Five circular companies, from concrete to mattresses

Flevoland makes room for circular entrepreneurship

🎬 Multilingual subtitles
✍️ By: Team BC1.NL

Towards a circular economy by 2050

The Dutch government has set a goal of achieving a fully functioning circular economy by 2050, meaning that waste will no longer exist and raw materials will be continuously reused. This cannot be achieved overnight; therefore, businesses, educational institutions, and local governments are already making significant efforts.

The province of Flevoland's vision for 2030

The province of Flevoland has developed a vision for the circular economy in 2030. They fully recognize that this vision can only be realized through collaboration with others. Therefore, they aim to support and encourage companies and educational institutions to explore opportunities in this field. Ketelbrug To inspire more businesses, the province has asked us to showcase circular pioneers from Flevoland. These pioneers share how they are working toward circularity, their vision for the future, and what they need in the coming years to make further progress. Each story concludes with a vision for the future as outlined by the province.

Cirwinn recycles concrete rubble into new concrete

First we visit Cirwinn in Almere. Cirwinn was founded with the goal of recovering circular residual materials. Cirwinn They process various types of waste into usable raw materials, semi-finished products, and end products. This documentary focuses on their approach to handling concrete from construction debris. Among other things, we see a rubble separation and washing installation they developed themselves.

Startblock puts up a circular timber house in six days

Next, we visit Startblock in Emmeloord. This start up takes a unique approach to creating circular homes that are also affordable. Unlike traditional construction, these homes are fully constructed in a factory rather than on-site. The homeowner receives a materials passport from Startblock which details exactly what materials are used, where they come from and how they can potentially be repurposed in the future.

Practoraat CRE brings education and business together

With the establishment of the Practoraat Circulaire Regionale Economie education in the province is working toward chain collaboration on circularity. The goal of the Practoraat CRE is to ensure that all educational institutions, from childcare to universities, address this topic. By integrating circularity into every subject, the aim is not only to connect businesses, governments, and educational institutions but also to foster true collaboration. This approach helps young people become better prepared for the challenges ahead.

Skin for Skin extracts collagen from fish skin for beauty products

We are also hosted by Skin for Skin, a company that uniquely utilizes the valuable compounds found in fish skins. These skins are typically considered a byproduct of the fishing industry and are often processed into animal feed. However, Skin for Skin in Urk takes a different approach. They extract collagen from the skins through a specialized process and transform it into high-quality beauty products.

Oranjehoen closes the loop between field and hens

In Swifterbant, we visit Oranjehoen, a biological arable farm that also keeps chickens under the Oranjehoen name. By feeding the chickens the byproducts of arable farming and using their waste as fertilizer for the surrounding fields, the farm operates as a truly circular system.

Oranjehoen But it doesn’t stop there, efforts are being made not only to maintain circular practices on the farm but also to extend this approach through collaboration with buyers.

Retourmatras recycles a mattress in fifty seconds

Retourmatras, is the last company we visit. Although it started in Lelystad, it now operates multiple locations across the Netherlands. As the name suggests, the company specializes in recycling mattresses. However, the way they do this is truly unique.
In addition, they create a new product on-site from the recovered materials, which can be repurposed in various ways. As a crowning achievement, Retourmatras is launching a factory this year that will produce polyol from old mattresses, enabling the material to be used in the production of new mattresses once again.

Also interesting:
Climate-friendly farming with eTrac and Silphie
Loss of biodiversity in the city
Hydrogen the documentary

Frequently asked questions

This is a short summary of the film. Watch the video above for the full story.

How do you turn old concrete into new concrete?

Cirwinn crushes old concrete, then sieves and scrubs it in a rubble-washing installation, separating the raw materials into two types of gravel and two types of sand that are clean enough to be reused directly in its own concrete plant. The remaining sludge is pressed to over 80% dry matter and ground into filler instead of cement.

How much recycled material may concrete contain?

Cirwinn's concrete consists of at least 30% recycled material, which is the legal minimum. Technically the company can already add up to 100% recyclable material, depending on the agreements between client and contractor. Bridges at the Floriade have been built with concrete from Cirwinn.

How do you build a circular house?

Startblock in Emmeloord does not build but assembles, inspired by car manufacturers: wooden panels are combined into a shell that is stood upright and fully finished in six days along work platforms, from kitchen and installations to bathroom. The home has three floors totalling 50 m2, and the owner receives a materials passport that records the DNA of every component.

How is an old mattress recycled?

Retourmatras recycles a mattress in 50 seconds and extracts four streams: polyurethane, latex, pocket springs and the ticking. Of the 1.6 million mattresses discarded each year, 1 million end up at the company, and 85 percent of the material gets a new life, for example as sound-dampening bonded foam under laminate flooring.

What makes a company circular?

Circular companies keep raw materials in the loop instead of throwing them away after use. In a circular economy waste no longer exists and raw materials are used again and again. For the entrepreneurs in the film that has become normal, part of the company's DNA, but they do run into things that regular processes have no room for. What it delivers in practice can be seen in the film in concrete made with recycled material, a house that goes up in six days and an old mattress that becomes a raw material again.

What does recycling a mattress cost compared with incineration?

Recycling is more expensive. At Retourmatras recycling costs 300 euros per tonne, while incineration is around 100 euros per tonne. The company needed eight years to get its budget to balance, because the incinerator was its main competitor. That is why Retourmatras asked the legislator for a law that stops incineration and encourages reuse. Mattresses may no longer go into the incinerator.

How far may raw materials travel in a circular economy?

Cirwinn keeps to a radius of no more than 30 kilometres around its own site. Waste streams released in that area are reused and then applied again as a product in the region. No long distance transport takes place before the recycled product is ready, and it is sold again within a small radius around Almere and Flevoland. As the film puts it, reusing products is good, but reusing products that come from nearby is better.

How do you know which materials a circular house is made of?

The owner of a Startblock home receives a materials passport. It records the DNA of the house from beginning to end. The source components and the original products are set down, together with the place where they once came into being, up to the moment the house undergoes a final treatment and may start a new life as another product. The materials themselves were chosen with that in mind. Timber can be applied endlessly in other forms, the brick strips can be reused and the insulation is made of recycled material.

Is circular building more expensive than traditional building?

At Startblock it is not. Every component added to the house is at the very least recyclable, or upcyclable to a high degree, so it can start a new life with added value. That saves costs in the end, which means the house as a whole can be built more cheaply. The way of working differs completely from traditional house building. Startblock does not build but assembles, following the example of car manufacturers, and puts up a timber panel shell in six days.

Where can I watch the full film?

These questions and answers are a short summary. Watch the full film "Flevoland makes room for circular entrepreneurship" with all insights, examples and background at https://www.bc1.eu/flevoland-provides-entrepreneurs-with-space-to-operate-circularly/