Significantly higher emissions from wildfires, especially smaller ones
Onno Havermans, in: Trouw, 7/12/25
Greenhouse gas and particulate matter emissions from global wildfires are much higher than previously thought. This has become evident from a much more accurate measurement.
Far more small wildfires are raging around the world than previously assumed. As a result, total greenhouse gas and particulate matter emissions from forest, heathland, grassland, and agricultural fires are almost 70 percent higher than anticipated. These small fires are primarily raging in heavily populated areas, where they have a significant impact on air quality.
Researchers from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) discovered this using satellite images that show the size of fires and the amount of vegetation lost. Previously, an area of 500 by 500 meters was mapped at a time, but this has now been refined to 20 by 20 meters. As a result, many small fires have been discovered.
"We didn't see these fires before," says Wageningen professor Guido van der Werf. "This is really big news for scientists: we're suddenly seeing a different picture. The total burned area has even doubled."
Amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere doesn't change
The refined measurement method makes less of a difference to the consequences of the fires, Van der Werf adds. "Our estimate of the annual emissions from wildfires was 2 gigatons of carbon, which is 20 percent of total fossil fuel emissions. Now we're at 3.4 gigatons, or almost 35 percent of the total. But the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere doesn't change, because we measure them accurately. At most, the contribution from fires is now slightly greater."
Moreover, plants that regrow after a wildfire also absorb CO2 again. This happens less quickly after a forest fire than after the burning of grassland, Van der Werf explains.
Van der Werf researches the interaction between wildfires and climate change. As a PhD candidate in the United States at the beginning of this century, he developed the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED), which compiles the results of satellite imagery. Wageningen University & Research (WUR) has been collaborating on this database for over 25 years with NASA, the carbon rating agency BeZero Carbon, and the universities of California and Maryland.
More forest fires
They recently published the new results from the database in the journal Nature Scientific Data. "Globally, the total area of forest fires is decreasing. There are fewer and fewer fires, mainly because savannas are being converted into agricultural land," says Van der Werf. "But there are more forest fires, and they also have a much greater impact."
This trend was already visible, but now there is more certainty, the professor explains. "The major fires in Canada in 2023, the Amazon in 2024, and Australia in 2019-2020 confirm this. It is certainly related to climate change, especially in the far north. But in the Mediterranean region, you also see a migration to cities. As a result, there is less grazing and more vegetation, more forest, where fires can rage."
The GFED database shows that most emissions (70 percent) are released by burning savannas in Africa and Australia. Deforestation in South America and Asia accounts for 10 percent, as do fires in the boreal forests in North America and Siberia. The remaining portion is caused by forest fires in temperate regions, such as the Netherlands, and agricultural fires.
The southern Dutch province of Brabant is becoming the home of the Silicon Valley of plant-based chemistry.
André Oerlemans in ChangeInc, 04 december 2025
Rodenburg has been producing bioplastics from potato starch for 25 years, for applications including Mars, festivals, and mussel beds. With its subsidiary Tony Starch, it will also use this technology to produce chemicals for hundreds of products that currently use oil, from sanitary napkins to bandages. The company also has plans to build a large campus for startups and other companies in the green, biobased chemistry sector.
Rodenburg has been making bioplastic from potato starch for 25 years, for applications including Mars, festivals, and mussel beds. With its subsidiary Tony Starch, it will also use it to produce chemicals for hundreds of products that currently use oil, from sanitary napkins to bandages. The company also has plans to build a large campus for startups and other companies in the green, biobased chemical industry.
"I dare say this is the game changer for phasing out fossil fuels in the chemical industry. This is a gigantic market with over a million tons of product per year," says CEO Thijs Rodenburg of the eponymous family business from Oosterhout, Brabant. He's referring to DAS (dialdehyde starch), a molecule derived from starch that has been researched for eighty years but has never been commercially produced. Rodenburg, with its subsidiary Tony Starch, has developed a patented production technology to produce DAS on a large scale. "More than four hundred applications have already been developed for this," says the CEO.
DAS can be an alternative to all kinds of oil-based chemicals and raw materials that can be polluting or hazardous and are used in various personal care, pharmaceutical, or other chemical products. From raw materials for leather to paint, from sanitary napkins and diapers to tissues for blowing your nose, from bandages to wet wipes. It can also be used for seed coatings or fertilizers.
Pilot plant and demonstration plant
DAS is recyclable and biodegradable and is made from starch and green energy. This starch comes from potatoes, just like the bioplastics Rodenburg makes, but can also be made from tapioca, pea, wheat, or corn waste. The English word for starch is starch, hence the company name Tony Starch. "Many parties have experimented with DAS at the lab scale and made products from it. But no one has yet succeeded in producing it on a large, commercial scale," says Rodenburg.
A key aspect of DAS is that it can equal the price of the fossil-based alternative. Consumers are no longer willing to pay for greener products, according to the company's experience. In January, Tony Starch will scale up the capacity of its pilot plant at its Oosterhout site to 50 kilograms of DAS per day. The company already has customers eager for this. At the same time, Rodenburg is seeking funding of €50 to €60 million for the demonstration plant, which is expected to produce 10 tons per day in 2027. Ultimately, a commercial plant is expected to produce 200 tons daily after 2030, approximately 60,000 tons per year. Customers requiring larger quantities can also produce DAS under license.
Side Stream Innovation Valley
Rodenburg is currently expanding significantly at its site. New silos and facilities are being built to process and store starch and other products. In addition to the new campus for Tony Starch, the company plans to build a larger campus on a meadow next to the forest, dedicated entirely to companies in the green, plant-based chemical industry.
The working name for this is Side Stream Innovation Valley (SSIV). The campus is comparable to the Brighlands Chemelot Campus for chemical innovation in the Dutch province of Limburg or the Brainport Industries Campus (BIC) for high-tech manufacturing in the southern Dutch city of Eindhoven. The Oosterhout campus will have 65,000 square meters of production halls and 7,000 square meters of laboratories, offices, and other spaces.
Emulating Eindhoven's success
It aims to become a Silicon Valley for biobased chemistry. "We want to create a cluster of startups and scale-ups here, complementary to each other, that process plant-based raw materials into new materials. We see synergy benefits if we all have a single location," Rodenburg explains. "The BIC is creating a huge success in Eindhoven. We want to replicate that here with plant-based solutions."
Rodenburg already has contacts with universities of applied sciences, research universities, and the Wageningen University & Research Centre (WUR) in Wageningen. Companies are also applying for a site almost daily. "We're inundated with companies wanting to be here, both from the Netherlands and abroad," says Rodenburg. "There's plenty of demand. There's just a shortage of space in this region."
The Oosterhout municipal council has already approved the plan and amended the zoning plan. Local environmental organizations have objected to this. The State Council of the Netherlands will have to rule on it next year.
The gondolas run on demand: the "FlemX" in the Swiss ski resort of Flims Laa uses rope taxi technology.
Fewer queues, more comfort: In Verbier, Zauchensee, and other resorts, new lifts and recycling ideas are bringing a fresh boost to the skiing experience. Here are the highlights.
Dpa-infocom, in: Süddeutsche Zeitung 27-11-2025
ideas are bringing a fresh boost to the skiing experience. Here are the highlights.
A new season, new lifts: The Alpine ski resorts have upgraded for winter. A selection of the new additions shows that the trend is toward gondola lifts. And when new chairlifts are launched, they are generally designed for up to eight people. A tour through the mountains from Alpe Cimbra to Zauchensee.
1. Three New Lifts in the World's Largest Ski Area
With its network of slopes spanning approximately 600 kilometres, Trois Vallées is considered the largest interconnected ski area in the world. This winter, the new ten-person Côte Brune gondola lift will open, connecting Val Thorens to Mont de la Chambre. It replaces a four-person chairlift built in 1991. The goal: to transport more skiers and snowboarders up the mountain faster. Meanwhile, in Méribel, the Telécabine des Rhodos, which had been in operation for 36 years, has undergone a comprehensive modernization. The Chenus gondola lift had been in service even longer, for 50 years. It, too, has been replaced by a modern successor. The new ten-person cabins are expected to double the lift's capacity.
2. New chairlift in Garmisch
The Kreuzwankl lift in the Garmisch-Classic ski area has been renovated. The area's central lift has been upgraded from a six-seater to an eight-seater. The aim is to make the ascent faster and more comfortable – the operators have high hopes for the slower rotation speed at the valley station. This should make it easier for beginner skiers and children to board. It is hoped that this will mean the chairlift will have to stop less frequently than before.
3. Gondola and longer slope in the Zugspitz Arena
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is not far from the Zugspitz Arena in Tyrol, Austria. A new gondola lift is now operating in the Berwang ski area, with cabins that can accommodate up to ten people. The new lift is the second section of the Obere Karbahn and replaces the old Thanellerkar T-bar lift. This makes the ride more comfortable and faster, and the run longer: because the mountain station is located higher up, the slope gains 140 meters in altitude.
4. Closing the gap in the ski slopes in Sölden
In the Tyrolean ski resort known for its parties, the two newly opened eight-seater chairlifts are not the biggest news. They are particularly proud of the new piste connection between the Gaislachkogl and Giggijoch valley runs. A glance at the Sölden piste map shows why: it links the two main access points in the area, saving ski bus and car journeys between the valley stations.
5. Double the Gondolas in Carinthia
Two new gondola lifts are replacing old chairlifts in Austria's southern province: At Katschberg, the Almbahn gondola lift with eight-person cabins will now take skiers up to the Aineck mountain instead of a three-person chairlift, while in Nassfeld, the Gartnerkofel gondola lift, with its 55 cabins each accommodating up to ten people, is replacing the old four-person chairs.
6. From Four to Ten in Zauchensee
For 40 years, the Schwarzwandbahn gondola lift operated in the Zauchensee-Flachauwinkl area of Salzburg, its small cabins holding a maximum of four people. This season, the lift has been completely renovated, and the gondolas now hold up to ten people.
7. From Mannheim to the Paznaun Valley
In the Kappl ski area in the Paznaun Valley, they're doing the same as in Zauchensee: the new Diasbahn gondola lift is replacing an old system, increasing cabin capacity from—you guessed it—four to ten. What's special about it is that the lift has already been used in several countries. In 2022, it was featured at the Floriade Expo in the Netherlands, and in 2023 at the Federal Garden Show in Mannheim. Now it's located in the Tyrolean mountains – and will be there for the foreseeable future.
8. All good things come in three in Schladming
Recycling is also underway in Styria: The new eight-person gondola lift at Fageralm was purchased from the Großarltal ski resort. The lift replaces two old two-person chairlifts. At Hauser Kaibling, the Senderbahn gondola lift is now operational, with cabins for up to ten winter sports enthusiasts. A four-person chairlift is being replaced. And an eight-person chairlift has been built to connect Hauser Kaibling and Planai, designed to transport more people faster than the previous four-person chairlift.
