Our industries and our current way of life make us produce more and more in an "ephemeral" way. We throw away big amounts of raw materials that we could easily reuse and launch back in the circular economy.
Parapluiestandupcycling decided to retrieve the fabric of broken umbrellas and to create a utility garment out of it.
RacionaLUSO offers a compact system that meets the recently-introduced Portuguese quality legislation for water reuse. With the availability of just 2m2, the system can treat 15m3 of water per day with a recovery efficiency of 80 % of water and 45.6 % of energy (thermal).
Vélosophy is part bicycle, part philosophy. It brings to life the potential of recycling by partnering with Nespresso to craft a bike from recycled aluminium coffee capsules.
Also the standard Vélosophy bikes are made with recycled aluminium. The fork & frame have always been made with as much recycled aluminum allowed and possible according to the industry standard and legal requirements.
About Blanks makes sketchbooks and notebooks from old book covers and recycled materials.
Contaminated sediment from the Port of Dunkirk has been re-used in road structures since 2002, when the Port started to cooperate with the Ecole des Mines de Douai and various industrial partners in order to design alternative materials for stabilised sub-base road layers.
EcoBean is a Polish enterprise that turns waste coffee grounds that would otherwise end up in landfill into a clean energy product – coffee logs!
Tarpaper Recycling is a recycling specialist minimising the environmental impacts of construction waste. It has developed a patented method to recycle bitumen from roofing-felt waste by converting it into a material that can be used as a binder in asphalt production.
La Tête dans les Nuages gives a second chance to hot air balloons, advertising posters and polystyrene packaging, which would otherwise go to waste, by upcycling them into bean bags.
Reverse Resources is an Estonian company that offers an online “circular” solution that tracks and traces waste flows by connecting manufacturers, waste handlers, recyclers/spinners and brands on one platform by offering 360 degree transparency, data accuracy and real-time transactions on waste flows.
To create a circular economy for Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers, Starlinger, a plastic packaging machinery and process technology engineering company from Austria, has simulated a closed loop for polypropylene - the main component of big bags- in cooperation with renowned big bag manufacturers Louis Blockx and LC Packaging.
At the intersection of science, design, and waste management, PuriFungi develops natural cleaning systems. PuriFungi's new product is an ashtray made of mycelium and cigarette butts.
adidas, one of Europe's premier sportswear manufacturers, is increasing the use of sustainable materials in its product range. From 2024 onwards, only recycled polyester will be used in every product and on every application where a solution exists.
In 2019, Stella McCartney partnered up with adidas to solve the problem of product waste with the introduction of two new apparel innovations.
Estonian leather goods maker Stella Soomlais has come up with an innovative bag design that enables old or damaged leather bags to be turned into new leather goods, with little leftover material.
Estonian company Gelatex Technologies has designed a new textile made of gelatine - a substance derived from livestock industry waste. Compared to other materials, this innovative textile is the closest thing to leather. The product is easily scalable, quick to produce and environmentally-friendly.
Estonian business Rohepakend has come up with a home-grown alternative to plastic food packaging: a food wrap made from donated cloth, pine resin from Estonian forests and beeswax.
Wao shoes are fully ecological shoes made entriely from natural, innovative and sustainable materials.
Globe Hope, a Finnish textiles and cosmetics SME, has been creating bags and accessories from recycled and leftover materials since 2003.
The Circular Classroom is a new educational platform for learning about the circular economy. This open platform provides secondary schools and upper secondary schools with new tools for discussing the circular economy within a curriculum that promotes phenomenon-based learning and integrated subjects.
ISATIÓ is a Brussels SME that recovers samples from the textiles industry to create unique designer clothing, with manufacturing all done locally and the supply chain covered entirely by bicycle couriers.
Suckõrs is an Estonian company that uses reed growing naturally on the shores of Estonia to make reusable, biodegradable drinking straws and a new raw material for producing goods. Their products can be cleaned and reused multiple times and, once they have reached the end of their lifecycle, they will decompose naturally.
Sulapac has developed a fully biodegradable and microplastic-free material innovation to replace plastic. The wood-based material is both recyclable and mass-producible.