Feb
14

By Peter Ceglinski

Let’s clean up the Oceans with this SeaBin

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seabin developed by Australian surfers

SeaBin has been developed by 2 Australian surfers: Peter Ceglinski and Andrew Turton

The SeaBin is amazing. Do you want to clean up the water in the harbor? This genius bucket can suck garbage right out of the ocean.

It’s called the SeaBin and it works just like a fish tank filter. Let’s get rid of the plastic soup.

Plastic soup

The bucket connects to a water pump sucking all trash, oil, and other waste into a removable mesh bag. The pump then spits clean seawater back into the ocean.

It works 24/7 and it’s safe for fish and other ocean life as well. Two Australian surfers quit their day jobs. And spent 10 years perfecting the prototype.

Video

About the SeaBin

The SeaBin isn’t big or bulky and can fit into the problem corners of marinas without being obtrusive or taking up dock space for boats. The waste in the SeaBin is collected easily and disposed of responsibly in the already establish waste disposal system of the marina.

We also have the option to fit an oil/water separator to the system.

  • The SeaBin is located in the water and is fixed to a floating dock. There is a shore based water pump on the dock running on shore power.
  • The water pump creates a flow of water into the bin bringing with it all floating rubbish and debris. The rubbish/debris is caught in a natural fibre catch bag and the water is then sucked out the bottom of the bin and up to the water pump where it is then pumped back into the marina.

Peter Ceglinski and Andrew Turton have spent four years developing the ‘Seabin’ and said the device could spell the end of polluted seas. The Seabin has been designed for use in marinas and ports into which ocean pollution is often swept by tides, wind and storms.

Prototype in production

The designers have even used plastics caught in their first SeaBin to create another waste collector. The prototype is into production.

The product development is going well with our French industrial partner Poralu Marine and we expect pre production Seabins around the end of 2016 for our pilot partners to trial exclusively for a set period of time before serial production starts.The final serial production Seabins will be available beginning of 2017 for distribution. Our partner Poralu Marine will be the exclusive distributor.

Join

We are open to expressions of interest for investors, agents and distributors. Send us an email with your details and Cv and we see what we can do.

Facts & figures

info@betterworldsolutions.eu

Feb
14

By Ramon Knoester

Rotterdam catches floating plastics

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Rotterdam catches floating plastics

Based on what is found on the banks, we expect to collect 10 to 20 tons of plastic per year. It will be roughly a quarter of the plastic that flows through the River Maas.

Rotterdam catches – a part of – the floating plastics and other debris.

Plastics in the oceans have to be reduced.

It’s the mission of the Dutch student Boyan Slat and now extended by the city of Rotterdam.

The result of recycled plastic: a floating park

 

Floating park made of plastic debris collected in the River Maas, Netherlands

Floating park made of plastic debris collected in the River Meuse, Netherlands

On 4 July 2018, the first Plastic Recycled Park has been opened in the Rotterdam Rijnhaven, called Floating Pavilion. Floating dirt from the harbors and rivers has been collected and processed into a floating park of 140 m2.

The goal of this iconic Recycled Park is to show that recycled plastic from the river can be a valuable raw material for reuse. By reusing the recovered plastic and making floating building blocks out of it, the building blocks provide a new landscaping This green floating park is an added value for the city and has an ecological function in the river as a habitat for snails, flatworms, larvae, water beetles and more.

Rotterdam

In 2016. Rotterdam, capital of the North Sea Delta in the Netherlands, launched three platforms to catch floating plastic debris before it enters the sea. 

Rotterdam Main Port Europe Delta

Rotterdam Main Port Europe Delta

Last year, Rotterdam posted three plastic traps at strategic locations along the riverside to stop flowing the waste before it reaches the North Sea and disappears in the sea. The collected plastics will be reused and shown as a kind of floating city park, made by artists.

A first step towards a plastic-free river

Ramon Knoester, promoter of the initiative:

“If we absorb all the plastic in the city and in the harbor, we are contributing to decrease the expansion of the plastic soup in our seas and oceans.”

The architect has developed the plastic traps. Until now, the harvest is not as big als he expected. But his is optimistic:

Based on what is found on the banks, we expect to collect 10 to 20 tons of plastic per year. It will be roughly a quarter of the plastic that flows through the River Maas.

Costs

The costs of the three plastic catchers was 200,000 euros. The money has been raised by the municipality, the government and private funders. If the first three platforms are functioning as desired, the number of platforms will be expanded to eight.

