Groningen Seaports is the economic operator, developer and port authority for the port of Delfzijl, Eemshaven and adjoining industrial sites. Groningen Seaports is at the forefront of the circular economy and recently opened Circulands, a circular-oriented industrial park.
BE O Lifestyle is a Dutch company which has developed two forms of plant-based plastic. They manufacture water bottles and coffee cups from sugar cane residue and used vegetable oil. These products are reusable, repairable and recyclable - and nice to look at!
The E-waste Race is an educational competition between ten primary schools to collect old electronic devices. Project participants are given an introductory lecture about recycling and the valuable materials contained in electronic devices. They then start collecting e-waste and the school which collects the most wins an educational - and fun! - school trip.
LENA is the first online and offline fashion library in the Netherlands. It has a system for borrowing clothes and provides an extended wardrobe for every occasion. Their aim is to speed up the fashion industry's transition towards a circular system.
Ocean Sole takes the world's most widely worn shoe, the flip flop, and turns it into art, and the Dutch company Nic&Mic sells it in the Benelux countries. Ocean Sole is Kenya-based and began with the desire to clean up beaches that were heavily polluted with plastic and flip flops. Ocean Sole has grown to employ 90 Kenyans.
Back in 1931, EMMA was founded as a social enterprise for injured workers from the Dutch State Mines. Hence, social entrepreneurship is in the DNA of EMMA Safety Footwear. Today, EMMA still employs about 100 people who need some additional support in the labour market. Making sustainable safety shoes was, therefore, a logical next step in EMMA’s journey towards a positive footprint.
SNEW has developed a circular system reusing the raw materials in existing equipment. It aims to give business telecoms and IT equipment a second life. Companies which hand over their old ICT equipment get either maintenance for their current equipment or money for the old equipment.
Recyclo aims to be a catalyst for the circular economy, helping urban areas be more resource efficient through better waste management and recovery.
It is a cooperative, which identifies problems, proposes solutions and helps implement them. It provides consultancy, training and business development, with the objective of raising awareness about urban waste. It works with public authorities, businesses and civic platforms, promoting a zero waste approach.
It works with waste management companies, and has set up a collection service geared to the needs of businesses. It has also organised a network of compost sites across Brussels, supplied with organic waste by restaurants and bars.
Buurman is a hardware store and workshop that only uses secondary materials, such as wood from demolition sites and insulation materials, plywood and cables from construction sites in Rotterdam or from exhibitions and festivals.
In May 2019, the Belgium-based fruit and vegetable cutting business Allgro set up its own water plant. The facility turns wastewater into drinking water, thereby slashing the food company’s mains water consumption.