9. The gondola taxi is complete
FlemX in Flims Laax in the canton of Graubünden is entering its third winter season – the final section is now operational, opening up a freeride area on the Cassonsgrat. The new 2.3-kilometer-long route replaces a cable car dating back to 1956 that was dismantled in 2015. The FlemX uses Ropetaxi technology to automatically couple gondolas as needed, thus avoiding empty runs and saving energy. Upon completion, it will comprise six stations within the ski area.
10. More Comfort on the Matterhorn
A new chairlift has been built on Switzerland's most famous mountain, leading up to Gifthittli, with views of the iconic Matterhorn. It features eight-person chairs and replaces an older lift with a slightly lower capacity, which, according to the mountain railway company, transported 1.2 million passengers annually. The new lift has an even higher transport capacity and, with weather hoods and a newly designed boarding area facing the direction of travel, offers greater comfort than its predecessor.
11. Farewell to a Classic in Verbier
The cable car from Verbier to Les Savoleyres has been in operation since 1970, making it, according to its operators, the oldest in Switzerland. But now the aging gondolas with their retro steel look are being retired. They are being replaced by a combined lift. Only cabins will run to the mid-station, while from the mid-station to the summit station, cabins and chairs will alternate. This gives skiers a choice: either sit in the warm cabin or, with their skis already attached, hop into a chairlift to get straight to the slopes.
12. Second Track in the Bernese Oberland
In the Mürren-Schilthorn winter sports area in the Jungfrau ski region of the Bernese Oberland, the cable car from the mountain village of Mürren to the Birg mid-station is getting a second track: This will allow it to reach its full capacity of 800 people per hour. A second cable car track to the summit station on the Schilthorn is also scheduled to open in April.
Why putting used clothes in a recycling bin doesn't give you peace of mind
Textile waste in Ghana
Beatriz Lecumberri in El País, 27/11/2025
Greenpeace warns in a study released to coincide with Black Friday that fast fashion consumption is “an environmental time bomb.” The system is sustained by countries in the Global South, where the clothes we don't want end up. In Africa, 40% of used clothing ends up in landfills or is burned.
A pair of pants spends far less time in our closet than in an African landfill where they might end up after we leave them in a bin, comforted by the idea of giving them a second life. Most likely, the garment will travel thousands of kilometres, with the carbon footprint that journey entails, and, due to a collapsed and uncontrolled system and the poor quality of its materials, it may never be worn again. Its ‘second life’ will ultimately become a mountain of garbage in countries of the Global South or a polluting open-air bonfire, where, for example, 40% of the clothing we send to Africa ends up. This is the alarming picture painted by Greenpeace in a study published this Wednesday, coinciding with Black Friday.
“The circular economy is incompatible with our runaway production and consumption model. Currently, the manufacture and purchase of clothing far exceeds what the system is capable of managing in terms of recycling and what the planet can absorb in terms of waste volume,” explains Sara del Río, coordinator of the Greenpeace study, in an interview with this newspaper.
A “symbol of this perverse model” is Black Friday, where purchases skyrocket, attracted by lower prices, Greenpeace warns. The NGO emphasizes that this pattern of clothing consumption is “an environmental time bomb” that cannot be sustained without the countries of the Global South to, “first, produce clothing, and second, manage the waste generated by the garments we discard.”
A 2024 report by the European Environment Agency (EEA), using 2020 data, concludes that in that year the European Union generated 6.95 million tons of textile waste, about 16 kg per person. Of this, only 4.4 kg were collected separately for potential reuse and recycling, and 11.6 kg ended up in the trash along with other household waste.
But Spain is above the European average, exceeding 20 kg per person per year, of which only 2.1 kg are collected separately. And of this volume, only 4% (0.8 kg) is clothing and footwear that we deposit in the containers after having used them. Spain sends these used clothes to more than a hundred countries, mostly in Africa and Asia. The three destinations that import the most used clothing from Spain are the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Pakistan, which are often not the final destinations.
Waste disguised as clothing
The NGO, which points out that the textile industry is responsible for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, insists that this situation has worsened in just a few years. Exports of used clothing from the European Union (EU) tripled, rising from 550,000 tons in 2000 to almost 1.7 million tons in 2019.
In Spain, according to official data compiled by Greenpeace, 92% (129,705 tons) of textile waste sold to other countries in 2023 was used clothing. "Used clothing or waste disguised as clothing?" the NGO asks. “The amount of textile waste has increased, and at the same time, the composition of clothing has changed because synthetic materials, such as polyester and nylon, which are more polluting and of lower quality, have been incorporated. We are theoretically exporting second-hand garments, but in many cases, they cannot be reused,” explains Del Rio, adding that hazardous substances, such as cadmium and mercury, have also been detected in the clothing.
To support this data, Greenpeace tracked the journey of 23 garments for a year using hidden trackers in the fabric. These garments were deposited by the NGO between August and September 2023 in containers at Mango and Zara stores in several Spanish cities. Each garment travelled an average of 9,000 kilometres, and in total, the 23 garments covered 205,121 km, equivalent to circling the Earth five times, before landing in 11 different countries, mostly in the Global South, primarily in Asia and Africa. Among the geolocated garments, five reached Togo, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast. One pair of trousers, for example, travelled 22,000 kilometres in 215 days, from Madrid to Abidjan, passing through the United Arab Emirates, before its trail went cold. “Proof of this unsustainable system,” say Greenpeace researchers.
According to EEA data, around 46% of textiles discarded by European countries end up in Africa, and 41% in Asia. In Africa, efforts are made to reuse them, as there is a demand for inexpensive used clothing from Europe. But, according to Greenpeace, 40% of the clothing that arrives on the continent is not sold and ends up burned or in a landfill. In Kenya, for example, according to the recycling organization Afrika Collect Textiles, 40% of the used clothing they receive is of such poor quality that it is unusable.
The tons of textile waste in Kenya, Ghana, and Tanzania also impact the development and health of their inhabitants because the management of this waste is inadequate. “These are destinations that suddenly emerge as receiving zones where the environment is also destroyed very quickly,” laments Del Río. Furthermore, several African countries are considering limiting imports of used textiles in order to protect local textile production.
In Asia, paradoxically, the region of the world where the most new clothing is manufactured, most used textiles arrive at facilities located in free trade zones near ports or airports, where they are sorted and re-exported to African or Asian countries. There, they can potentially become rags or industrial waste, or be disposed of in landfills or incinerated due to their low value.
Greenpeace also quotes the case of Bangladesh, where the textile industry, used by some European brands, generates 20% of GDP and more than 80% of export revenue, while employing 4.5 million people, mostly women. However, nine out of ten workers cannot afford to buy enough food for themselves and their families with their wages.
A new law in 2025
The containers in stores are currently voluntary, but starting in 2025, under the 2022 law on waste and contaminated soil, municipalities will have to install many more for the separate collection of textile waste, and stores will also be required to provide them for the disposal of used clothing. At the same time, businesses will not be allowed to throw away unsold surplus clothing, which they must allocate “first and foremost to reuse channels.” In other words, they will be more responsible for the waste they generate.
“More clothing may be collected separately thanks to the law, but there may also be more garments with an undesirable final destination, because there will be more waste to manage and the same capacity. How will it be disposed of? Most likely by exporting it outside the EU,” predicts Del Río. “We have the feeling that this new regulation may also lead to waste being dumped as far away as possible to avoid seeing it,” he adds.
Greenpeace insists that this law focuses “on the last link in the chain” and not on the production methods themselves, which are the root of the problem, and believes that it “perpetuates the neo-colonialist mentality underlying this model driven by fashion brands and their evasion of responsibility.”
“Much more drastic legislative changes are needed. If a company is fully responsible for the impact of its waste, it must also be responsible for ensuring that it doesn't end up in an African country, burned, or in a landfill, and therefore, it must commit to manufacturing fewer garments of higher quality. But this is not what the brands advocate,” insists Del Río, emphasizing that Greenpeace believes that returning to clothing production levels of 25 years ago would already represent a substantial change in the right direction.
What power does a consumer have to change this gigantic and devastating system? “Small, but important,” replies Del Río. “First of all, we have to be aware of what this consumption model imposed on us by brands entails. For example, the low prices of Black Friday are offset by other factors, starting with pollution in the countries where the clothes are produced or where the waste ends up,” she concludes.
After notebooks, the Dutch company MOYU also wants to make the packaging industry tree-free, with packaging made from stone paper.
The Dutch company MOYU has been known for years for its stone paper notebooks with erasable ink. Now the brand is entering another market. It is launching reusable stone paper packaging. "In a few years, this will be the norm."
"We often talk about single-use plastics. Why don't we also talk about single-use paper? Especially with paper, it's considered perfectly normal to use it once. We throw it in the recycling bin and think we're doing a good job. But that's a false perception," says Roel Schatorjé, founder of MOYU.
The reality is that the paper industry is very polluting, according to Schatorjé. Making paper from wood requires large amounts of water and chemicals. The paper industry is among the top five most energy-intensive industries worldwide. Moreover, we continue to need new trees. "Paper fibers rapidly shorten during recycling," Schatorjé explains. "So, about a third of new material is always added in that process. And water and chemicals are also used in recycling. Dutch policy is very focused on recycling these waste streams, but we can better tackle the problem at the source."
Stone paper can be used again and again
Schatorjé founded MOYU in 2018 to offer an alternative to single-use paper. He left his job at Rabobank. "I was there to make an impact, but it wasn't happening fast enough for me. I thought: if I can plant 100,000 trees, I'll surely have a more fulfilling life. So that's what I did." MOYU entered the market with notebooks made of stone paper. No trees are cut down for this. The company plants a new tree for every notebook sold.
Stone paper is largely made from limestone, a residual stream from the mining industry. A small amount of HDPE plastic is also added to the paper. Virgin or recycled, it depends on the application. The stone paper can be used up to 500 times and is fully recyclable.
For years, sales went through the roof, but then growth stagnated. To appeal to new target groups, the company introduced flipcharts, sticky notes, and gaming products, among other things. This was partly due to strategic considerations, partly out of a desire to make a greater impact. "We're not going to save the world with notebooks alone. We can only build a circular paper industry if we have a solution for everything that's currently made of paper and cardboard."
Enter: packaging cardboard. This accounts for at least 60 percent of the demand for paper and cardboard in the Netherlands, measured in kilograms. MOYU sees enormous opportunities in this market. Schatorjé: "It's a market with high production and high demand."
Stone Paper Packaging with Deposit
Anyone ordering from MOYU's webshop can now choose waterproof, reusable stone paper packaging. A €3.95 deposit is charged. Return the packaging to selected collection points and you'll receive that amount back.
The deposit is a key component of MOYU's plan. Although stone paper is easily recycled, the notebooks can be used for so long that very little waste is returned. An effective recycling system—as simplistic as that may sound—requires larger quantities of recyclable material. The circulating stone paper packaging should generate a volume that will also be attractive to waste processors.
New Business Model
The stone paper packaging is currently only an option on MOYU's website, but the company is expanding. Initially, it wants to offer the packaging to other sustainable webshops. These stores will pay a fixed fee per package for its use.
