portfolio. That could be a tile or a door handle offered within a company or industry. With this project, we have a wonderful chain of parties who will be the first to set this up regionally.
Who is the project team?
The project team consists of a combination of Keunsto B.V. Caparis and NHL Stenden.
Keunsto BV is a newly established company resulting from Elzinga & van der Krieke. At Elzinga & van der Krieke, it is possible to have a product engineered and manufactured as long as it is a product that can be produced by injection moulding and from its own mould shop. These are high-quality products.
Caparis focuses very strongly on making its operations more sustainable. In addition, Caparis is constantly setting up new projects and is strongly looking at projects in which products are dismantled whereby the flows released are put to useful use again. It is currently working on setting up a sustainability factory where 1st generation solar panels will be disassembled, releasing 9 waste streams that can be reused as raw materials. These include plastic that could potentially be reused. Caparis also takes on space, logistics and implementation.
NHL Stenden brings in the latest (practical) knowledge and student creativity to arrive at solutions that are innovative for the expansion of a circular economy. With their network, expertise and facilities, this knowledge institution is an important pivot in the ecosystem to make this project a success.
Students from the Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering programmes and from the Circular Plastics minor will be deployed to perform material analyses, optimise recycling processes, determine material properties, and generate and elaborate product ideas. In cooperation with Hanze University, IPO students are also used.
How does the project team approach this?
Conducting at least 3 pilots leading to a blueprint of the process. The route to be followed in the pilot are:
- Activities related to analysis of material streams and their processing. This provides information on which waste streams are available in the region, what their composition is and what volumes per plastic type can be collected with them. These results then enter a database that categorises data on, for example, processability, purity, applicability, product possibilities and volumes in the region, etc. This database will be expanded over time.
- Activities leading to a product idea with an associated business case.
- Activities leading to a physical concrete result, namely lab-scale and product-scale prototypes of a product from a waste stream.
- Activities leading to an overview of the market opportunities and interest among the target group regarding specific products and key aspects thereof regarding partnerships, perception of USPs and the influence of circularity thereon.
- Creating a good network around these activities to achieve a sustainable circular economy in the north of the Netherlands.
