#E-waste

Throughout the week of the Circular Economy, we are shining a spotlight on inspiring sustainable initiatives in the Netherlands. Meet the pioneers, learn from them and get inspired! First up is Henk Martens: Programme Manager of the Upcyclecentre in Almere.

Throughout the week of the Circular Economy, we are shining a spotlight on inspiring sustainable initiatives in the Netherlands. Joining forces with startups, social entrepreneurs, creative professionals, leading companies, and forward thinking governments, to showcase what a circular economy can look like. Meet the pioneers, learn from them and get inspired! First up is Henk Martens: Programme Manager of the Upcyclecentre in Almere.

So, Henk, can you tell us what the Upcyclecentre is all about?

The Upcyclecentre contributes to a circular economy in which raw materials are reused optimally. Residents bring in their waste, and startups on site design and create products from the waste. Old goods gain new economic value, value which in some cases may be higher than the original value. It’s a new concept; people may say it’s the first upcycle centre in Europe. Almere wants to show residents, companies, and other cities that it is possible. But it’s much more than this: the building itself is designed to be circular, with recycled materials. We have 276 solar panels on the roof, and we can collect and reuse rainwater for the toilets. And much more importantly we want to inspire visitors to think and act with a circular mindset. This year we even started offering an educational program for schools.

Every year Almere records 400.000 unique visitors at the waste points.

What kind of startups are on site?

We just had the first batch of startups. Ruig & Geroest makes interior designs, like lamps, from trash, Ruik makes perfume from pine needles or orange peels, & Seefd saves and screenprints pre-loved clothes. The Upcyclecentre gives these circular startups the chance to develop their business cases by offering them a workspace, giving them a small startup capital of €5.000, and helping them with collecting the right used materials. In exchange, the startups have to share the message of circularity and stimulate circular behavioral change by giving workshops to residents, children etc. Now we are looking for the second batch of startups: there is a time constraint on how long the startups can remain on site, to give the opportunity to other circular entrepreneurs, further accelerating the transition to a circular economy. It’s sort of like an incubator program. But the City of Almere still offers the opportunity to join a circular hub district.

You briefly mentioned that this is the first Upcyclecentre of Europe. Why do you think this hasn’t happened before?

Coincidence or not, Almere is hosting the International Horticultural Expo in 2022: the Floriade. The theme is ‘Growing Green Cities’ and the expo will focus on the green city of the future with growing cities: in 2050 more than 70% of people will live in cities. This created a momentum to do things differently, develop this center and create a showcase for the Expo. It wasn’t easy and it is not something you can do by yourself. The City of Almere collaborated together with the Omgevingsdienst, the Province of Flevoland and the Ministry of Economics & Climate to make this idea into reality.

What do you think are the biggest barriers and challenges the Upcyclecentre is facing?

It’s a difficult question. We are really in the start-up phase. 2020 will be the year to prove that the Upcyclecentre has the right to exist and we will focus on measuring the impact we’ve created towards a circular economy. One challenge is the involvement of residents, even more. Or finding the right startups to join the incubator program on site.

The City of Amsterdam organized a market exploration for a potential Upcyclecentre in Amsterdam North. Do you have any learnings or recommendations for them?

First of all, it is super important to start this initiative with a group of highly motivated people. People who are intrinsically motivated to make this a success. People who believe in the story and want to be an ambassador for the Center. Secondly don’t underestimate the power of good marketing and communication. You want to do this not only for, but also with, the residents of the city. You want to use this center to involve and inspire residents to make this transition to a circular economy happen. This means involving the residents from the start and also reducing potential barriers for users of the center. Make residents your ambassadors as well.

What do you think could be done in your industry to accelerate the transition to a circular economy?

It’s important to show the world that it is possible;a positive outlook on the circular economy. A can-do mentality. That’s what we want to accomplish with the Upcyclecentre. Set an example for the rest of the world and show something concrete and tangible. The city government can take a leading role in this as well. The City of Almere’s initiative is a good example for this.

And if we are looking into the future, where is the Upcyclecentre in 5, 10 or maybe even 20 years?

