This is: De Clique
Valuable, shorter and circular chains
Organic waste streams from the city, such as coffee grounds, orange peels and other food waste, are normally burnt in waste incinerators. The valuable nutrients in these organic waste streams are lost. By separating these streams at the source, they can be used as raw materials for new food products. This creates valuable, shorter and circular chains.
~ A raw material for new food products~
Organic waste from the city
De Clique uses as much (organic) waste, generated in cities, as possible to create new food products. Founders Bas van Abel, also founder of the sustainable phone company Fairphone, and Anja Cheriakova, founder of waste bin producer BinBang, made De Clique the director of waste streams. Under service contracts, it collects separated raw materials (formerly labeled waste streams) from clients such as restaurants, catering companies and offices.
Creating new products
As much of the waste as possible is either brought to processors or turned into new products at the hub of De Clique. Oyster mushrooms are for example grown from coffee grounds. And orange peels are sent to the processing plant of PeelPioneers and turned into orange flavour, oil or coloring. After an additional processing step the mushrooms are turned into the famous Dutch snack bitterballs and peel products into orange-flavoured biscuits that are sold and delivered back to the original waste service clients.
The Clique shows circularity is natural
The Clique tackles three major challenges.
- Resource scarcity and global depletion. The production and use of raw materials is linear. A raw material is extracted or harvested, used once and discarded as waste. This continuous large-scale extraction of raw materials depletes the planet. A circular system prevents this. Processing by (partners of) De Clique saves valuable waste streams from the incinerator and prevents CO2 emissions. De Clique reports on avoided CO2 emissions for every stream collected.
- Corporate waste is wasted. Every year Dutch companies create 5.3 million tonnes of waste. 50% of this is destroyed. In addition, 25% of CO2 emitted by transport in cities is related to waste logistics. With electric vehicles and bicycles, De Clique prevents this. The company measures the CO2 emissions avoided.
- The existing waste system is unable (sustainably) to use waste as a new raw material. To allow for organic waste to be converted into new products, good separation is essential. For this, waste must be separated at the client. The Clique keeps track of the total number of kilos separated and collected, that are reused in a circular system. The sales of products from reused materials is an indicator of the circular success of the company. And the more hubs and products, the greater the contribution.
