How can PHA-based biopolymers and PHA blends with natural fibers be better optimized for injection moulding? What opportunities and challenges arise in the application of PHA in injection moulding? What are the experiences of the project partners regarding application in existing processes, product ranges and LCA? These and other questions will take center stage at …
Starting this month, there will be a deposit on cans! But it will still take a few months before we will notice the effect of this measure. First, all the ‘old’ cans have to be sold before cans with the deposit symbol will be available. But, the change has been made! We at Ecoras are …
Donker Groen Groningen donated this apple tree to us, as a thank you for the weekly clean-up round we do on our Winschoterdiep industrial estate. We enjoyed planting the tree and hope it will bear much fruit. Hopefully we can treat ourselves to apple pie at the end of summer after the No Waste Work …
You probably know them, the bed pads at hospitals, rehab centers or doctor’s offices. But did you know that these bed pads are in the top 10 environmental impact hotspots in an Intensive Care Unit. At UMCG alone, 890 underpads are used per day! That’s 325,000 per year, and we’re only talking about one of …
Companies approach us for a wide variety of issues surrounding their sustainability goals. Some of them want to know what has the heaviest environmental impact within their company. Others are looking for a biobased alternative to a fossil resource. Our goal is to make companies’ circular ambitions a reality. That is why we have specialized …
Laws and regulations are a big part of the transition to a circular economy, but for many companies and organizations this is a complex part (e.g. CSRD Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive). M&G Group encountered this as well. “We were increasingly getting questions about what materials our products contain and what that means if you want …
Anyone talking about the transitions that await us in the future quickly thinks of the energy transition and the circular economy. But much more is needed to shift to a more sustainable world. One example is the protein transition: sustainable food supply that includes the production and consumption of proteins. We are happy to explain …
For two weeks now, Ecoras has been picking up litter daily during its lunch break. This time, Ecoras has added an extra goal to the action, which is to investigate how colleagues experience the cleanup in order to eventually start a movement. A first step has been taken, as business association Groningen ZO has already …
Most wool does not get the use it should. In fact, a lot of wool is burned or shipped for mostly very low-grade uses elsewhere in the world. What a waste of such a beautiful natural product. We therefore asked ourselves what is in wool, what we can use as a natural raw material and …
Did you know that the healthcare sector is responsible for 328 million kilograms of waste (CLO, 2020) and 7% of the Netherlands’ total carbon footprint (Gupta Strategists, 2019)? Of the waste that is released, some must be incinerated on a mandatory basis. Unfortunately, this also happens with a lot of plastic, although this is not …
Jonathan Salt-Waninge is the PHA expert within Ecoras. For years he has been working on the development of the biopolymer PHA. The fact that PHA is truly biodegradable and, not like other biodegradable plastics (like PLA), only degradable in a composting plant, is what makes it so promising. Jonathan works in several research projects around …
During our lunch breaks this month, we will once again be taking a walk with the pick sticks. All of our colleagues will spend a month collecting litter they come across. We are curious to see what we find next, where the litter hotspots are and whether they are the same as November, or different. …
Our colleagues spent a month in November collecting litter during their lunch walk. It had been noticed for some time that the amount of litter at the Winschoterdiep business park was much greater than that encountered during a walk in one’s own residential neighborhood. Time for action! First of all, the ladies and gentlemen went …
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method to evaluate the environmental impacts of a product, process or activity over its entire life cycle. This includes the extraction of raw materials, the production of the product, its distribution, its use and its disposal phase. LCA is a holistic approach that considers all environmental impacts of a …
We are excited to announce that the 3CRA consortium may start receiving its requested MOOI grant of over 3 million euros for Closing Carbon Cycles! Closing Carbon Cycles with Renewable Amines The 3CRA consortium, which stands for Closing Carbon Cycles with Renewable Amines, chaired by Klaas Zijlstra and Andre Heeres, was judged to be innovative …
Article from Groninger Ondernemers Courant, December 2022 Less waste, new business and a sustainable, clean world. The circular economy offers plenty of opportunities for the manufacturing industry. Ecoras is holding a Circo Demo: Especially for companies based in Southeast that want to take advantage of these opportunities, there will be the CIRCO Track program early …
Biobased materials are made from renewable raw materials. Examples of these renewable raw materials include starch, sugar, cellulose, lactic acid, proteins or microorganisms. These raw materials are extracted from maize, beet, sugar cane, wood, potato, tapioca root or castor nuts, for example. Like products produced using fossil fuels, bio-based products also have what is known …
Additive manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, is an integrated processing technique that unlocks the ability to design and fabricate objects in a parallel operation. This flexibility of material and shape is something that is simply out of reach for traditional manufacturing techniques. An added benefit is the significant reduction in process related waste materials, due …