In a dream scenario all stakeholders have a circular mindset: companies, government, educational organizations and residents. But it’s going to be difficult. The first step is relatively easy: mobilizing the frontrunners. The next step is going to be harder: mobilizing the masses. But with the arrival of the new Account Manager, Hede Razoky, the first step in the right direction is made!

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This interview series is a collaborative initiative of Metabolic, AMS Institute, City of Amsterdam, the Amsterdam Economic Board and Amsterdam Smart City. Working together within the Amsterdam Smart City platform, these organisations are committed to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

Throughout the week of the Circular Economy, we are shining a spotlight on inspiring sustainable initiatives in the Netherlands. Joining forces with startups, social entrepreneurs, creative professionals, leading companies, and forward thinking governments, to showcase what a circular economy can look like. Meet the pioneers, learn from them and get inspired!

Welcome to the Dutch week of the Circular Economy! Throughout the week, we will be shining a spotlight on inspiring sustainable initiatives in and around the Amsterdam area, by sharing interviews with pioneering projects and companies who are showing tangible solutions to take us from a linear to a circular economy.

Read about startups, social entrepreneurs, creative professionals, leading companies, and forward thinking governments, and learn what a circular economy can look like. We will be publishing 2 articles each day. So, stay tuned!

This interview series is a collaborative initiative of Metabolic, AMS Institute, City of Amsterdam, the Amsterdam Economic Board and Amsterdam Smart City. Working together within the Amsterdam Smart City platform, these organisations are committed to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

More information about this week: https://deweekvandecirculaireeconomie.nl/
#circulareconomy #WeekvandeCE

Read all the interviews here:
#1 Upcyclecentre Almere
#2 Program Circular Mattrasses
#3 Building bridges from flushed toilet paper
#4 The Zwerfinator
#5 Getting buy-in for products-as-a-service
#6 Loop a.life
#7 Circular Textile Industry
#8 InStock
#9 ECO Coin

The Data Centre Industry has grown rapidly and generates a large volume of e-waste / WEEE. The current infrastructure for dealing with this waste is underdeveloped and consequently, there is a real and urgent need to address this now. CEDaCI will build a Circular Economy for the Data Centre Industry by bringing together stakeholders from all equipment life cycle stages to turn this waste into a useful resource and support the ongoing rapid growth of the DCI.

Business leaders and other experts from the European Commission, Holland Cicular Hotspot, Rang-Sells, Amager Resource Center, Neste, Aker Solutions and more will be sharing experiences, solutions and creating new possibilities for business partnerships. This Summit will give an opportunity to strengthen the ties between the Nordics and the Netherlands in the field of Circular Economy. This event is offered free of charge registration is, however, required.

LET OP: NIEUWE DATUM 10 MAART 2020

DatacenterWorks en CloudWorks organiseren op dinsdag 3 december 2019 een speciaal event dat geheel in het teken staat van open source-hardware en de kansen die dit u als IT-manager, floormanager of datacentermanager biedt. Dit event zal plaatsvinden bij maincubes B.V. te Schiphol-Rijk.

De markt
Nadat open source eerst al de softwaremarkt wist te veroveren (denk aan Linux, OpenStack enz) zien we nu langzaam maar zeker iets vergelijkbaars gebeuren in de hardware-markt. Datacenters waren tot voor kort aangewezen op hardware-producten die volledig op het principe van vendor lock-in zijn gebaseerd. Onder invloed van de hyperscalers (Facebook, Google, Microsoft enz) zien we nu een omgekeerde situatie ontstaan: het datacenter bepaalt welke hardware-producten hij wil hebben en vraagt de industrie deze voor hem te bouwen.

Wie doet wat?
Steeds meer manufacturers stappen in deze nieuwe markt. Maar wie doet nu precies wat? Hebben we het hier enkel over het Open Compute Project (OCP)? Of over meer open source-projecten (hint: ja!). Tijdens dit event meer informatie hierover en krijgt u tevens antwoorden op uw vragen.

- Green IT Amsterdam houdt zich al geruime bezig met projecten op het gebied van energiebesparing en het verkleinen van de ‘environmental footprint’ van datacenters en IT-afdelingen. Open source hardware kan hierbij een belangrijke rol spelen.

