Ekofungi is a Serbian company that takes a 100% circular approach to mushroom cultivation. It has pioneered a technology for sustainable cultivation of edible mushrooms using recycled cellulose waste. Each year, Ekofungi grows 130 tons of mushrooms which are either sold fresh or dehydrated and mixed with other vegetables.
The auum-S, a machine designed for workplaces, cleans, dries and disinfects glasses in 10 seconds with only 2 cl of water and no chemicals.
rhinopaq provides reusable shipping packaging boxes made of polypropylene, which can be reused up to 20 times.
Pryme converts plastic waste into valuable products on an industrial scale. It has developed a new approach to an existing and proven chemical recycling technology. Pryme has optimised the pyrolysis process by adding proprietary characteristics.
The Italian company CIA has found that the most appropriate way to reuse coffee husks is as a fertiliser and soil conditioner by composting them in organic farms.
Dienpi S.r.l. produces labels, tags and packaging for fashion brands. The production of tags and packaging for luxury brands whose production processes are not traditionally linear involves considerable amounts of innovation, sustainability and craftsmanship.
Ricehouse natural mortars are obtained by expertly mixing aerial lime with rice husks, a agricultural by-product derived from husking raw rice.
CleanBags machines empty and internally disinfect bags used in healthcare facilities. The disinfectant used is chlorhexidine digluconate which has a broad spectrum of action, meaning that it acts on bacteria and viruses, even COVID-19.
Italy's Puglia Region has large expanses of olive groves. Pruning these trees yields around 800 kilotonnes of residual biomass each year and Fiusis uses this biomass to produce energy.
How to recover phosphorus through the agricultural use of digestate produced by co-digestion of sewage sludge and other organic waste.
Coffee grounds contain many nutrients which are excellent for growing mushrooms. This secondary raw material is even ready for use, having been sterilised at 80 to 90°C by the coffee machine. What's left once the mushrooms have been collected is a good fertiliser.
The URBIOFIN project aims to demonstrate the techno-economic and environmental viability of an integrated and innovative biorefinery for the transformation of the organic fraction of municipal solid wasteinto new marketable bioproducts, chemical building blocks, biopolymers and additives for different markets like agriculture and cosmetics.
Leadax uses high-tech material and production knowledge to develop and manufacture 100% circular materials out of discarded PVB for waterproofing buildings.
Schijvens has been producing corporate uniforms for more than 150 years now. In 2017, they began collecting customers' old clothing, shredding it and mixing the textile fibres with shredded PET-polyester ones from sportswear, fishing nets and bottles. This led to 100% recycled yarn, which is used to make new fabrics and ultimately new uniforms.
BE O Lifestyle is a Dutch company which has developed a form of plant-based plastic that it uses to manufacture water bottles. The bottles are made from sugar cane residue and are reusable, completely environmentally-friendly - and nice to look at!
The Italian company Menichetti produces organic glues and adhesives intended for sustainable packaging. The raw material is obtained from leather and tanning industry by-products.
The cooperative company Tradecowall manages construction and demolition waste in the Belgian Walloon region and comprises a network of companies working with inert waste recycling centres in the region.
The Green Alley Award is Europe’s first prize for start-ups active in the circular economy, launched in 2014 by the Landbell Group.
The initiative aims at supporting a climate-neutral circular economy by encouraging and promoting promising business ideas to turn waste into resources and fight the abundance of plastic waste in our economy.