Plastic recycling: urgent, but a major problem
Suddenly, articles on plastic recycling pop up everywhere. Spurred on the one hand by continued growth in plastics production; and on the other hand by the ever growing problem of plastic waste. Scientists foresee that in 2050, there will be more plastic waste than fish in the oceans – if present trends continue. Something needs
The potential of bio waste in Europe
In Europe, just 16% of bio waste is processed to some form of useful application. Meaning: food and garden waste. An upcoming report by the Biobased Industries Consortium and Zero Waste Europe calculates the potential, and maps interesting and successful policies. Useful application of waste The Biobased Industries Consortium (BIC) is an association of European
Don’t just reduce emissions, create a circular economy as well
Last month, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation completed a series of reports on climate change with a strong message. Don’t just reduce emissions; restructure the economy as well, from a once-through wasteful economy to a circular economy. Or else, industry and agriculture will continue to emit a lot of greenhouse gases, because of their sheer size
Use more plastics, says Michael Carus, but responsibly
Michael Carus, managing director of the German nova-Institute, has stirred up the plastics debate. While plastic waste is piling up and the seas get filled with plastic soup, Carus makes a plea for the use of more plastics. A better use of plastics, properly speaking. The age of plastic has just begun In an interview
Improve sustainability without damaging the brand
The past World Bio Markets Conference in Amsterdam proved an interesting happening, not so much because of what was said, but more explicitly because of what was not dealt with. Sustainability was the overarching conversation topic of the conference. Although sustainability is a broad and complicated concept, companies seem to limit themselves to only a
Microalgae, environmental cleaners and food additives producers
The use of microalgae for water purification is not widespread. Yet, they are very well capable of doing so, says Paul Hamm. Twenty-five years ago, he was involved as an investor in water purification by microalgae. But he was too early. Government policy steered into another direction, and Hamm’s innovation lost its value in the
Doing Dutch biobased business in Midwest USA
One month ago me and my two fellow interns arrived in Chicago and started our work here at the Consulate-General of the Netherlands. The focus of my specific project is to look into the opportunities that may exist and connections we could make for Dutch biobased business in the Midwest of the USA. Just a
Circular bioeconomy: an uneasy marriage of concepts, so far
Two concepts, the bioeconomy and the circular economy, have much in common but seem to belong to different universes. Proponents of the circular economy treat the bioeconomy as a fringe phenomenon, that circles around biodegradation; whereas the bioeconomy does not sufficiently value resource efficiency. Inadequate concepts will result in inadequate policies, like stimuli for biofuels
on: 28 March 2018