The company is also launching a pilot program with major packaging suppliers in the Netherlands. Together, they want to test the concept on book packaging. Almost all book sales in the Netherlands go through the Centraal Boekhuis (Central Book House), making this an ideal, manageable test case, Schatorjé explains.
Ultimately, as many companies as possible should switch to stone paper packaging. MOYU certainly has the legislation in its favor. The European Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) will, from December 30th, ensure that companies may only market goods and products that do not cause deforestation or forest degradation. And the new European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) will be phased in over the next few years to encourage the use of sustainable packaging. Companies will be financially penalized for using packaging that is difficult to recycle.
Schatorjé expects this will significantly boost demand for reusable stone paper packaging. The big question is: how do you get consumers to make an extra effort to return their parcel box? Schatorjé: "That mainly has to do with convenience. The more collection points, the easier it becomes." I hope that in the future we will not only have collection devices for bottles and cans, but also for packaging.'
Circular Production in the Netherlands
MOYU's products are currently made in Taiwan, home to the world's only stone paper factory. With a grant from Versnellingshuis Nederland Circulair (Circular Accelerator Netherlands), the company is now investigating whether production can also take place in the Netherlands.
Limestone is plentiful; it is used in water treatment plants, among other things. The biggest challenge is the production itself. MOYU is currently testing various binders for its products. Schatorjé emphasizes that he doesn't necessarily need a factory of his own. He prefers to look at the existing infrastructure. "Like plastic manufacturers who partly process limestone. We're looking to see if we can reverse that."
The company has now easily reached the 100,000 trees planted. "We're now over 375,000," Schatorjé says proudly. "That's fantastic to see. But ultimately, we all need to cut down fewer trees."
From PET to concrete: what we gain by recycling. In DS 26-11-2025
Belgium is the world champion in sorting: nowhere else is so much waste neatly separated as there. But what do you get for that? What is the impact of that sorting on our CO2 emissions, our raw materials, and our environment? And how does it work in practice?
Of the approximately 62 million tons of waste produced in the country in 2022, about two-thirds can be recycled or composted. Fortunately: this way, we avoid additional CO2 emissions, conserve scarce raw materials (making us less dependent on other economies), and create a better environment.
Less CO2, more oxygen
Making raw materials (for example, steel from ore, cement from limestone, or plastic from oil) requires a lot of energy, which means CO2 emissions. By recycling, one avoids these emissions. To illustrate: the CO2 footprint of recycled concrete is only half that of completely new concrete.
Parsimonious with raw materials
Recycling also allows us to conserve our raw materials. The ores, minerals, and rare metals in our planet are finite or becoming increasingly difficult to extract. Thanks to recycling, materials are utilised that are already present in the economy. The loop is, as it is said, "closed."
Nature says thank you
Reuse also reduces the pressure on our planet's vulnerable natural areas and ecosystems. One needs to open fewer mines or quarries, to create fewer landfills, there is less pollution from emissions in mining or refining, and there is less water consumption. Fewer harmful substances are also released into the environment, and there is less waste transport, noise, and odour nuisance.
26 million tons of construction waste
Let's take a concrete look at how recycling works, for example, for concrete. This example isn't chosen at random: the construction industry alone generates 26 million tons of waste annually in the country. No other sector performs "better."
Happily Separated
During the dismantling of a building, various waste fractions are separated. For example, concrete, brick, and tiles must be kept separate from wood, plastic, metal, and plaster. The concrete rubble is mechanically crushed, sieved, and sorted by size. Finally, dust, sand, and cement residue are also removed.
Old concrete, new foundation
Concrete recycling comes in different "levels." The lowest level produces aggregates suitable only for road foundations. At level two, the gravel can be recycled for reuse, and at level three, the sand is as well. However, only a handful of companies have already achieved this level three.
Wash me, please
While sand is a crucial raw material for concrete, it is very difficult to recover from the concrete rubble because it is often contaminated with fine particles of cement stone. As a result, it no longer meets the requirements of concrete manufacturers. By "washing" it, it can still be made suitable for reuse.
Climate summit takeaways in Globe & Mail 24/11/2025
For this week’s deeper dive, a look at some of what happened at COP30, held in Brazil’s Amazon city of Belem.
The UN’s climate summit came to a close on Friday (well actually, Saturday, since it went into overtime). Let’s take a brief look into some of what we missed.
The deal
The agreement landed in overtime after two weeks of contentious negotiations, as it often does. And not everyone is happy with the outcome, as is often the case.
Brazil’s COP30 presidency pushed through a compromise climate deal that would boost finance for poor nations coping with global warming but that omitted any mention of the fossil fuels driving it.
Developing countries have argued they urgently need funds to adapt to impacts that are already hitting, like rising sea levels and worsening heat waves, droughts, floods and storms. The deal calls for rich nations to at least triple the amount of money they provide to help developing countries adapt to a warming world by 2035.
The summit also launches a voluntary (yes, meaning not everyone will participate) initiative to speed up climate action to help nations meet their existing pledges to reduce emissions.
The science
Nearly three-fourths of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 2020 have come from coal, oil and gas. An International Energy Agency report midway through the summit said that demand for these fuels is likely to rise through 2050, reversing expectations of a rapid shift to clean energy.
But by sidelining fossil fuels and emissions targets at the conference, some argue that COP30 ignored the alarm bells being rung by scientists.
It also meant the result was similar to Egypt’s COP27 and Azerbaijan’s COP29, where countries agreed to spend more money to address climate dangers while ignoring their primary cause. Instead of being historic, this year’s conference could continue to erode confidence in future talks.
The unity
Countries agreed on something: The need to show global unity in climate talks.
But the absence of the United States loomed large. The world’s largest historic emitter and top economy declined to send a formal delegation as President Donald Trump declared global warming a hoax and efforts to combat it a competitive liability.
This year, the European Union had pushed hard for language clarifying the world’s transition away from fossil fuels but ended up giving in to demands to keep it out, led by Saudi Arabia, whose Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had just been warmly received at the White House.
The endurance of international climate cooperation will be tested in the months ahead as Brazil leads efforts to draft the roadmap to phase out fossil fuels and mobilize the promised finance for developing nations.
How circular is Belgian waste today? DS 23-11-2025
Renewal Brussels exhibiton 2024
Incineration or landfilling—that's what "waste processing" used to mean. Fortunately, those days are over in Belgium. Waste often gets a new life these days as new, recycled raw materials. The question of how much waste is recycled in Belgium today is easy to ask, but it's difficult to answer unequivocally. Everything depends on the type of waste (commercial waste, household waste, packaging, electronic waste, etc.), the region, and the time period. But there's no doubt that we're among the best in Europe.
In Belgium, approximately 80% of all packaging waste is recycled; at the beginning of this century, that was "only" 70%. This puts us far behind many other countries. One of the highest-performing materials is undoubtedly glass, with a recycling rate of around 98%. Metal (96%) and paper and cardboard (86%) also score very high. When it comes to aluminum packaging, approximately 90% is recycled, while for steel packaging, this figure even rises to 99%. Plastic packaging, on the other hand, scores significantly lower, with just over half (54%) currently being reused.
In the oven
Household waste is a somewhat unusual story. Flanders collectively produces approximately three million tons of household waste per year. Just under two-thirds of this is effectively recycled and converted into new raw materials. Approximately 14% is composted or anaerobic digested. The remainder, around 125 kilograms per person per year, is still incinerated.
A new life
In 2022, approximately 83% of primary industrial waste was given a new life. This occurred immediately or after a maximum of two processing steps, through reuse, recycling, composting, or by using it as a secondary raw material. This high percentage is primarily due to the strong performance of the construction and demolition sector. This waste stream represents a significant portion of industrial waste and is almost entirely recycled into granulate. From shard to bottle
All these recycling efforts have a clear goal: to create circular materials that we can use for new products. Glass shards are melted down into new glass for bottles and jars, but also for window glass or insulating glass. New paper and cardboard are made from recycled paper fibers. Rare metals such as gold, copper, and palladium are extracted from electronic waste.
Plastic: a challenging customer
Plastic recycling deserves special mention. Although traditional mechanical plastic recycling (washing, grinding, and melting) achieves a high level of quality in Belgium, it is not sufficient to reuse all plastics. Researchers, including those in Flanders, are searching for ways to chemically break down plastics into their original building blocks, the monomers. This allows even highly contaminated or mixed plastics to be recycled, whereas in the past they were often incinerated.
From linear to circular
Recycling today is much more than an environmental obligation. It is an economic engine that conserves resources and creates new value chains. The future lies in a system where we no longer talk about waste, but about raw materials in the next phase of their life cycle.
Public works – Gard-based companies on the path to decarbonisation
Public works companies in Gard are committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, as part of the national low carbon strategy. They should benefit from public investments linked to the decarbonization of transport and energy.
How can we achieve a 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, then achieve carbon neutrality in 2050, as part of the national low carbon strategy? Public Works in Gard[1] is working on it. Two companies were highlighted on December 11 in Nîmes for having already reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 40%. Pellet, based in Barjac[2], specializing in quarries and public works, installed solar panels in 2017. It has been using organic fuels since 2022 and has set up a waste sorting centre, we read in Midi Libre. Another example highlighted: Valette, based in Alès[3] and specialized in the design and execution of electrical network and equipment works, has installed photovoltaic shade structures.
More generally, several actions are planned with members of the Regional Federation of Public Works (FRTP) in the Gard: “reducing the carbon impacts of the materials used and emissions due to fuel consumption, strengthening the circular economy loop , support CSR initiatives, limit the impact of construction sites on biodiversity, and support innovation,” explains Christophe Ruas, president of the Gard delegation of the Occitanie Public Works Federation[4].
“A flood of investments”
Public works activity in France represents 3.5% of greenhouse gas emissions. “But 50% of emissions are linked to the use of transport infrastructure,” explained Olivier Giorgiucci, president of FRTP Occitanie, during his speech at the TP Regional Conference in November in La Grande-Motte. “We build roads, bridges, we maintain roads, structures, networks… This heritage is largely a public domain. For the future, these communities must commit to respecting a public policy to reduce greenhouse gases. The pressure will increase, it is inevitable. If we want to achieve this, we must simply transform our infrastructures, and therefore decarbonize them,” he explained. “This implies a flood of investments: tramway, cycle paths, buses with a high level of services, offshore wind turbine projects, hydrogen production… Infrastructure must also adapt to climate change, by adapting it to the increasing scarcity of water resources, flooding and marine submersion. And these investments do not only concern major works, far from it,” he insisted.
Source
Hubert Vialatte, Travaux publics : les entreprises gardoises sur la voie de la décarbonation, in: Les Echos, 22-12-2023 ; https://www.lesechos.fr/pme-regions/occitanie/travaux-publics-les-entreprises-gardoises-sur-la-voie-de-la-decarbonation-2043051
[1] Gard is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019; its prefecture is Nîmes. The department is named after the river Gardon. In recent decades of the 21st century, local administration and French speakers have returned to the original Occitan name of the river, Gard. It is part of a revival of Occitan culture.