Video Recycled Park by WHIM Architecture

About the river Meuse

The river Meuse is a 950 kilometer long river in Western Europe. Because it’s mainly fed by rainwater, the water level can vary a lot. The Meuse rises in France, then still flows through Belgium and the Nederlands. In the Netherlands, the Meuse – one of the major rivers that flows in the river Delta, the water flows into the North Sea.

 

 

Feb
14

By Anne Koudstaal

Road From Recycled Plastic

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VolkerWessels plastic road

Anne Koudstaal and Simon Jorritsma, the inventors of PlasticRoad, stated: Together with Wavin and Total, we now have a vast pool of knowledge, experience and resources, and can take concrete steps in the development of PlasticRoad. We expect to have a first prototype completed by year-end 2017

This plastic road is perfect for our sustainable community. VolkerWessels construction company introduced the concept Plastic Road; a concept of plastic that is circular, quick to apply and also hardwearing.

Road Advantages

Plastic offers lots of advantages both in construction and in the maintenance of roads.

  • It is maintenance free product
  • Barely wearable
  • The material is impervious to weather
  • Plastic is resistant to heavy frost and extreme heat
    Forty degrees of frost or eighty degrees above zero for plastic roads will be no problem

Recycled plastic

VolkerWessels claims that the modules will be build with 100 percent recycled material. Plastics are processed into ‘prefab’ road segments: industrial road sections which are completely transported to the new road. The road can be build in a short period of time. Moreover, because of the hollow structure there is room for other infrastructure such as cables, pipes and water.

Rotterdam pilot

The first candidate for a plastic road is the city of Rotterdam. That municipal wants to participate in a trial.

We are hoping to gain insight about the consequences for motorcyclists. What will be the grip of the plastic surfaces?

Video

Win Win

“Sinking roads are a big problem in the Netherlands. That’s because the ground is so wet that roads get soaked, which makes them sink to such a degree that, in some cases, they have to be replaced after just three to four years.”

Plastic has a great advantage: It’s not only impermeable to water, but it’s also much lighter than asphalt. Plastic roads could be designed with integrated storm drains – a system that collects water during heavy downpours to release it later in a controlled fashion.

Prefabricated roads would be quick to build, reducing the time we spend in traffic jams. And a plastic road could go 50-100 years without maintenance. Compare that to conventional roads, which need to be replaced three times over every fifty years, on average.

Facts & figures

info@betterworldsolutions.eu

Feb
14

By Pharrell Williams

Denim collections from ocean plastic

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Pharrell Williams Curates Collaboration Between Bionic Yarn And G-Star Turning Ocean Plastic Into Denim

Pharrell Williams Curates Collaboration Between Bionic Yarn And G-Star Turning Ocean Plastic Into Denim

3 denim collections out of 2 million plastic containers recovered from ocean coastlines. 

That is what ‘Raw For The Ocean’ and ‘G-Star‘ did, making their new fashionable collection 2015 from ocean plastics. This is how the production process is done.

Together they will help ending the ‘Plastic Soup‘. 

Denim it is

Now in our third season, the equivalent of 2 million plastic containers have been recovered from ocean coastlines around the world.  And we’re taking that number higher!

RAW for the Oceans is an initiative recycling ocean plastic into G-Star collections co-designed by Pharrell Williams (Bionic Yarn) and Parley for the Oceans.

7,000,000 tonnes of plastic

There are 7,000,000 tonnes of plastic in our oceans. That’s like that a resource waiting to be mined, waiting for people to profit from (Capt. Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society)

Please share this

Do you need a new denim? Have a look at their collection.

Video

Feb
14

By Dave Hakkens

Build your plastic recycling machine

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PreciousPlastic machine recycles plastics

Spread the word!
This helps the project so much! Make sure to share this information around so others know they can start. The more people know about this project the more plastic that gets recycled!

PreciousPlastic developed DIY machines that enable everyone to build a little plastic machine to recycle all the plastics you can get. For free. 

The machines are made with basic tooling and materials that should be easily available, wherever you live.

Now share it into every corner of the world and let the recycling begin!

Start your own little plastic recycling workshop

This is fabulous open innovation. The PreciousPlastic recycling machine is made from basic materials, affordable and easy to build.

  • Modular
    The machines are made of different components that can be repaired, replaced, or customized
  • Open Source
    The blueprints and tutorials for our machines will always be freely available online, for anyone to access and use
  • Inclusive
    By using basic materials, tools, and universal parts, the machines can be built all over the world
  • Built yourself
    PreciousPlastic has created a series of video tutorials that are easy to follow and help you get started building the machines

Extrusion

Extrusion is a continuous process where plastic flakes are inserted into the hopper and extruded into a line of plastic. These lines can be used to make new raw materials such as 3d printing filament, make granulated plastic, spinned around a mold, or used by you in new and creative ways.

