Context

In Belgium, 59% of collected plastic waste is still incinerated. Blenders and Werecircle, as leaders of the Living Lab Plastics, form a broad partnership to close the plastic cycle. The aim is to make recycling the last safety net for plastic waste and to circulate plastic objects, parts and raw materials in short chains.

Beyond recycling, high-value recycling strategies like reuse and recovery are rare in the plastics sector. As a result, this sector has a very high material footprint.

Living Lab

Through ten concrete sub-experiments, this living lab is looking for the preconditions for dealing better with plastics. The partners ask themselves how to design with plastics in a circular way and how to set up new value chains.

Each case will be translated into a feasibility analysis for further upscaling after the living lab. The cases serve as levers for the circular transition. On the one hand via their direct impact on the chain, on the other via a blueprint and analysis for new collection, disassembly, sorting, and production organisation. In addition, the learning lessons are also anchored through academic and professional curricula, policy recommendations and sector consultations, and will also be disseminated through circular networks.

Who is carrying out this living lab?

This living lab is a collaboration between Blenders, Antwerp University, MIVAS, Govaerts Recycling, IGEAN-Environment and Safety, ENADVIS, EcoWerf intermunicipal environmental company East Brabant, Intercommunal Development Company for the Kempen Waste Management, Centexbel - VKC, werecircle and VITeS.

 

How can your company participate?

Are you a company or organisation in the plastics value chain, or do you produce a lot of plastics waste? Do you want to valorise or even prevent a waste stream consisting of plastics? Contact this living lab for insights and partners who can help you do this.

Partners

Coordinator: Blenders

  • Universiteit Antwerpen
  • MIVAS
  • Govaerts Recycling
  • IGEAN-Milieu en Veiligheid
  • ENADVIS
  • EcoWerf, intergemeentelijk Milieubedrijf Oost-Brabant
  • Intercommunale Ontwikkelingsmaatschappij voor de Kempen Afvalbeheer
  • Centexbel - VKC
  • werecircle
  • VITeS

Financing

VLAIO is the Flemish government's point of contact for all entrepreneurs in Flanders. We stimulate and support innovation and entrepreneurship and contribute to a favourable entrepreneurial climate. We do this in cooperation with numerous partners.

VLAIO is fully committed to circular entrepreneurship. That is why this VLAIO project received support and resources from the European Commission's NextGenerationEU fund.