[2] SAS Pellet is a renowned public works company, operating in the North of Gard (30) and South of Ardèche (07) sectors. With its expertise and experience, our company offers a wide range of services and products for meet the needs of individuals and professionals. Whether for road construction, landscaping, or the installation of sanitation networks, the Pellet company implements tailor-made solutions, adapted to the requirements of each project. Our qualified and passionate team is committed to providing quality work, respecting deadlines and current standards. https://sas-pellet.fr/une.entreprise.de.travaux.publics.familiale-361900-2-1-19.php
[3] Located in Alès, our company specializes in the design and construction of electrical network and equipment work. Strongly anchored in the region since its creation in 1969, the VALETTE company plays an essential role in regional planning and contributes to the development of the local economy. We work on behalf of communities, private companies and individuals in the Languedoc region and particularly in Gard (30). Our know-how is divided into 3 main activities:Electrical networks, Roads and Miscellaneous Networks, Lighting. https://www.valette-ete.fr/qui-sommes-nous/
[4] A professional organization dedicated to the development of the Profession, FRTP Occitanie represents Public Works companies of all sizes, specialties in the Occitanie region. Public Works offers 18 professions, great development opportunities, rewarding remuneration and projects useful to society, the environment and the economy. https://www.frtpoccitanie.fr/#
According to a study on Gen Z conducted in Italy by Zelo, those born after 1997 would be more sensitive to sustainable issues in words than in concrete facts.
Members of Gen Z express their 'green' soul more with hashtags than with actions. This was revealed by a study conducted by the consultancy firm Zelo[1] which involved a sample of 2 thousand young people aged between 17 and 24. Although more than 70% of those interviewed recognise the value of being sustainable, there are very few, in fact, who actually do something, apart from separate waste collection.
In particular, only 15% of the sample states that they feel truly and concretely sustainable in their behaviours and choices. 17% admit, however, that their 'eco' commitment is limited to separate waste collection while 33% declare that they do not feel as sustainable as everyone would think. 35%, although considering themselves aware and informed, have no idea what to do.
Distrust prevails towards companies that talk about sustainability. 59% of those interviewed don't believe what they say and 19% say they would only remember a campaign if it referred to a really 'cool' project. 17% of the sample believes that companies always say the same things while 5% appreciate and prefer brands that talk about environmental sustainability.
Pragmatic and impulsive, the approach to shopping of members of Gen Z would, in turn, favour the much despised 'fast fashion'. Among the factors that would influence the choices of young people, in addition to the reduced economic availability, there would be, finally, the evaluations of 'creators' and 'influencers', committed to promoting hundreds of 'must haves' every day. For 29% of the sample, not surprisingly, what matters is keeping up with social media.
Source
Salvo Cagnazzo, Gen Z, spesso la sostenibilità è solo di facciata in: La Repubblica, 19-12-2023; https://www.repubblica.it/economia/rapporti/osserva-italia/trend/2023/12/19/news/gen_z_spesso_la_sostenibilita_e_solo_di_facciata-421697163/?ref=search
[1] Zélo was born from the offshoot of a historic company, Odoardo Zecca srl, active in the field of energy distribution and sales since 1905. ZÉLO, therefore, strengthened by the tradition of the parent company, combines the over one hundred year old expertise with the enthusiasm of the first day. Determined to always do better, the time has come to face the new challenge of the free market. https://zeloenergia.it/pages/zelo-e/
Mending clothes would make sense, but: “It feels like you have to reinvent the wheel every day.”
Mending clothes requires a lot of manual work and is difficult to automate.
The criticism of “fast fashion” is getting louder. Likewise the demand to repair defective clothes and give them a second life. But that's easier said than done, as the story of a Norwegian startup shows.
As Ingvill Kerob[1] sat at home with her third child, who had just been born, she thought about her future. She thought about what else she wanted to achieve professionally. It soon became clear that she would want to continue the tradition of her family, which has been working in the textile sector for four generations. But in their own way. So not with the production of new textiles, but with repairing them. And not as an employee, but as her own boss.
Interface for customers and companies
Today Kerob says: "It's risky to have children - you have so much time to think of." Because what she imagined back then at home could not easily be implemented. The road to independence was bumpy. The first step: hang up notes on notice boards in kindergartens. She offered the parents the opportunity to organise the mending of clothes that children of kindergarten age always have a hole in somewhere.
The second step was to submit applications for government aid. The promise to the donors: to use a technological platform to help clothes last longer. Courtship was easier than expected. «I met all the criteria: woman, founder, sustainability, technology. Whatever funding I applied for, I got it," says Kerob on the sidelines of an event at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute (GDI)[2], where she is presenting her company.
Sustainability has always played a central role in the professional life of the 44-year-old Norwegian, who once worked for the food company Mondelez in Opfikon, Zurich for four years.[3] Before starting her own business, she set up the recycling system for Nespresso capsules for Nestlé in Norway and Denmark. What she achieved with coffee capsules, she now also aimed for with clothes: a resource-saving circular economy, only it was no longer about recycling, but about repairing.
There is often talk of a “repair revolution” at the moment. Reference is made to the many repair cafés[4] that are springing up around the world. However, Kerob's startup has not yet sparked a revolution. But at least the company called Repairable, founded in 2016, is still alive. The business model: Repairable offers companies access to a digital platform that connects all players in the repair of clothes, shoes and leather goods.
Customers can book repairs on the platform, regardless of whether they pay for the repair themselves or whether the manufacturer does so due to a warranty claim. The companies get access to tailors or shoemakers who know how to get things back into shape. The platform can be integrated into the company's e-commerce system and provides data on the quality of the products and which parts - zippers, buttons, seams - cause problems. For all of this, companies buy a subscription from Repairable, which varies in price depending on the scope of services.
Second-hand clothing on trend
The company hasn't really taken off yet. “Even after seven years, Repairable still considers itself a startup,” says the economist. In fact, the number of employees is manageable. In addition to the two company founders, there are six software developers in India. There are no more employees, especially since the repair companies work independently on their own account. Currently we are only operating in Norway. According to the plan, other Nordic countries and Germany will soon follow.
No matter how difficult the business may be. Repairable hits a nerve of the times. The pursuit of sustainability has been gaining in importance in the textile industry for years. Criticism of the excesses of fast fashion is becoming louder, and interest in long-lasting clothes is increasing. This is also reflected in the market structure. While the market for textiles grew by 4 percent worldwide last year, the market for second-hand clothes grew by an impressive 28 percent.
But despite the trend towards second-hand clothing, repairing textiles is often not very lucrative. This is also because the work is hardly scalable and promises few economies of scale. Every problem is a little different and requires different approaches. Repair businesses are mostly small or individual businesses. The possibilities for cost-saving division of labour are limited. The productivity of the activity is correspondingly low.
“The materials differ, as do the damages that need to be repaired and even more so the demands of the customers,” says Kerob. “It feels like you have to reinvent the wheel every day.” The only thing that connects the many repair companies is that the work is hard and offers little reward. Unsurprisingly, the industry is struggling to find enough qualified staff for the technically demanding but poorly paid work.
Just a fig leaf for H & M?
The startup entrepreneur has adjusted her expectations over time. She had to realise that not every broken piece of clothing promises a deal. There seem to be two invisible price barriers for most customers: firstly, most people are only willing to repair if the original price of the goods was more than 100 euros. Secondly, you only send a dress for repair if the cost is less than 50 percent of the original price.
Kerob discovered these barriers, among other things, when working with H & M. The Swedish fashion group was Repairable's first major customer. However, the business relationship was short-lived. It soon became clear that repairing cheap 20-euro shirts made little business sense. The project to operate an open repair workshop in the middle of a Norwegian H & M flagship store was also cancelled.
Looking back, the question arises as to whether Repairable only served as an ecological fig leaf for the global fast fashion manufacturer.[5] Sometimes it felt like that, says Kerob. But H & M is quite serious about its commitment to sustainability. And the company also has the budget for corresponding projects. «The collaboration with H & M was not initially planned as a PR campaign. But the result may have been a PR move.”
The matter is complicated for retailers and fashion chains. When customers have clothes mended, this reduces sales of new products. Anyone who promotes repairs is cannibalizing their business. In addition, repairs are rarely profitable. «In Norway, many fashion houses now offer repairs. But most admit that they have to subsidize this offer. Many companies cannot afford this subsidy,” says Kerob.
More government aid and regulation
Does this mean the state has to intervene? Do we need more support and stricter regulation? If you look at Europe's capitals, you might think so. Sweden, for example, has reduced VAT on repairs. And in France, where unsold textiles have no longer been allowed to be destroyed since 2022, a repair bonus[6] was introduced in November: Anyone who has clothes or shoes mended there receives a subsidy of between 6 and 25 euros.
The EU goes even further. She wants to introduce a “right to repair”[7] in the Union. First of all, it's primarily about electrical appliances such as washing machines, televisions or vacuum cleaners. While such items could previously be easily replaced if they were defective, customers will now be able to request repairs for a fee. For companies, this would mean that they would have to keep spare parts in stock for significantly longer.
The topic is also current in Switzerland. In November, the Council of States unanimously approved a revision of the Environmental Protection Act[8] with the aim of creating more favourable conditions for a circular economy. The repairability of products should also be promoted. However, Switzerland goes much less far in this goal than the EU, that takes a strong interventionist approach to the economic freedom of companies.
So a lot is happening politically. However, one problem for repairers remains that clothes have become increasingly cheaper in recent decades. Buying new textiles is therefore usually more cost-effective than mending them. And people buy in large quantities: Swiss people buy an average of 60 new items of clothing per year. However, around 40 percent of them are never worn or worn a maximum of four times. Switzerland ranks second in the world after Luxembourg in per capita spending on clothing and shoes.
The pitfalls of psychology
How many clothes are repaired and what people spend on them is hardly known. “Nobody collects data,” complains Kerob. Accordingly, the industry is in the dark. What we do know is that customers' loyalty to brands is also explained by customer service after the purchase. The industry hopes that this after-sales service will always include repairs in the future. “Repairing needs to become as natural as brushing your teeth,” says Kerob.
But ultimately it's not just about money, data or customer loyalty. Psychology is also important. “We don’t buy a tenth pair of jeans because we need them, but because we want to treat ourselves and because when we buy them, the happiness hormone dopamine is released,” says Kerob. Little can be done against such vanity. “Our appeal is not very sexy: do nothing, stick with what you have, repair it and wear it again. It doesn’t trigger a dopamine rush.”