Injection

Plastic flakes are heated and injected into a mold. It’s a relatively quick process which is well suited for creating small objects repeatedly. You can make the molds completely yourself by using CNC mills or lathes, or by simply welding them.

Compression

Plastic is heated inside the oven and slowly pressed into a mold with a carjack. Well suited for making large and more solid objects, the oven itself is also a great machine for prototyping and making plastic tests with.

Shredding

Plastic waste is shredded into flakes which will be used in the other machines to create new things. You can select the output size of these flakes by changing the sieve inside the machine to create different patterns and processes.

Things you can make

Explore what you can make with these machines

How you can help PreciousPlastic

  • Join the community
    PreciousPlastic loves it when you are involved, helping out others with questions, sharing your feedback, and connecting with others. Join!
  • Spread the word!
    This helps the project so much! Make sure to share this information around so others know they can start. The more people know about this project the more plastic that gets recycled!
  • Donate
    Everything they do and make is shared open source online, for free. Your donations push this project ahead. They mean a lot to this perfect guys.
  • Build machines
    It makes us happy when you build the machines locally. We know this isn’t for everyone though, so as a non-builder you can also help out in our forums where we’re trying to connect people with machine builders.

Facts & figures

info@betterworldsolutions.com

 

Feb
14

By Ton van Keken

From Ocean Plastic to Carpets

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carpet, sustainable, recycling, reuse, fishing nets

Beautiful carpet from old Filippines plastic fishing nets

This carpets is a really beautiful design. And listen to the story of the designers because they have a mission! Hundreds of Philippines are collecting fishing nets in the ocean and at the shore. Of course the receive money in return from Interface. But even better; the nets are transformed into the most beautiful carpets I ever saw.

The colors and textures reflect the undulating waves of our oceans and seas, in blends of swirling sapphires, aqueous aquamarines and turbulent teals.

Sustainable reuse of nylon

A decade ago the industry still assumed that nylon was not recyclable. Interface proves that is incorrect. Interface has partnered with the Zoological Society of London to buy discarded fishing nets from some of the poorest communities in the world. The nets are recycled into new yarn for our carpet tiles by Aquafil. The benefits? Fewer ghost nets, less virgin materials and a new source of income for the communities. The partnership has created an inclusive business model with positive outcomes for everyone involved. The program started in the Philippines and was expanded to Cameroon in 2015.

Net-Works® is an innovative, cross-segment initiative designed to tackle the growing environmental problem of discarded fishing nets in some of the world’s poorest coastal communities. At the same time, it supports Interface’s Mission Zero® goal to source 100% recycled material for its carpet tile.

Interface works with local fishing communities which collect discarded fishing nets. This interface and yarn manufacturer Aquafil not only gets access to a new raw material for high-quality nylon, but Interface also helps to improve the living conditions of local fishermen.

Ocean Plastic ‘Soup’

It’s shocking what plastic in the oceans can do to wildlife! Interface is one of the great companies who feels the responsibility to clear this mess and help people in South East Asia. They deliver world wide.

Ray Anderson: I always make the business case for sustainability. It’s so compelling. Our costs are down, not up. Our products are the best they have ever been. And the goodwill in the marketplace: it’s just been astonishing.

Video

Mission Zero

With Net-Works Interface works in the poorest coastal areas in the world which are struggling with poverty. Each year, 640,000 tonnes nets left in the ocean. By working with local fishermen to harvest the nets, Interface contributes to a structural improvement of poor communities.

Since the start of the project in 2012, there has been almost 80,000 pounds of discarded fishing nets collected.

Recycle

If we remaking the way we make things by transforming human industry through ecologically intelligent design. The current industrial system that “takes, makes and wastes” can become a creator of goods and services that generate ecological, social and economic value.

Facts & figures

Info@betterworldsolutions.eu

 

Feb
13

By Oscar Mendez

Homes using Discarded Plastic

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Mendez builds homes using Discarded PlasticMendez builds homes using Discarded Plastic

Colombian architect Andres Mendez Gerardino is building homes for the homeless, using discarded plastic. 

We give credits to the guy who came up with this invention.

He is helping so many people and families.