Daarom verzorgt Julie Chenadec van Green IT Amsterdam tijdens het Open Source Hardware event dat op 3 december in Amsterdam plaatsvindt een presentatie over de rol die open source hardware kan spelen bij het verkleinen van de impact van datacenters op milieu en omgeving.

In haar presentatie gaat zij onder andere in op het Europese Cedaci-project waaraan Green IT Amsterdam deelneemt.

Ook laat zij zien hoe open source hardware een van de opties is voor datacenters en IT-afdelingen die hun ‘environmental footprint’ verder willen terugdringen.

Interesse om deze presentatie bij te wonen? Kijk hier voor meer informatie.
> https://opensourcehardware.datacenterworks.nl/110219

Whenever a mobile phone is thrown away, we lose the value of its components but also the value of its production, transportation, and labor. Currently, only 20% of electronic products are formally recycled, while integrated construction makes repairing and reusing electronic components increasingly difficult. Fairphone is attempting not only to recycle, but also to re-use and repair electronic components and source them from ethical supply chains.

Read our interview with Fairphone co-founder Miquel Ballester Salvà to learn what other impacts Fairphone is trying to minimize, what drives them, and where the compnay is is headed.

Explore trends in sustainable food packaging, innovations & partnership opportunities at Impact Hub, with Futureproof.community.

About this Event:
How can we make food packaging sustainable? Plastic waste is a global problem, and the EU is preparing the transition towards a circular economy. Where does that leave food packaging? During this event, we will explore trends, innovations and opportunities, together with Futureproof.community by MVO Nederland.

For whom?
This evening is for innovation-seekers and makers. We will discuss success stories and do some live matchmaking, especially to make it easier for established companies and smaller innovative parties to find and talk to each other. You’ll meet and learn from entrepreneurs and innovators from our Food, Plastics, and Circularity Ecosystems and be able to start new collaborations.

Speakers
The warming up will be a panel interview, moderated by Caroli Buitenhuis of Green Serendipity, expert on bioplastics, circular economy and sustainable packaging. Chocolatemakers, Willicroft and People of Tomorrow will share their journey towards a sustainable package for their products.
Keynote speaker of this event will be Willemijn Peeters, founder of Searious Business, who helps (food) businesses to become plastic-free and circular. Her mission is to help transform our global economy and is an expert in bringing about organisational strategy & operational change.

Programme
19:00 Walk-in
19:30 Start
20:30 - 21:00 Matchmaking Drinks

About Futureproof.community:
You want to engage in more sustainable business, develop and move forward. For that, you need a product or service, knowledge or that one connection. Futureproof.community by MVO Nederland supports your search for the perfect match. For our 10.000 members, we already made over 4000 matches, so let us have a look at your entrepreneurial challenge! Do you want to know how it works? Watch this video.

About Impact Hub’s Food Ecosystem:
The Netherlands is the second largest exporter of agro-food products worldwide. What if we used this position to make real impact across the food chain and accelerate the transition to a more sustainable food system? Through our ecosystem approach, we bring together and strengthen relationships between entrepreneurs, investors, government, corporates and other organisations. Together we create innovation and resources for positive change in the food sector.

Voor ondernemers en ondernemende mensen die mee willen denken en doen met ontwikkeling van De Bretten. Dat vanuit de uitgangspunten: Respect voor de natuur, Duurzaamheid en Innovatie. Hoe zorgen we dat het park De Bretten bekender wordt en nog meer te bieden heeft voor bezoekers?
Volgende bijeenkomst: 7 november bij Pantar, Seineweg. Mail naar DeBretten@amsterdam.nl.

Foto: Daan ter Avest

The World Economic Forum estimates that the world generated 50 million tonnes of e-waste in 2018.

One circular economy solution is to develop product-as-a-service models like that adopted by Dutch headphones startup Gerrard Street. Customers pay a monthly fee, and in return have access to modular headphones that use no glue and are easy to disassemble.

We interviewed co-founder Dorus Galama about the challenges and advantages of circular economy solutions for e-waste. One key insight: "in direct sales, sustainability doesn’t work too much."

Read the full story!