Source
Thomas Fuster, Kleider flicken wäre sinnvoll, aber: «Es fühlt sich an, als müsse man jeden, in: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 22-12-2033; https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/kleider-flicken-waere-sinnvoll-aber-es-fuehlt-sich-an-als-muesse-man-jeden-tag-das-rad-neu-erfinden-ld.1769371
[1] It’s fair to say that Ingvill Kerob knows a thing or two about project management, having spent the best part of a decade working various project management roles for two of the world’s largest food groups (Nestle and Mondelez). She’s also quite handy at the whole recycling game, due to the lead role she had helping Nespresso recycle its capsules in both Norway and Denmark. With all of this solid experience (and factoring in her solid academic career in economics), it probably came as a surprise to no-one when she struck out on her own in 2017 by founding Repairable. Ingvill’s ambition for the company is simple – she wants to vastly reduce the waste in the fashion sector by encouraging all of us to repair our clothes and shoes instead of throwing them away when faults appear. To this end, she has launched a great online repair and alteration service in Norway’s capital. Customers input their repair orders (shoes, dresses, zips, coats, hats, you name it) and then Repairable takes over. It sorts out the price, the transport of goods to certified repairers and follows the entire process to completion. Simple, sustainable, circular fashion has arrived. https://www.globallyspotted.com/profiles/ingvill-kerob/
[2] The Swiss retail pioneer Gottlieb Duttweiler laid the foundations for the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute, GDI, in 1962. His goal was to establish an institute where free thought about the future of the world took centre stage, an institute that contributed to economic and social progress and that put people before profit. The GDI focuses its activities on the industries retail, food and health and examines them from the perspectives of consumption, society, technology and the environment. https://gdi.ch/en/about-us/gdi/what-we-do
[7] Read also https://www.tumblr.com/earaercircular/720378340978180096/repaired-electro-is-successful-we-are-happy-with?source=share & https://www.tumblr.com/earaercircular/661118774058123264/repairing-electrical-appliances-is-becoming-easier?source=share; https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/recht-auf-reparatur-die-eu-kommission-will-dass-hersteller-in-der-eu-staubsauger-mobiltelefone-fernseher-und-waschmaschinen-fuenf-bis-zehn-jahre-nach-dem-kauf-noch-flicken-ld.1731687;
[8] The revision of the Environmental Protection Act (USG) is intended to provide binding regulations for the investigation and renovation of public children's playgrounds and green spaces. 60 percent of the costs of the remediation would be covered by the contaminated sites fund of the Ordinance on the Levy for the Remediation of Contaminated Sites (VASA). https://www.admin.ch/gov/de/start/dokumentation/medienmitteilungen.msg-id-92243.html#:~:text=Mit%20der%20Revision%20des%20Umweltschutzgesetzes,von%20Altlasten%20(VASA)%20erfolgen.
Obligation to offer reusable food packaging? - Call for improvements
By law, disposable plastic packaging for take-away food should be curbed. But the obligation to offer reusable food has remained practically ineffective, is the complaint of environmental and consumer advocates.
Almost a year after the obligation to offer reusable food for take-away food came into force, environmental and consumer advocates complain about a lack of implementation and a lack of controls. Thomas Fischer, head of circular economy at the German Environmental Aid[1], for example, speaks of an “ aborted starter" and calls for improvements.
"What started badly at the beginning of the year unfortunately continued like a thread until the end of this year," Fischer told the German Press Agency. During several rounds of test visits, catering companies reported reusable quotas in the low single-digit percentage range. Measured against the original goals, these are "dismal results".
Since the beginning of the year, restaurants, bistros and cafés that sell food to go have had to offer reusable packaging in addition to disposable packaging - provided they use disposable plastic packaging. There must be a reusable alternative for all types of drinks. Exceptions apply to smaller shops that are no larger than 80 square meters and have a maximum of five employees. However, customers there must be given the opportunity to have their own containers filled. Violations can result in fines of up to 10,000 euros.
Lack of controls, lack of sanctions
According to Fischer, the law suffers primarily from a lack of controls and a lack of sanctions for violations. "Without pressure, without coercion, nothing will change the fact that many restaurateurs do not take the obligation to offer reusable containers seriously." In addition, consumers are still poorly informed, and they often do not even notice information about reusable containers. The providers are apparently trying "to deliberately keep reusable containers at bay by making the information poor and easy to overlook."
The simplest lever for better customer information - namely verbal information from sales staff - was not found in a single case during almost 100 test visits throughout the year, said Fischer. "This active customer information does not exist." The legislator must therefore define the information requirements much more narrowly.
The many different reusable containers are also problematic. "Many retailers do not work together, but basically work side by side with their own systems," which is not consumer-friendly. It is important to get away from this confusion - and towards a uniform industry solution with a comprehensive network of return options, said Fischer.
Improvements to the law are necessary
He also believes that financial incentives are important, as in the case of Tübingen. The packaging tax on disposable packaging, crockery and cutlery that applies there was found to be permissible by the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig in May. A franchisee of the fast food chain McDonald's filed a constitutional complaint against this, and a decision is still pending.
The North Rhine-Westphalia consumer advice centre[2] also sees serious shortcomings in the law - above all the fact that it only applies to disposable plastic packaging for food, although other types of packaging are just as bad or even worse ecologically, says Philip Heldt, resource protection officer at the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer advice centre. This leads to people switching to cardboard packaging. "So that's a huge loophole that the legislature has given to catering businesses," said Heldt.
The consumer protection agency examined around 400 businesses. Given their size and circumstances, around half of them should have offered reusable takeaway food, but only around half of them actually did so. "That's pretty crazy, of course. If you consider that with other laws, 50 percent of those affected would not comply with the law," said Heldt, insisting on improvements to the law.
Regulations unclear
The fact that there are hardly any checks is not only due to the understaffing of the supervisory authorities, but also to the complex regulations of the law, which also raises questions. There is a lack of "clear enforcement instructions on how exactly to proceed", which limits the authorities' ability to act.
The catering association Dehoga[3] also considers the regulations to be unclear. It was not until May 2023 - months after the law came into force - that an official guide was published. "But unfortunately this did not answer all the questions that arise in practice during implementation, so that legal uncertainties still exist," explained Uta Stenzel, speaker for food and consumer protection law at the industry association Dehoga.
In general, the law means considerable effort and costs - "and all this in times of further major challenges that companies are currently having to overcome." Demand for reusable items is still limited in most classic restaurants and cafés. In order to increase the rate of reusable products and their acceptance, structures and processes need to be improved - from easy-to-handle containers to return. A system similar to that for deposit bottles would be desirable. As an example, Stenzel referred to the Reusable To-Go initiative[4], which is testing the uncomplicated return of reusable systems for food in pilot markets in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate.
[1] Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. (DUH, using the English name Environmental Action Germany) is a non-profit environmental and consumer protection association, supported by public and private project grants and donations. It is a member of the European Environmental Bureau, in Brussels. It has the legal right to represent group claims in court against projects that it considers a threat to the environment. The group also aims to provide a forum for dialogue between environmental organizations, politicians and business people.
[2] We provide information and advice on the diverse questions of everyday consumer life. We also support consumers in asserting their legitimate interests against providers. Every year we protect thousands from being taken advantage of. We pave the way to enforce consumer rights. We are committed to economic, health and digital consumer protection towards politicians, administration and associations. Whether in hearings, legislative processes or in professional exchanges with stakeholders - we advocate for fair markets, safe products and services, for transparent consumer information and for the practical design of consumer rights. https://www.verbraucherzentrale.nrw/ueberuns-nrw/wie-wir-arbeiten
[3] Who else stands up for the interests of the hotel and catering industry in Germany? The DEHOGA Federal Association is the only industry association that has represented the hospitality industry as a whole for over 70 years. Locally, regionally, statewide and nationwide. With more than 60,000 members, DEHOGA is one of the leading business associations in Germany. The DEHOGA Federal Association represents the interests and mouthpiece of the hospitality industry towards politicians, the press and the public. Entrepreneurial actions, corporate responsibility and willingness to take risks require constructive support and appreciation from politicians. This is what DEHOGA is committed to. https://www.dehoga-bundesverband.de/ueber-uns/
[4] The Reusable To-Go initiative has set itself the goal of creating the basic requirements for reusable food systems nationally and internationally for use-related and system-independent returns for all distribution points. The initiative's advisory board includes representatives of the national associations Pro Mehrweg, the Federal Association of Beverage Wholesalers, the DEHOGA Federal Association, the Reusable Working Group and the initiators. There is close exchange with other associations. https://promehrweg.de/initiative-reusable-to-go-startet-pilotmarkt-fuer-food-mehrwegsysteme/
It’s the season of parties, gifts and lots and lots of food. It’s also the season of buying more than we can use or eat, and then throwing it away.
Household garbage tends to increase around 25 percent in the weeks between Christmas and New Year’s Day in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency[1]. The same is true in Canada[2] and other countries. And that’s not counting the stuff we will throw away in the near future, like a cheap T-shirt that falls apart after a few washes, or a plastic toy that quickly gets discarded. While we often think of the world’s environmental problems as being primarily about the toll of fossil fuels on the climate, they are also about the burden created by the absolute tonnage of stuff we buy and consume — the packaging, the toys, the fast fashion, which are often made with petroleum byproducts, and moved around the world by burning fossil fuels. And that’s especially true of the holiday frenzy of presents and parties.
We can, of course, do a lot better: Buying well-made, durable goods, giving experiences instead of objects, minimising food waste and composting the leftovers. Being thoughtful is the first step, said Daniel Hoornweg, a professor at the Ontario Tech University who has been studying waste for four decades. “When you buy something, think about where it came from and where it’s going,” he told me. “That’s half the battle.”
Moving the focus away from stuff
First, let’s look at some numbers.
The British waste 30 percent or more food during Christmas than at any other time of the year.[3]
In Canada, 540,000 metric tons of wrapping paper and gift bags are thrown out after Christmas each year.[4]
Holiday lights in the United States (as measured in 2008) consumed more electricity than El Salvador used in an entire year.[5]
There is room for improvement. We can be more mindful of the recycling and reusing potential of what we buy, plan on how we will use leftovers, and buy LED lights, which last longer and consume 90 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs.[6]
We can also move away from the need to buy so much stuff, by re-evaluating what we consider to be valuable. Typically, the richer people are, the more household waste they generate. Wealthy people rely more packaged foods, discard more cell phones and buy more toys that will soon break. The remedy may be giving a concert ticket instead of a gadget. (We have a guide for buying experiences rather than things from last year’s holiday season.)
A less wasteful lifestyle
There is no correlation between happiness and more stuff, as measured by waste generation, Hoornweg said. While happiness is hard to measure, we can compare countries by their human development index, which covers many dimensions of quality of life, like income, life expectancy and access to education.
Take Japan and Canada. Canadians produce about twice as much waste per person than the Japanese.
Japan is a lot more dense, people have smaller homes and don’t need cars to travel great distances as much, while in Canada people have bigger cars, bigger houses and eat more at fast-food restaurants that come with several layers of packaging. And yet, both countries have very similar human development numbers.
A lot of it comes down to culture.[7] My family is Brazilian, and we always serve multiple times the amount of food that is needed when we throw a party. My aunt’s husband, who is German, tries to serve roughly the amount that people will eat. When he cooks, the whole family collectively holds their breath in fear there won’t be enough food. But there always is.
