How do you increase the economic strength of a structurally weak region without using more resources? A joint project has selected two districts in Lower Saxony and installed a sustainable recycling system there.

What to do with the old carpets, what to do with the furniture that has been taken out of service and how do we dispose of outdated IT equipment? These questions may soon no longer have to be asked at Lüneburg Town Hall. This is made possible by a new procurement guideline for public administration. It is based on the circular economy model, in which, ideally, no more waste is produced because all products can be used again and again as raw materials. Even the design of products is considered with this in mind; all ingredients are harmless and can therefore be reused. When those responsible at the district of Lüneburg renovate their employees' offices in future, they can commission a company to lay the new carpet, take the old one away and refurbish it. The base layer and pile can simply be separated from each other because this was already taken into account during production. In the best case scenario, the institution pays for the useful life of the products and is no longer responsible for purchasing and disposing of them.

"An administration is a major customer, so acting in the spirit of a circular economy can send decisive signals to other companies to adopt such models," explains Prof. Cornelius Herstatt, Head of the Institute for Technology and Innovation Management at Hamburg University of Technology. The advantage: the procured parts, such as furniture, carpets, etc., are no longer purchased, but only borrowed for the duration of their use. Prof. Herstatt advises those responsible in their pioneering and exemplary role as part of a regional development project in the two districts of Lüneburg and Lüchow-Dannenberg in north-eastern Lower Saxony. Together with staff members Johanna Zeller and Matthias Schneider, he and his institute as TU Hamburg are project partners alongside the two districts mentioned, Leuphana University Lüneburg and Süderelbe AG. The project "New Strategies and Structures for a Cradle to Cradle C2C Model Region in Northeast Lower Saxony" is funded as part of the "Region gestalten" program of the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building. The project, which was initially scheduled to run for two and a half years, ended in April 2024. The C2C approach is intended to help the structurally weak region become more competitive in the long term. "We are hoping for an impact beyond the duration of the project," says District Administrator Jens Böther from the district of Lüneburg.

Increasing added value

Michael Braungart, Professor of Eco-Design at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg, developed the "Cradle to Cradle" concept at the end of the 1990s together with US architect William McDonough. The name translates as "from cradle to cradle" and refers to products that function in two material cycles - the biological cycle for consumer products such as food and the technical cycle for consumer products. Biological products are all degradable products that return nutrients to the soil and contribute to the regeneration of nature. There is no more waste in the material cycle, only raw materials. The ingredients are chemically harmless and recyclable. "This means that companies can use the best quality and don't have to use the cheapest material," explains Prof. Braungart. "A higher added value is achieved."

Gloves without a CO2 footprint

An important player in the region is the company Uvex, which manufactures safety gloves in addition to helmets and other protective equipment. "Producing such disposable gloves according to the C2C principle is complex," explains Prof. Herstatt. Harmless organic materials are used here, but the seams and edging must also meet these standards." The aim is to bring the gloves back into circulation, but to do this, framework agreements have to be concluded with customers such as the car manufacturer VW, where they are used in production, and other suppliers. For the company's own product range, gloves were developed from bamboo fibers and recycled polyamide, which have a reduced carbon footprint and were manufactured under strict requirements for pollutant and water management. The wearers of the 15 million gloves produced each year do not have to fear any unhealthy effects on their skin. Used gloves should be taken back and refurbished. This does not always work, but efforts are being made to get closer to the ideal product. New types of yarn that protect against cuts but disintegrate during recycling are currently being tested. This is because a fundamental problem in recycling is that processed materials often cannot be broken down into their individual components.

Only 3,000 products certified worldwide

The TU scientists were able to find better solutions for 60 to 70 percent of the potential C2C projects in the two model regions. Nevertheless, the idea of biological and technical recyclability is still in its infancy: only around 3,000 products worldwide have been certified according to these criteria. "It always depends on the person," says Johanna Zeller. "You need someone on the ground who is really willing to drive the idea forward."

One of the aims of the project is to create an infrastructure for knowledge transfer, networking and cooperation between science and business. This was created in an old factory building in the small town of Dannenberg in the Wendland region: The C2C Innovation Lab (C2C Lab) opened in April 2024. The workspace is aimed at start-ups that want to set up here and receive advice beyond the project. The lab is operated by the association Connect Circular e.V.

The transfer of knowledge to companies, networking with each other and the promotion of pilot projects will hopefully strengthen the regional innovation ecosystem. The lab has thus created an infrastructure in which this happens locally. This is the goal of all those involved after the end of the project.

Turning old into new

What does cradle-to-cradle (C2C) mean?

The production of the companies takes place in cycles and starts with the design of products. All substances are used in such a way that the materials used are separated from each other again without leaving any residue. This means that high-quality raw materials are retained and can be reused. Even the wear and tear of a product is 100 percent biodegradable.

More informationen:

https://www.connectcircular.com