Part of the transition to a circular economy is measuring how circular our current economy really is. Metabolic fascilitated a workshop with the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving (PBL), which brought government ministries and municipalities to the table, to discuss how best to measure the circular economy in the Netherlands. Intra-governmental cooperation is crucial to measuring the different levels of the circular economy across cities and regions. Check out the report! (in Dutch)
https://www.pbl.nl/publicaties/meten-om-te-weten

And read more about our work here: https://www.metabolic.nl/news/measuring-the-circular-economy-the-dutch-pioneers-leading-the-way/

Samen met Pakhuis de Zwijger organiseert Amsterdam Smart City een avond over circulaire economie in de Metropoolregio! Kom je ook?

Hoe zien circulaire steden er straks uit?
Steden waarin al het afval volledig wordt gerecycled. Het klinkt als een ideaalbeeld, maar hoe komen we daar? En hoe betrekken we bewoners zo goed mogelijk bij de processen die hierbij nodig zijn? Tijdens dit programma kijken we naar verschillende projecten rondom circulariteit en afvalverwerking van Amsterdam Smart City. Afval kunnen we gebruiken als grondstof voor nieuwe producten, zowel op lokaal als centraal niveau. Hoe zorgen we ervoor dat grote bedrijven en bewoners zo goed mogelijk worden betrokken bij het proces van afvalverwerking? Hoe blijft het aantrekkelijk voor al deze partijen? Kortom: hoe ziet circulaire afvalverwerking er straks uit?

I am a Smart Cities Consultant, actively looking for opportunities in the areas of Smart Cities, Digital Transformation, Livable Cities, Sustainable Development, Urban Mobility, ICT/ IoT, Strategy Planning, Project Management, Urban Management, Urban Economic Development, Urban Governance, Feasibility Studies, Technical Research, and Development.
I hold a Masters degree from Germany with specialization in Urban Agglomerations. I would be happy to hear from you pointing out at any leads or opportunities.
Thanks in advance,
Kind Regards,
Anuradha

Startups & scaleups and social enterprises, check out our 2019 sustainability programme and sign up now: https://startupinresidence.com/amsterdam/

The governmental startup incubator Startup in Residence gives sustainable entrepreneurs the opportunity to collaborate with the local government towards solving 18 sustainable city challenges. The sustainability challenges cover a variety of topics including waste recycling, new energy sources, sustainable sports city, climate-proof city, etc. Add to that, we as a municipality, would like to become more innovative and sustainable. Find the complete list of challenges here: http://bit.ly/2tbYfmN !

Apply for our programme now! We’re looking forward to receiving your applications from February 5th until March 24th 2019!

Startups & scaleups! Check out our 2019 programme and sign up now!

Startup in Residence invites sustainable entrepreneurs to collaborate with the local government towards solving 18 sustainable city challenges. The sustainability challenges cover a variety of topics including waste recycling, new energy sources, sustainable sports city, climate-proof city, etc. Add to that, we as a municipality, would like to become more innovative and sustainable. Find the complete list of challenges here: http://bit.ly/2tbYfmN !

Apply for our programme now! We’re looking forward to receiving your applications from February 5th until March 24th 2019!

Take a pause from your busy life and look at our planet’s incredible sustainable natural cycle. Have you ever given a thought that our planet wouldn’t have lived billions of years without this natural cycle where the excretion of one living species tends to be another’s food – a natural zero waste management system.

youtube.com/watch?v=sgSqi8P5CeEwww.vpro.nl/programmas/tegenlicht/backlight/mobilegold.html

One for One

www.vpro.nl/programmas/tegenlicht/backlight/mobilegold.html

Mobile Gold - VPRO Tegenlicht

The Zero Waste Lab is an initiaitive of De Gezonde Stad (the Healthy City) and is supported by partners Stadsdeel Oost, Icova, Cities Foundation, de Regenboog Groep, Ymere and EY.
Besides, the Dapper Market, local entrepreneurs, the Dapper School and residents join.

Smart Stories

Check the article about the Zero Waste Lab featured in our online magazine 'Smart Stories':

Since repairing is better than disposing

If you want to receive the dutch report, please send me a message.