Silpa Kaza, who studies waste at the World Bank, told me she once carried all her waste in her bag for a month to internalize how much she was producing. It made her more mindful. “I was so conscious of every decision I made,” she said. Today, she takes a collapsible container to a restaurant to bring leftovers home and no longer uses plastic produce bags in the supermarket. She told me cities and countries can take into account culture to induce better behaviour. For example, after South Korea implemented a collection system in the 1990s that charges people according to how much they throw away, total household waste generation fell by half.
We may need policies like that to change the trajectory of waste generation. Right now, it is expected to skyrocket from 2.24 billion tons in 2020 to 3.88 billion tons in 2050.[8] But a little mindfulness around the holidays is a good place to start.
Source
Manuela Andreoni, Dreaming of a less wasteful holiday, in: New York Times , 19-12-2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/climate/dreaming-of-a-less-wasteful-holiday.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
The world of toys in the midst of an ecological shift
In order to continue to please children and parents alike, the toy industry is redoubling its efforts to reduce its environmental impact over the entire lifespan of its products.
In the windows, life-size dolls and teddy bears collide amid the illuminations. Christmas is quickly approaching and the toy stores are always full. But this end-of-year holiday magic comes at a cost. According to Ademe[1], nearly 100,000 tonnes of games and toys are thrown in the trash each year. In February 2020, the Agec law[2], relating to the fight against waste and the circular economy, took the problem head on through the establishment of a toy sector. Since January 1, 2022, the sector has been encouraged to reduce these tons of waste through the collection of used toys, reuse and even repair.
Farmers, teachers, pirates or explorers: since the 1970s, these little plastic characters have been transmitted from generation to generation. “I can no longer count the number of grandparents who come to tell me they keep these toys for their grandchildren,” laughs Bruno Bérard, general director of Playmobil[3]. These figurines stay in people's hearts for a very long time. » For him, there is no doubt, this emotional dimension is the first criterion of an ecological toy that lasts over time.[4]
Reuse, a priority
But not all toys follow the same destiny as our Playmobils. According to Ecomaison[5], the organisation approved by the French Government to take charge of the collection, reuse and recycling of toys, “half of the toys ends up in household waste, around 45% is collected in public recycling centres and less than 5% is reused”. In 2023, the priority was to optimise the reuse of toys, via donation or resale. Five thousand collection points have been set up across the country from associations, recycling centres or stores themselves. The objective is now to triple reuse by 2027.
However, many brands did not wait for the Agec law to roll up their sleeves. “We weren't starting from scratch,” says Jean Kimpe, general delegate of the Federation of shops specialising in toys and children's products (FCJPE)[6]. Above all, the law made it possible to coordinate and develop pre-existing initiatives. » In 2011, Oxybul[7] launched IDTroc[8], collection points to collect used toys from customers. “The criteria of sustainability and responsibility have been part of our brand DNA from the beginning,” says Anne Fauveau, product director of Oxybul Eveil et Jeux. Our toys are as scalable as possible in order to last over time. » The brand assumes that it places itself outside fashion trends, preferring timeless designs and colour charts in order to offer durable toys.
In spring 2021, King Toy[9] followed the movement by launching its King Okaz brands. There are now around ten of them throughout France. Toys are returned in exchange for a voucher valid in all of the brand's stores. “We see that we are responding to a real demand,” assures Coralie Gueydon, CSR manager of the group. Unlike platforms like Vinted[10], we provide a guarantee of quality. Not only is the item guaranteed to be repurchased, but they are then cleaned, repaired and checked before being put back into circulation. »
But if the brands promise more qualitative and safer reuse than that allowed by second-hand platforms, the latter currently benefit from a certain notoriety. “We have just inserted ourselves into a behaviour where, originally, specialist brands did not necessarily have their place,” recognises Coralie Gueydon. At the moment, our stores operate largely through word of mouth. » The brand also offers a repair service whereas Playmobil currently offers 20,000 spare parts in order to make their products last longer.
The big challenge of recycling
Between solar panels and characters on bicycles, the ecological farm proposed by Playmobil does not hesitate to play with the codes of a more sustainable society. Above all, like the Wiltopia collection launched in 2022, the product is made with more than 80% recycled or biosourced materials. Most come from recycled refrigerators. “Three additional ranges will be des
igned in this way in 2024,” indicates Bruno Bérard, who recalls that the German group’s objective is to be climate neutral in 2027.
Generally speaking, toys made from recycled plastic materials are still struggling to find a place under the sun. Often less solid and dull, they remain difficult to reuse to make new toys. Lego quickly noticed this. “So far, we have tested more than 300 alternative materials for our famous brick,” explains Sylvain Bouchès, Lego France marketing director. Some have been successful, such as bio-PE, and we are proud to have been able to develop this first alternative. Other materials showed their potential, but did not meet our requirements for quality, safety and durability, or help reduce our carbon footprint. That's the whole difficulty. » Last September, the brand announced that it was abandoning the use of recycled PET because it would have resulted in greater carbon emissions over the lifespan of the product. [11]
“When we use recycled material, the range of colours that we can produce is not as rich as when we use raw material coming directly from petroleum products,” recognizes Bruno Bérard. There are technical challenges to resolve. We can't imagine tomorrow that a fire truck will be pastel red. » For a product to be recyclable, it must ideally be as simple and single-material as possible. However, toys are generally made of a multitude of materials in order to promote the sensory awakening of little ones.
All this research takes time. The majority of producers agree that the organisation of recycling sectors in France still has a lot of progress to make. “This is all the more complicated to implement as safety standards are very demanding regarding toys intended for children, particularly at the European level,” adds Coralie Gueydon.
So should we say goodbye to plastic? Not necessarily, tempers Anne Fauveau who regrets a lack of information on the subject. “Disposable plastic is not good,” she explains. But durable plastic that is passed down from generation to generation, which is ten times stronger than wood, is not necessarily bad for the environment. » Oxybul has thus adopted the habit of favoring wood only when it can replace the virtues of plastic. “There is no ideal solution,” says Anne Fauveau. For example, biosourced plastic is interesting because it does not use petroleum but it is sometimes manufactured in South America to the detriment of local populations. Ecodesign is undoubtedly what is most complicated today. »[12]
Design differently
While tests to recycle plastic are increasing, others are looking for alternative materials. In 2018, Lego launched the first elements made from sugar cane waste in our play boxes to make elements such as leaves, trees and accessories.
“If we started by making botanical elements from this plastic of plant origin, we have since expanded its use to more than 200 pieces, almost half of our products,” explains Sylvain Bouchès. The treehouse thus includes 180 plastic elements of plant origin. Today, more than 50% of the brand's products contain elements made from biosourced materials.
In terms of eco-design, Oxybul has been doing well for many years. Every month, all the brand's teams participate in a meeting on this issue. The brand multiplies alternatives through the use of FSC-certified wood (by the Forest Stewardship Council)[13], water-based paint and even recycled polyester. This year, she co-created with the Thai brand Plan Toys[14] a range of wooden toys suitable for children aged 12 months and over. “This is one of the first suppliers to have implemented self-managed forests,” explains Anne Fauveau. He works in particular with hevea wood, the rubber tree, which is a plant that grows back very quickly. This avoids deforestation problems. »
The brand also wanted to be a pioneer in terms of reducing its packaging. As early as 2017, the teams decided to readjust them to the size of the products. “At the time, this did not necessarily go in the direction of commerce,” recognises Anne Fauveau. Suppliers generally prefer to have large boxes in order to be clearly visible on the shelves. Initially, this even caused a drop in sales on certain products, which required us to contact the customer to explain our approach. » Now, 80% of the brand's packaging no longer has plastic, replaced by materials such as cardboard and paper. These are intended to be reused, serving as storage boxes for children's toys.
Since then, the idea has caught on. “Ecodesign doesn’t just involve products,” insists Sylvain Bouchès. Today, 93% of Lego packaging is made from cardboard or paper-based material. Single-use plastic bags are gradually being replaced by recyclable paper bags certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Started in August, the global deployment of new boxes for the mystery minifigures should allow the group to save around 30 tonnes of single-use plastic per year.
And the work of designers and engineers is far from simple. “The paper must be able to withstand transport but also the manufacturing process in all our factories,” explains Sylvain Bouchès. However, this material is more sensitive than plastic to variations in humidity and temperature. The development of these alternative means of production and packaging involves an in-depth transformation of our processes. » Nearly 70 different papers and formats had to be tested. “This requires a lot of research and innovation,” confirms Anne Fauveau. It is important that we can share best practices between brands and be good competitors on this issue, because the solutions will tend to be found by the big players. »
More local… and transparent products
While nearly 90% of toys are imported, local products are back at the top of the bill. “Since the confinements of 2020, the place of manufacturing of toys has become a leading theme for customers,” observes Coralie Gueydon. There has been a very significant new attraction for Made in France. »
In the toy landscape, the Ecoiffier company[15] has been established in France since 1945. At Playmobil, almost all of the products are produced in Europe. “From the beginning of the company, it was a strategic approach, in order to control our manufacturing but also economic, to reduce costs,” explains Bruno Bérard. Recently, the seven Maltese production sites were grouped together in order to avoid travel between different areas. “This factory operates in daylight, which allows us to consume less electricity,” explains the general director. The heat released by the machines is recovered to provide heating when necessary, and the site has a water collector. » For the company, local production goes hand in hand with saving resources.
Faced with this demand for transparency and sustainability, King Toy recently launched the Toy Score in order to guide consumers in their choice. “Today, the toy market is not mature in terms of eco-responsibility,” explains Coralie Gueydon. But even if we are starting from very far away, it seemed important to us to promote the initiatives put in place in the sector. » Using the NutriScore[16] rating system, now well known to the general public, the Toy Score applies a rating system between 0 and 5. It is based on three criteria: the place of manufacture, the efforts made at the level of packaging and materials that make up the toy. Assisted by Ecomaison, the brand has chosen to promote products made from FSC wood and recycled materials.
Since October 26, the Toy Score has been in place in all King Toy stores as well as on their website. It was notably applied to all the toys in the Christmas catalogue. Out of 1,600 products, around 450 have a rating greater than or equal to 2 out of 5. Bioviva[17], known for its board games based on nature, thus obtains the maximum rating. The brand is closely followed by Smoby[18] which manufactures its toys in France from easily recyclable plastic. “By 2025, the objective is that 50% of our toys present real eco-design characteristics and that the criteria are raised,” indicates the CSR manager.
