The Netherlands is at the forefront when it comes to circular building and Amsterdam is the epi-centre of circular economy innovations and the built environment is no exception.
WasteBuild is the answer to the question of how we will ensure that we manifest circularity around the world.
Zero Waste Event
Events often create large quantities of waste and have huge carbon footprints of their own, but WasteBuild is different. It is their ambition to be zero waste and have a net-zero carbon impact.
That is why they encourage attendees to travel by rail (and save up to 90% carbon emissions compared to air travel) or compensate their air travel when unavoidable, bring reusable bottles (there are refillable water stations throughout WasteBuild to help eliminate single use plastics) and minimise printing (badges and lanyards will be collected at the end of the event for recycle and reuse).
We personally made sure that every part of our booth was brought back to our office, to be re-used at the next event!
Circular Economy
As you might already know if you’ve been following us for a while, the outdated linear model of TAKE-MAKE-WASTE is dead. Public and private organisations across the world are already investing in and adopting robust circular economy road maps, not only because we have to, but because the circular economy makes business and financial sense.
Below you can find our recap of the WasteBuild event, where we spoke to pioneering architects, engineers, designers and developers focused on understanding the opportunities the circular economy brings to the built environment.
WasteBuild is the first and only international architecture and engineering event with the dedicated ambition to reduce global waste.
DAY 1 OVERVIEW
On the first day of WasteBuild, Frank Tazelaar, Head of Sustainability at the Municipality of Amsterdam, opened the conference by outlining the importance of the economy in delivering the circular transition and shared how The Netherlands aims to be circular by 2050.
Later in the morning, StoneCyling’s Jasper presented on stage to a room full of inspiring international leaders from across the circular built environment.
Inspiring Case Studies
After a brief introduction of our company and the variety of projects that we have already worked on, there was a panel discussion titled “From waste to resource and how this applies to the built environment.”
As you might know, construction accounts for up to 50% of raw materials consumed and creates 30% of all waste. Preventing this in the first place is the ambition, but what solutions exist today that turn our existing waste streams into valuable resources?
The panelists agreed: only by engaging communities and creating value out of waste, can you create a circular business model that accelerates the transition to a circular built environment.
Make sure to have a look at the fantastic projects the other panelists are working on:
- Elisha Weeber, Founder, WASTED
- Marius Smit, Founder, Partner, Plastic Whale
- Willem Böttger, Professor, CoBBE
DAY 2 OVERVIEW
During the second day of WasteBuild, we had the chance to listen to many more pioneers of sustainable initiatives and hear their strategies for achieving circularity.
Stories & Samples
At our booth, we spoke to many people interested in making their next project more circular than their last. Of course we were happy to share our journey and show some of our successful projects… and give out mini-WasteBasedBricks® to take home.
We also introduced our new samples with unique glazing (that you can see below) and it was great to hear that you loved them! We will share more information about them on the site soon, so make sure to sign up for our newsletter to be the first one to hear it.
Have you started your journey towards a more sustainable circular future yet?
