From bakeries to healthcare, plastics are everywhere. It feels like we can’t live without them.  But here’s the real question: how can we recycle them more effectively?

On September 17, our ESCH-R PhD candidates, postdoc and researchers visited PreZero Nederland – one of our consortium partners. As one of the largest and most comprehensive environmental service providers in hashtag#Europe, PreZero takes responsibility for a cleaner tomorrow and establishes resource cycles!

In Zwolle, we explored one of PreZero’s high-tech sorting facilities in The Netherlands. To sort plastics with greater precision, they are even using AI-based object recognition.

One of the insights coming from today?
“When designing a product for healthcare, integrate circularity right from the start. And if this principle were embedded in legislation, it would encourage circularity not only in healthcare, but across society.”

And for all of us at home, some simple but impactful recycling tips:
1. Always empty your yoghurt containers completely before throwing them away.
2. Don’t stuff your yoghurt containers or (soup) cans with plastic.
Why? Because empty packaging and cans are easier to recycle and this will have an impact on how much material in the end cán be recycled!

And last but not least: we also recorded the next edition of our ESCH-R podcast: this edition Arthur Haag and Freek Bakker from PreZero were our guests. To be online soon!

Thanks to the team of PreZero Zwolle for the inspiring visit!

With: Nicole Hunfeld – Jan Carel Diehl – Ayşegül Özçelik – Shalvi Thakur – Naomi Kakiailatu – Paula Goetz – Jasper Klasen – Joek van der Zwaan – Yifan Yang – Chang-Lung Tsai – Heidi Annala – Maaike van Zuilen