Because the Toy Score also aims to encourage the industry to redouble its efforts to provide more eco-responsible toys. “Many suppliers come to ask us how they can improve,” says Coralie Gueydon. Others allow us to rethink our criteria. The indicator is intended to be scalable thanks to both suppliers and customers. »
Raise consumer awareness
Will Christmas 2023 therefore be placed under the sign of eco-responsibility? Not necessarily, moderate the brands. “We don’t expect consumption habits to really change at Christmas,” admits Coralie Gueydon. It is generally children who choose toys from the catalog, and the eco-responsibility criterion is then not taken into account. »
For the holidays, buying second hand can also remain a hindrance even if brands observe that this reluctance tends to relax in society. “There remains a lot of education to be done, whether on the realities of Made in France or recycled products,” observes Anne Fauveau. And consumers are not necessarily ready to pay more for an eco-designed product. » While the period of inflation weighs on individual baskets, Oxybul has made the bet of not passing on the cost of its research on these sales prices.
“The Agec law has revolutionized many things at the industry level,” assures Coralie Gueydon. This made distributors and suppliers alike aware that we must now think beyond the life of the toy. » Lego is also preparing to triple its spending on sustainable development initiatives to reach $1.4 billion spread over four years until 2025. “Each year, we receive hundreds of letters from children who share their ideas on how we could progress, says Sylvain Bouchès. Having a positive impact on society and the planet, playing a role in building a sustainable future is a major challenge for the group. »
At the same time, Playmobil assures that it wants to pursue an approach of social responsibility. The company still belongs to a private foundation, created by its now deceased founder, which works for the development and protection of children. In addition to offering products that illustrate a more eco-responsible society, the brand also takes into account issues of representativeness and diversity. Equipped with a green roof, the school of the famous figurines is also designed to facilitate access for students with reduced mobility. “We are not lesson givers,” insists Bruno Bérard. But we can help raise children's awareness of important points for our future. And the best way to do that is through the toy. »
The Joyful Discount saves toys from the dumpster
It is one alternative among others to make the world of toys more sustainable. In August 2020, La Remission Enjouée[19] was born in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, in the North. Led by Christelle Cousin, a former specialist educator, the structure offers the collection, repair and then resale of toys in its shop. It currently employs 13 people in integration between 18 and 62 years old. “We work with people of foreign origin as well as with people at the end of their careers, the long-term unemployed or people who have been impacted by the Covid crisis,” says Christelle Cousin. In addition to participating in an ecological approach, employees gain skills and social contact.
The plus of La Remission Enjouée? “This is a real local service,” assures its director. There is an emotional side to toys. People don't want to put it in the trash and like to discuss the history of the object when they come to drop it off. » The structure, which currently depends a lot on subsidies to exist, hopes to develop in the coming years. Next step: online sales.
Source
Charlotte Meyer, Le monde du jouet en plein virage écologique, in : Les Echos, 18-12-2023
Afin de continuer à plaire aux enfants comme aux parents, l'industrie du jouet redouble d'efforts pour réduire son impact environnemental su
[1] The Agence de la transition écologique. (ADEME, Agency for ecological transition) is a public agency under the joint authority of the Ministry for an Ecological Transition and the Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Innovation. At ADEME - The French Agency for Ecological Transition’s role is to mobilise citizens, economic actors and territories towards a fairer, more harmonious, low carbon and resource-efficient society. At every level, their expertise and forecasting capacities serve to guide and inform public policies. https://www.ademe.fr/en/about-ademe
[2] The French law on the fight against waste and the circular economy (Agec) sets a collection rate target for recycling plastic beverage bottles of 77% in 2025 and 90% in 2029. Ambitious targets with regard to the rate collection, which is around 59%. This means that 41% of the 315,000 tonnes of plastic bottles consumed per year end up in the household waste bin (therefore incinerated or buried) or in wild dumps.. https://www.lesechos.fr/idees-debats/editos-analyses/economie-circulaire-la-solution-de-la-consigne-plastique-1946930
[3] Playmobil is a German line of toys produced by the Brandstätter Group (Geobra Brandstätter GmbH & Co KG), headquartered in Zirndorf, Germany. The signature Playmobil toy is a 7.5 cm (3.0 in) tall (1:24 scale) human figure with a smiling face. A wide range of accessories, buildings and vehicles, as well as many sorts of animals, are also part of the Playmobil line..
[5] Created in 2011 – then under the name Eco-mobilier – by 24 French furniture distributors and manufacturers, Ecomaison is now made up of 68 shareholders from the furniture, bedding, DIY, garden and toy sectors. and building. All these actions are made possible thanks to eco-participation, a contribution which applies when purchasing a new product. The amounts paid to Ecomaison finance all services and solutions for reuse, collection, transport, recycling and innovation. Our ambition: to achieve zero waste! https://ecomaison.com/
[6] A historic player in commerce, the fédération des commerces spécialistes des jouets et des produits de l’enfant (FCJPE) (federation of shops specializing in toys and children's products) brings together the stores preferred by young and old, whether independent, branch chains, franchise networks or cooperative groups. From the creation of quality toys to their availability in our stores, the toy sector brings together all the players who allow our children to find what they are looking for. This is why the FCJPE is engaged in constant dialogue with its partners, in order to always better serve our customers.
[7] Oxybul éveil et jeux, formerly Fnac Éveil et jeux (between 2004 and 2011), is a French distribution brand specializing in edutainment games and toys. Éveil et jeux was born in 2004 from the merger of the two subsidiaries of the “youth division” of Fnac: Éveil & jeux created in 1989 by Margaret Milan and Fnac Junior created in 1997. In September 2010, FNAC sold the company to Ïd group. The brand has been operated by the Okaidi company since July 2016.
[8] https://www.idtroc.com/
[9] Specialist in the distribution of games and toys for more than 30 years, King Jouet (King Toy) offers you more than 20,000 toy references. Building games, board games, dolls, stuffed animals, vehicles, circuits or radio-controlled toys, you will definitely find the toy that will please him. More than 240 stores in France, as well as in Switzerland, are waiting for you to find the gift of your dreams or receive it at home by placing an order on www.king-jouet.com. Subsidiaries: Maxi Toys, Poly S.L.U., Teddy Toys, Société Gueydon SAS, Maxitoys International SA. Umbrella organization: Giochi Preziosi https://www.king-jouet.com/fr-lu/
[13] The Forest Stewardship Council A. C. (FSC) is an international non-profit, multistakeholder organization established in 1993 that promotes responsible management of the world's forests via timber certification. It is an example of a market-based certification program used as a transnational environmental policy.
[14] Plan Toys is a toy brand that strives for sustainable playing fun. All the toys that Plan Toys makes are only made from strong, sustainable materials and are produced in an ecologically friendly way. Plan Toys' quality material ensures that children can enjoy the toys for years to come. So, contribute to a sustainable world in a playful way with Plan Toys! https://www.babycompany.be/merken/plan-toys
[15] Since October 2017, Écoiffier products have been labeled “Origine France Garantie”. It is a brand whose principle of obtaining is simple: you must meet two mandatory criteria:
– at least 50% of the unit cost price is French.
– the product takes on its essential characteristics in France
A locally based company, aware of environmental and social issues, Cadeaux Écoiffier offers a complete range of simple toys, without electronics, meeting the primary needs of children at low prices and in a short supply chain. https://ecoiffier.fr/ecoiffier-une-marque-francaise/
[16] The Nutri-Score, also known as the 5-Colour Nutrition label or 5-CNL, is a five-colour nutrition label and nutritional rating system, and an attempt to simplify the nutritional rating system demonstrating the overall nutritional value of food products. It assigns products a rating letter from A (best) to E (worst), with associated colors from green to red. This system was selected by the French government in March 2017 to be displayed on food products after it was compared against several labels proposed by industry or retailers
[17] https://www.bioviva.com/en/mission
[18] Smoby is the largest toy manufacturer in France based in Lavans-lès-Saint-Claude, in the Jura. Buying a toy on our e-store means buying a toy directly from the manufacturer. A solid, robust toy, like our slides or houses, resulting from quality know-how acquired over several decades and respecting European toy standards. https://www.smoby.com/smoby_fr/home/
[19] Christelle Cousin and Pauline Vandenbussche have created an integration workshop in Haute-Borne, where games and toys are cleaned, renovated or completed, to experience a second life. From four, the workforce will increase to twelve before the summer. The workshop has only been operating since January 18, but it’s already off to a strong start. https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/929774/article/2021-02-04/villeneuve-d-ascq-avec-la-remise-enjouee-des-jouets-pour-pas-cher-des-emplois Created in August 2020, the association La Stratégie enjouée collects second-hand toys, which it renovates and resells at low prices in its shop in Villeneuve d'Ascq. A good initiative especially during this period that the Region close to your daily life shares with you. https://www.hautsdefrance.fr/economie-circulaire-pour-les-jouets-aussi/
The European Council agrees on a common position on the new regulation that will affect all packaging in the EU
The regulations will prohibit certain types of packaging, force the use of materials to be minimized and promote reuse.
The new Packaging and Waste Regulation that will determine the scales that the packaging of all activities must comply with and that will affect companies, industries and homes has taken another step towards its final form this Monday[1]. After studying the Commission's proposal, the European Council, through a meeting of EU Environment Ministers, has agreed on a common position that must be debated in the European Parliament, where it will undergo final negotiation. The standard will prohibit certain types of single-use packaging, requires reducing the materials used and empty space, and sets mandatory recycling quotas for all types of packaging material.[2]
The agreed approach covers “the entire life cycle of packaging” and sets out requirements to ensure that “it is safe and sustainable,and it requires that all packaging is recyclable and that the presence of substances of concern is minimised,” the EU Council reported in a statement. The position defended by the Member States covers the management of packaging once it is waste, so that it is collected, sorted and recycled following “the highest standards”, with provisions that guarantee that countries have “sufficient flexibility to maintain existing systems that work well.”
“In 2021, each European generated 190 kilos of packaging waste. And this figure will grow by almost 20% in 2030 if things remain the same (...). This regulation is crucial on our path towards a circular economy and a climate-neutral Europe,” declared the Spanish head of Ecological Transition[3], Teresa Ribera, in a statement, representing the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU.
In a section in which the Council explains how this regulation will affect citizens, its main effects are summarized[4]. The law includes objectives for reducing discarded packaging. Specifically, with respect to 2018 numbers, it is expected to reduce waste by 5% by 2030, 10% by 2035 and 15% by 2040. The objectives will be applied per capita for each State.
“Certain types of single-use packaging would be prohibited[5], such as items for direct consumption in restaurants and cafeterias, condiment sachets, (certain types of) disposable cups and plates, miniature single-use containers for toiletries hotels and single-use plastic containers for fresh fruits and vegetables,” details the Council.
Manufacturers would also need to minimize the amount of material needed for packaging, for example by avoiding double walls and false bottoms, as well as disproportionately large containers for transporting small items. For their part, consumers will be able to reuse, refill and return the containers.[6] “The proposal sets targets for various sectors and packaging formats to increase the possibility of reuse and refilling, whereby end consumers refill their own packaging, including for takeaway food items,” explains the Council.
Regarding recycling objectives, the proposal establishes that by 2025, 65% of all packaging should end up being recycled in general. The threshold amounts to 75% for paper and cardboard, 70% for glass, 50% for plastic and 25% for wood. By 2030, the goal is to recycle 70% of all packaging, 85% of paper and cardboard, 75% of glass, 55% of plastic and 30% of wood.
