From algae to thread: A deep dive into a circular textile industry

Plastic is one of the most visibly polluting elements in our environment. From big plastic accumulation zones at sea to microplastic entering our everyday drinking water, plastic is becoming a more evident pollutant every day, which is damaging ecosystems, marine life and human health.<br/>This paper will envision a possible solution for plastic...

FleetFlow: Circularity into every stage of the ship’s lifecycle

With the growing world population and concerns about resource scarcity, environmental pressures, and social challenges more and more industries have a growing interest in transitioning towards a circular economy.<br/><br/>In South Holland, specifically in the port of Rotterdam, the ship manufacturing sector requires fundamental change....

BIO-LOOP ZH2050: A trigger strategy towards a circular economy based on the bio-based plastic industry in the region of Port of Rotterdam

Nowadays, circular economy is of growing importance in the social, economic, and environmental fields. The realisation happens on different scales. First steps towards a circular economy have already been taken, but it will take time before a circular world is reached. Also, under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the bio-based concept...

UrbanScraps: A local steel cycle for maritime manufacturing in South-Holland by 2050

Mankind is exhausting natural resources. Therefore, the need to transform the linear material flows towards circular chains is increasing. Steel is a material that is produced and used globally and has high potentials for recycling. However, in the maritime sector, steel is currently barely recycled, let alone reused in a more direct way....

Embarking on a Circular Voyage: South Holland as the leading Creative Maritime Region through cross-pollination of Industry, Knowledge, and Society

The Netherlands has set the ambitious goal to have a fully circular economy by 2050. The Port of Rotterdam (PoR), the largest and busiest port in Europe, has strong potential to become a future circular hub. The PoR has been a major player in the seaport industry for centuries with, among others, a strong logistics sector and a robust...

Chains of Cooperation: Synergies between waste & Co2

The province of South Holland is a region in the Netherlands that can be characterized by its flourishing economy. The place where the vein of the river Maas stretches out over land and the Port of Rotterdam has settled in as a strategic trade-point. Moreover, the abundant agricultural sector in Westland holds accountable for not only multiple...

Liv/fe Transition: to a healthy agriculture sector with livestock as an integral part of life

By 2050, South-Holland will transform into a transition based urbanity with value change at its core. Currently, consumers are disconnected from where their food is produced, leading to a high environmental impact, unhealthy choices and social injustice to the farmers’ work. The proposed strategy of change for the region would see South Holland...

Regenerative food landscapes: A strategy towards regenerative agri-food landscapes in the province of South Holland

In the Netherlands landscape and (agri)culture have always influenced each other and there is an inherent relationship between them. Through innovations over time, the province of South-Holland developed profitable productive food-landscapes which provided an important contribution to the Dutch food production and export, making the Netherlands...

Growing carbon-scapes in growing AMA: From emissions to circularity

In 2016, 54.5% of the world population was living in urban areas, whereas cities occupied only 2% of the total land. (United Nations: Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2015). Climate change, inequality, peace and security issues are just some of the factors affecting urban areas and at the same time posing new challenges for urban...

The Biorefinery expo

The Biorefinery combines water treatment, organic waste treatment in one building together with public functions like a swimming pool, botanical gardens, community gardens, visitors routes and research labs. Organic waste and sewage sludge from the water-treatment system are used to produce bio-gas by anaerobic digestion for generating heat and...