Building Homes using Discarded Plastic

Let’s ensure this solution spreads all around the world. Not just for homeless, he can sell it for sheds, storage, parking garage etc… Great idea!!!

Views on Facebook, as of posting, have soared to over 19 million and shares have gone up to 362K — and quickly rising by the minute.

Watch this and you’ll understand why:

Video

Oscar Mendez brings new meanings of wasted plastics & rubbers to be home for the homeless. 46% of North Americans People are homeless. He find a creative solution for tonnes of wasted plastics and rubbers.
They’re processed and molded it into “LEGO-BRICKS” to be assembled into one unity as home. He and his team bring positive changes for people and environment at the same time.

“We are creating economic value from plastics that have no market. They are contaminated plastics, but now with a market after being recycled.”

The idea came from musician Fernando Llanos and was later adopted by architect Oscar Mendez, who through several years of research managed to develop bricks from processing all types of used plastics.

Triple impacts

This is an initiative of triple impacts: economic impact, environmental impact and social impact. Now the invention has started to benefit thousands of homeless, who are having their own housed built mainly in suburbs with the special chunks.

The housing deficit in Latin America is tremendous. 40% percent of people in Africa, Asia and Latin America do not own a home. One in seven people in the world lives in extreme poverty. Then Mendez wanted to improve this situation by offering houses.

With wide use of the new building components, Colombia also expects to downsize contamination caused by thrown-away plastics.

Recycle and ReUse

“On the environmental side, only in Bogota 6,300 tons of waste is thrown into the landfill is (each year), of which approximately 12%, or 750 tons, are plastics. Only 100 tons are recycled. We are recycling more of them to build hundreds of houses (for displace people).”

Facts & Figures

info@betterworldsolutions.eu

Mar
14

By Avantium

Avantium PEF Bio bottle

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PEF bio bottle

PEF bio bottle Partners: CocaCola, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Wifag-Polytype, Danone, ALPLA

Avantium has focused its efforts on the polyester polyethylene-furanoate (PEF), which is an analogue of polyethylene-terephthalate (PET).

PEF could replace PET in typical applications like films, fibers and in particular bottles for the packaging of soft drinks, water, alcoholic beverages, fruit juices food and non-food products.

Avantium

Avantium is a Dutch technology development and licensing company with extensive experience in catalysis.

Superior functional properties

Avantium’s research has proven that PEF bottles outperform PET bottles in many areas, particularly barrier properties (the ability of the polymer to withstand gas permeability through the bottle).

PEF’s ability to seal out oxygen, for example, results in longer-lasting carbonated drinks and extended shelf life. Moreover, PEF makes certain packaging coatings redundant, like the coatings used on bottles to keep beer fresh.

CocaCola and Danone are already partners.

Superior functional properties

Avantium’s research has proven that PEF bottles outperform PET bottles in many areas, particularly barrier properties (the ability of the polymer to withstand gas permeability through the bottle). PEF’s ability to seal out oxygen, for example, results in longer-lasting carbonated drinks and extended shelf life. Moreover, PEF makes certain packaging coatings redundant, like the coatings used on bottles to keep beer fresh. In terms of thermal properties, PEF is widely considered more attractive than PET due to its superior ability to withstand heat (expressed in the glass transition temperature or Tg) and process-ability at lower temperatures (expressed in the melting temperature or Tm).

Superior barrier properties:

  • PEF oxygen barrier is 10 times better than PET
  • PEF carbon dioxide barrier is 4 times better than PET
  • PEF water barrier is 2 times better than PET

More attractive thermal properties:

  • The Tg of PEF is 86°C compared to the Tg of PET of 74°C
  • The Tm of PEF is 235°C compared to the Tm of PET of 265°C

Recycling PEF bottles

Avantium has demonstrated that PEF can be recycled in very similar ways to PET recycling.

Stage I: PEF in rPET stream

In the transition period following the launch of PEF bottles, the amount of PEF in the total PET stream is relatively small. PEF bottles are likely to be recycled in the PET recycling stream (rPET). The outcome of preliminary tests (using ASTM test protocols) shows that PEF has no material effect on the mechanical and physical properties of PET, such as strength and impact. Avantium is currently working with brand owners and the recycling industry to further integrate PEF into the PET’s recycling stream.

Stage II: PEF to PEF recycling

Once PEF is produced in larger volumes it is likely it may become economically more attractive to separately recycle PEF. Avantium is currently working with brand owners and the recycling industry to establish a PEF to PEF recycling infrastructure in the future.

Facts & figures

Contact

E. info@betterworldsolutions.eu

 

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