Many interests at stake
The objective is that the Member States and the European Parliament can agree before the elections to the European Parliament next June on the final modernisation of a file full of technical aspects that has aroused great interest from pressure groups (lobbies), since it affects to many sectors and companies, from fast food to the plastic, paper, wood or recycling sectors, and which was of particular concern to Italy and Finland.
The European Commission, whose original proposal[7] was more ambitious than the positions defended by the EU Council and Parliament, urged finding a “balance” to close a “complicated file,” said Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius.
As the Commission explained in its proposal document, the consultation on the initial impact assessment generated 110 responses, and an open public consultation generated 425 responses. “Six stakeholder webinars were held in June 2021 to present and gather feedback on the interim results of the study. More than 950 people (from 250 organisations) participated in these online seminars and around 100 organizations presented documents with detailed responses and presentations,” they detail.
The Council maintains that the proposal covers all packaging, regardless of the material used, and all packaging waste, regardless of its origin (industry, manufacturing, retail or households). The text of the capitals' “general guidance” maintains “most of the sustainability requirements for all packaging placed on the market and the main objectives proposed by the Commission” and strengthens those for substances of “concern”.
The countries ask the Commission to prepare a report “before 2026” to determine if there are substances of concern in packaging that could “negatively affect the reuse or recycling of materials” or have “an impact on chemical safety.”[8]
Member States also agreed that packaging will be considered recyclable “when it is designed for the recycling of materials and when packaging waste can be collected, sorted and recycled on a large scale”, a condition that will apply from 2035.
Among the many sections of the standard, the Council defends, for example, that “tea bags and adhesive labels on fruits and vegetables must be compostable, introducing the option for Member States to require that other packaging” also be compostable, such as coffee capsules or light plastic bags.
Re-use
Countries adopted the Commission's approach to defining “reusable packaging, introducing a minimum number of uses or rotations in its use, with a lower minimum number of rotations for cardboard due to the different characteristics of this material.”
Targets are also proposed for 2030 and 2040, with different speeds for large household appliances, takeaway packaging for food and beverages[9], alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (excluding wine), transport packaging (excluding packaging used for dangerous goods or large-scale equipment). and flexible packaging in direct contact with food) and grouped packaging. Cardboard is exempt from these requirements, depending on the position of the countries.
The countries' approach also advocates that by 2029 the separate collection of “at least 90% per year of single-use plastic bottles and metal beverage containers” will be guaranteed, for which deposit return systems will be established[10]. The Twenty-seven also want to tighten the rules on packaging labelling.
Source
Fernando Belinchón, El Consejo Europeo pacta una posición común sobre la nueva regulación que afectará a todos los envases de la UE, in: El País, 18-12-2023, https://cincodias.elpais.com/economia/2023-12-18/el-consejo-europeo-pacta-una-posicion-comun-sobre-la-nueva-regulacion-que-afectara-a-todos-los-envases-de-la-ue.html
Transparent wood as a biobased alternative for your smartphone screen
Transparent wood can, for example, be used as a display for your smartphone.
When one talks about say transparent wood, one looks at about Siegfried Fink[1]. More than 30 years ago, this German scientist wanted to examine the structure of wood without damaging the material. He eventually succeeded in part by bleaching pigment in plant cells, a technique he later described in a scientific journal about wood.
New research
Years later, Fink's research was dusted off, including by Swedish scientists and researchers at the University of Maryland[2]. After years of experimenting, it now appears that scientists have achieved a breakthrough. This paves the way for the use of transparent wood in applications such as smartphone screens and lamps.
The technique
To understand how the technique works, it is important to zoom in on the structure of wood. Wood consists of a bundle of elongated vertical tubes that are connected to each other with a glue - lignin. Water and nutrients flow through the tubes. If there is a lack of water and nutrition, hollow tubes filled with air remain.
Hollow tubes
To make wood transparent, the brown lignin that binds these tubes together must be adjusted. The scientists from Maryland managed to remove the brown lignin and at the same time preserve the lignin with the properties of glue. The result is a milky framework of hollow tubes. This framework is not yet transparent because light only penetrates the hollow vertical tubes to a very limited extent.
The next step consists of filling the vertical tubes with a material that allows light to pass through better. This was achieved with an artificial resin. The combination of this resin and the modified lignin resulted in wood that transmits 85 percent of light.
Insulation
The scientists discovered that their new material allows sunlight to pass through without causing annoying glare. That is why the researchers think that the material could be very suitable as a lampshade for indoor lighting. The transparent wood also turned out to be a better insulator than glass. This also makes applications possible in buildings.
Biobased
For now, producing transparent wood is still a time-consuming and complicated process. Artificial resin is still used, which means the product is not completely biobased. In the next phase of the research, the scientists want to minimize the use of fossil raw materials and see whether the technology is scalable.
Source
Teun Schröder: Opmerkelijk: transparant hout als biobased alternatief voor je smartphonescherm, in: ChangeInc, 15-12-2023, https://www.change.inc/circulaire-economie/opmerkelijk-transparant-hout-als-biobased-alternatief-voor-je-smartphonescherm-40661
[1] Siegfried Fink (born 1956) is a German Forest ecologist with the main field of Forest botanic. Fink is professor forest-botanic at the Universität Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. Finks ressarch group takes care of the Foerst-botanic-garden of Freiburg. He and his are working on methods of forest botanic research (mikroskopy and microbiology). The group is doing research on matrixes of wood-decomposing fungi at different kind of woods in vivo an in vitro and other questions concerning the relation of fungus and trees.
Design for the bin: the city of Zurich has its new one
Recycling container partly developed in-house – you can see that.
The bureaucratic design of the city of Zurich's future waste bin is an affront to public space and Swiss design culture.
It's not often that a waste bin writes design history. But the garbage shark made of matt shiny chrome steel has conquered the world from Zurich. The trash can is almost as well known as the peeler or the Landi chair. The bucket designed by Zemp + Partner Design[1] is available to over 4,500 customers from Kilchberg to Vienna to Barcelona.
The manufacturer still advertises with the silhouette of the Limmat[2] city in the background, where it all began in 2002. But the luxury bucket no longer meets Zurich's requirements, although it is also available as a multi-bucket called the “Sortershark”[3] and as the “Solar Pressshark,”[4] which compacts the waste using solar power.
As early as 2018, the city began replacing the waste shark with the “Züri-Kübel 110 liters”[5], which has a larger opening and a flat lid and is cheaper. Unlike its predecessor, its pragmatic design will not make it into the Museum of Design.
Now the requirements have increased again, which is why the Zurich disposal and recycling department ordered a new bucket and partly designed it themselves. As with the “Züri-Kübel”[6] before, there was no design competition. This is an impoverishment for Swiss design culture.
The new “recycling container” – as it is officially called – was developed so that the people of Zurich can dispose of waste more sustainably. There are separate slots for PET bottles, aluminum cans and waste. If necessary, a fourth type of waste can be added, such as glass. This helps the circular economy.
But the bucket's construction is conventional: a generic box made of metal with rounded corners. Environmentally friendly here means above all: little energy was wasted on good design. This energy would be used sustainably: attractive design lasts a long time because it stands the test of time and is popular.
Empirically based design
The bucket is inspired by the SBB multi-bucket, which shows its dirty contents to the outside with pictures. A trash can is there to make things disappear that you don't want to see. The city argues that the design is empirically based. She tested three labels: one with photos of the respective type of waste, one with illustrations and one with questions such as: “Is it really PET?” “The separation quality was best when labelling with photos,” writes the city in a media release.
This may be. But effective environmental protection should also appeal to us aesthetically, especially in public spaces. The eye separates with. The ecological balance is measured in numbers, the quality of design is not. Form follows function – and imagination. Good design can encourage us to do the right thing. But if we are repelled by the design of a trash can, let alone its contents, how is this supposed to increase the recycling rate?
Street furniture is part of the cultural heritage, it is part of the history and identity of a place. Successful everyday design triggers something in us, sometimes it is accompanied by a pinch of humour, for example in Berlin. The orange buckets in the German capital may be impractically small, but their bright colour, round shape and wit when throwing them in brighten up everyday life. There are sentences like: “Give it to me!” Or: “Play me the poop song.” The didactic bureaucratic design of the Zurich bucket, on the other hand, aims to instruct rather than delight, even when it comes to humor: “You hit like a world champion!” says a sign on the side.
In short: functionality reigns, design is neglected. This generally applies to civil engineering in Zurich, where the natural stone was removed from Bahnhofstrasse and Europaallee was asphalted instead of paved. The value of beauty seems outdated.
The economy likes numbers, sustainability likes efficiency, the state likes control. You can see where this reduction to functional aspects leads in Paris: out of fear of terrorist attacks, the buckets in the city were dismantled. Instead, a transparent plastic bag attached to a metal ring flutters in the wind.
New buckets in Basel and New York
Zurich is not alone with the waste design problem. In Basel, the population complains about the solar press bucket nicknamed the “waste monster,” which critics say is disfiguring the city. In the summer, the civil engineering department announced that it would remove 110 of the buckets from the cityscape. The majority of politicians came to the conclusion that the solar press buckets were unworthy of this city.
This year, New York has also been using a new bucket that replaces the iconic buckets made of green metal mesh. Functionality is also the top priority here. The base is made of concrete so that the bucket doesn't fall over. The container is closed to keep rats out. The paint is graffiti-resistant. But unlike Zurich, the design was preceded by a competition. In the New York Times, a passerby calls the bucket “beautiful, gorgeous, amazing.” That may be an American overstatement. The Zurich bucket is a Zwinglian understatement[7].
Source
Andres Herzog: Design für die Tonne: Die Stadt Zürich hat ihren neuen Recycling-Behälter teilweise selbst entwickelt – das sieht man ihm an, in: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 07.12.2023, https://www.nzz.ch/zuerich/zuerich-recycling-behaelter-statt-abfallhai-ist-ein-affront-aufs-schweizer-design-ld.1769362
[2] The Limmat is a river in Switzerland. The river commences at the outfall of Lake Zurich, in the southern part of the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a northwesterly direction, continuing a further 35 km it reaches the river Aare. The confluence is located north of the small town of Brugg and shortly after the mouth of the Reuss.
[5] Zurich is putting an end to world-famous trash shark Why the design bucket has had its day and the city is now relying on a long-serving design. https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/zuerich-macht-schluss-mit-weltbekanntem-abfallhai-707140742748
[6] The new Züri Kübel ('bucket') which has been gradually installed since January 2021. https://www.core77.com/posts/116596/Behind-the-Design-of-Zurichs-New-Public-Trash-Can
[7] The theology of Ulrich Zwingli was based on an interpretation of the Bible, taking scripture as the inspired word of God and placing its authority higher than what he saw as human sources such as the ecumenical councils and the church fathers. He also recognised the human element within the inspiration, noting the differences in the canonical gospels.
