Where people and great ideas meet

Today most of what we use comes packaged in petroleum plastic, a material designed to last for centuries. It is this stability and resistance to degradation which causes them to be so problematic once they have served their purpose. Just a generation ago, we packaged our products in reusable or recyclable materials like glass, metals, and paper, and we designed products that would last.

In this report the preliminary results of the working group of the Eternal Holiday House are presented.

For more information about this project, please contact groupleader Heleen Sombekke by sending an email to Heleen.Sombekke@wetsus.nl .

Valerie Lecoeur is the founder of Zoë b Organic and produces and sells BPA-free products for babies and kids. Inspired by books like “Cradle to Cradle-Remaking the way we make things” and films such as ‘Food, Inc.’ she has become passionate in rethinking products for babies and kids. Valerie has developed amongst others the marine biodegradable beach toy set that can be found here.

A polymer can be called a bio-polymer if it consists (partly) of bio-based renewable materials and/or is in some way biodegradable. Paper contains cellulose which is a polymer (a linear chain of hundreds of linked organic compounds) of glucose.

The 12th of July 2012 the official closing event of 3,5 years of cooperation through the framework of the Interreg IVB North Sea Programme in the Cradle to Cradle Islands project will take place.

Focus of the conference is the potential implementation of the findings and the development of the exciting approach towards sustainable decentralized solutions.

A battle has started to develop the first 100% biobased PET bottle! It is a battle between two giants - Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. They each produce a wide range of different products besides the well known black soft drink. The (soft)drink bottles are commonly produced from a material called PET (Polyethylene Terephtalate) which is a tough, temperature resistant polymer.

Beaches, parks, forests and other public spaces are for the enjoyment and recreational use of locals and visitors alike. They are also areas where to take your four-legged friends, and occasionally let them run wild. So dog owners everywhere face the dilemma of: 1) picking up their dog’s litter and 2) where to leave it. Why pick up the dog’s waste in the first place? Well, most areas are quite heavily used and for the enjoyable use by everyone, it is necessary to clean up after your dog. Also, what the dog leaves behind is not necessarily beneficial for the environment.

Pollution levels and natural resource use have risen tremendously with the large-scale industri- alization of the past centuries. The accompanying centralization has led to social and eco- nomic structures that are highly unsustainable. This is exemplified by extensive urban areas with large concentrated populations leading to huge environmental impacts. Industries have grown into massive large-scale operations, increasing the distance between supply and demand while concen- trating environmental impacts in a small area.