The Recycling Gap Report 2021, published by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, shows that the world economy’s recycling rate is currently only 8.6%, compared to 9.1% four years ago. In addition, over 23.5 billion pairs of shoes are produced globally each year in 2019, but only 5% are recycled. In a recent report on the Forbes bi-weekly magazine website, the US magazine noted that greenhouse gas emissions are directly linked to human extraction, production and consumption. Businesses, government leaders and consumers are also increasingly embarking on circular economy action plans as a new economic way to tackle waste and pollution, accelerate efforts to curb climate change, and maintain sustainable prosperity.
Experts say that promoting investment in clean technologies, the circular economy and future market mechanisms will help create a better future for people and the environment. The market increasingly understands that there is a finite amount of material and that the value chain can only be sustainable if it is reused and recycled. The Netherlands is notable in this respect.
Circular economy on the rise
In contrast to the traditional linear economic approach of manufacturing products and discarding the excess, such as packaging, after they have been used, the circular economy ensures that what was previously discarded can be reused or better designed to avoid any subsequent waste. to reach 100% recycling by 2050. The project also includes the creation of a circular hotspot, a private and public platform that hosts and encourages cooperation and the exchange of ideas and information between government officials, universities, research institutes and private companies to promote and stimulate circular economy goals.
The five sectors prioritised by the Dutch government are: biomass and food, plastics, manufacturing, construction and consumer goods. In addition, Dutch regions and cities have started to develop and promote circular innovation at a more local level. For example, Amsterdam-based Polaris Capital announced earlier this year the launch of Europe’s largest circular economy fund. Dutch start-up BIYU offers gardening, party, cleaning and kitchen equipment rental services under the motto ‘own less, act more’. The company’s founder, Martin Tienho, says BIYU offers a circular platform where consumers can own products temporarily instead of buying them. At the end of the product’s life cycle, BIYU recycles it. He says: “We wanted to create a model where we only work with the best brands that create the best products and we provide a recycling platform for brands where consumers only get temporary ownership of the product when they need to use it.”
Recycling with the help of 3D printing
An existing example of a circular economy in the Netherlands is 3D printing. Dutch start-up Aectual is using recyclable beverage containers to create furniture using 3D printing technology.
With nearly 200 billion beverage cartons produced worldwide in 2021, what would happen if these cartons were turned into building materials, reducing the amount of virgin materials used to build and furnish homes, according to Aectual’s chief creative officer and co-founder Hedvig Heinsmann? “Maybe we could become the standard for recycled materials for interior decoration.”
More than 75 per cent of the packaging is reusable cardboard and the remaining 25 per cent is a polymer aluminium blend, says Heinsmann. With this material, they use 3D printing technology to create high-quality interior products such as benches and planters, as well as interior systems such as acoustic wall panels and dividing walls.
According to Aectual, they used molten particle manufacturing technology to 3D print the furniture. Recycled beverage cartons are first shredded and cleaned, and then fed into a 3D printer, which 3D prints the various pieces of furniture through a pellet extrusion system. Heinsmann says: “We are committed to fundamentally changing the way materials are used and introducing full-cycle solutions in the built environment.”
3D printing and circular manufacturing can be perfectly matched and we can link the data-driven feedback loops of intelligent design algorithms with material feedback loops,” he said. Our objects can be digitally configured online, 3D printed, used, shredded and then reprinted into smarter objects that continue to get smarter with each production cycle.”
End-to-end sustainability
The US Environmental Protection Agency released a report stating that in 2018, 12.1 million tonnes of municipal solid waste was generated globally from the production and manufacture of furniture and furniture arrangement, with only 19.5% of furniture and furniture arrangement products being burned for energy recovery that year, with the majority of furniture ending up in landfills.
The idea of 3D printing furniture from recyclable materials creates an end-to-end sustainable solution, says Heinsmann, whose company has partnered with Tetra Pak to offer bespoke furniture and its long-term sustainable recycling service. The two companies recently launched a range of wall partitions, architectural elements and interior design products at Milan Design Week, which are made entirely from recycled beverage cartons.
Heinsmann says that end-to-end sustainability has a long-term and wide-ranging impact. Offices and hotels sometimes change their interiors every three years and changing user needs can lead to a lot of waste, “High quality 3D printed products made from recycled materials offer an easy way to recycle furniture and finishes without compromising on quality.”