The Netherlands puts the materials roundabout on the map

Materials roundabout is all about innovation

The ‘materials roundabout’, launched last spring by Dutch MP Stientje van Veldhoven, ticks all the boxes. A memorandum on raw materials has already been drawn up, State Secretary Atsma has worked up the proposal in his white paper on waste and a Knowledge Platform for Sustainable Resource Management is being set up. ‘Innovation is a pivotal building block for developing the materials roundabout.’

By Addo van der Eijk

Stientje van Veldhoven MP (Democrats 66) is a fervent advocate of the materials roundabout. She thought up the concept and since the beginning of this year has been successfully promoting the idea. State Secretary Joop Atsma responded – like the waste sector – with great enthusiasm. Van Veldhoven describes her plan as a roundabout where large quantities of secondary raw materials are brought in and sustainably traded, reused and recycled. After this high-grade processing, the resulting raw materials leave the roundabout as products. The Netherlands is an excellent location for this activity, says Van Veldhoven. ‘The Netherlands is the ideal European hub for turning high-grade waste into usable raw materials. We are already known as the transshipment and distribution centre for Europe. We can do this job for secondary raw materials as well. Our country has the required expertise and experience as well as excellent logistical connections, the port of Rotterdam being the obvious example.’ Van Veldhoven is pressing for a change in mindset. ‘We must lower the rate at which we consume natural resources, without reducing our use of them. Recycling makes this possible. We must move towards a world in which there is no waste and raw materials are transferred from one use to another. This transition is necessary because the world is facing a number of major challenges. By the end of this century there will probably be ten billion people on our planet. All of them will want a home, clean water and electricity. It is essential that in the future Dutch companies can be sure of having a stable supply of raw materials.’ This changing world – in which the demand for raw materials like phosphate, cotton and metals will rise – presents huge opportunities for the Dutch waste sector. ‘The materials roundabout depends on innovative companies that are able to close the recycling loop in a cost-efficient manner. Our country is buzzing with this type of activity. As a leader in the field, the Netherlands can offer added value.’

Cooperation
In its memorandum on raw materials published this summer, the Government states that it sees the scarcity of raw materials as a unique opportunity. In addition, State Secretary Atsma’s white paper on waste, published at the end of August, goes into the materials roundabout in considerable depth. Atsma wants to stimulate innovation and the pooling of expertise. ‘I want to make better use of existing collaborative arrangements and create new partnerships where necessary,’ says Atsma. According to Van Veldhoven, cooperation is the key to the success of the materials roundabout. To close materials cycles companies must establish new cooperative arrangements and dare to break new ground. As an example she mentions the carpet manufacturer Desso, which works with designers and fitters. Cooperation with universities and research institutes is also crucial, thinks Van Veldhoven. To generate the knowledge and expertise required for the materials roundabout, she has previously called for the appointment of a professor of raw materials, closer cooperation between universities and the establishment of a raw materials expertise centre. ‘The Netherlands has numerous highly regarded research groups and centres of excellence. It would be a good thing to pool their expertise. For example, get the designers at the Eindhoven Design Academy to sit round the table with materials experts from TU Delft. If designers are more aware of the need for recycling, they will take this on board when designing products.’

Knowledge Platform
Van Veldhoven’s appeal for the development and pooling of expertise has already met with a response. A new development is the Knowledge Platform for Sustainable Resource Management, established by Jan-Henk Welink at TU Delft. He describes the Platform as an interuniversity organisation that brings scientists and research groups together to create synergy. ‘There is already a vast store of knowledge available in the universities,’ he says. ‘Research groups have a wealth of relevant knowledge on the shelf, but this is not always specifically geared to raw materials management. The Platform wants to make this link. We bring together research groups and scientists working on recycling techniques, industrial design, sustainability, economics, behavioural sciences and psychology.’ Welink not only brings researchers into contact with each other, but also brings scientists into contact with industry. He expressly invites waste companies to come up with research questions. ‘Companies can join the Platform, giving them access to an extensive knowledge network. Through us they can get answers to their questions. Besides the knowledge network, we are setting up an overarching industrial network for cooperation between companies in the “golden triangle” of science, government and industry.’

In the first instance, Welink is focusing on five materials streams: electronics metals, alloy metals, phosphate, plastics and textiles. He organises workshops on these materials streams for scientists, waste companies, industry associations and manufacturers. The first workshops have already been held. ‘The participants proposed numerous research topics, which we will pass on to the research groups. Most are concrete questions, such as How can we collect more waste textiles? and What are the design rules for electronic products? More workshops will follow this autumn. During these workshops we will explore topics raised by companies.’ Welink believes that innovation will be the decisive factor in making the materials roundabout a success. ‘The Netherlands is not the only country carving out a profile for itself in this field; Germany and Belgium are also looking to import raw materials for treatment and reprocessing into products for sale. We have to be just a bit smarter than everyone else.’

Coordination
The Netherlands must promote itself worldwide as the country for raw materials management, states Frans Beckers, director of materials, concepts and infrastructure at Van Gansewinkel Groep. He points to the example of the Advisory Committee on Water, which is chaired by Prince Willem-Alexander. For the materials roundabout it would be desirable to have such a platform headed by a prominent person, he says. Beckers thinks that Welink’s Knowledge Platform for Sustainable Resource Management is a good initiative, but also points to the Material Scarcity Platform, an initiative by TNO and The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies in which various government departments, companies such as Shell and Philips and employers’ federations such as VNO-NCW and FME participate. Van Gansewinkel is a member of both organisations and takes an active part in the meetings. ‘A huge number of activities are currently underway within research institutes, government authorities and companies. An umbrella organisation that brings everyone together, provides coordination and ensures there is sufficient cohesion between the various initiatives and nothing is left out will therefore be a good thing. The platform must keep an eye on the big picture to prevent topics slipping through the net.’ He is encouraged by the growing attention given to raw materials scarcity and believes many stakeholders are aware of the scarcity of material resources and recognise the importance of recoverability. Van Gansewinkel already makes use of scientific research. Beckers: ‘We have maintained close contacts with universities and research institutes for many years and these relations are becoming more intensive. The Dutch agro-food, chemical, hi-tech, water and other sectors have developed innovations that we can use for recovering raw materials. Van Gansewinkel itself is in the middle of a transition from waste to raw materials. The traditional waste market that focused on end-of-pipe solutions will eventually disappear.’

Government
According to Beckers the government has an important part to play in giving concrete shape to the materials roundabout. He proposes a number of actions: ‘Give the pioneers a chance to sell their services to the public sector, which can then be a driving force for their take-up by others. It is also important to scrap unnecessarily obstructive regulations, such as European tendering rules that inhibit innovation. What also works is setting standards for a mandatory percentage of recoverable raw materials in products, comparable with the standards for vehicles. Raising standards encourages innovation.’ Van Veldhoven agrees that the ball is now in the Government’s court. ‘Developing the materials roundabout requires a consultation structure. The government must take the lead in bringing the relevant parties together.’