Limburg goes Cradle to Cradle

 

The Cradle-to-Cradle Alternative
By William McDonough and Michael Braungart

“The destructive qualities of today’s cradle-to-grave industrial system can be seen as the result of a fundamental design problem, not the inevitable outcome of consumption and economic activity. Indeed, good design—principled design based on the laws of nature—can transform the making and consumption of things into a regenerative force. […]

This new conception of design—known as cradle-to-cradle design— on the other hand, offers a framework in which the effective, regenerative cycles of nature provide models for wholly positive human designs. Within this framework we can create economies that purify air, land, and water, that rely on current solar income and generate no toxic waste, that use safe, healthful materials that replenish the earth or can be perpetually recycled, and that yield benefits that enhance all life.”

Source: William A. McDonough

 

Visitors to the “Cradle to Cradle – Hype or Future” exhibit at Centre Céramique are greeted by an enormous pile of trash lying right in the middle of the entrance hall – a powerful statement that immediately raises our awareness about the amount of waste we produce in our daily lives: no less than 1,5 kg per person every day!

The exhibit features innovating manufacturers, mostly from the province of Limburg, who have joined the next industrial revolution: going green. There are two aspects to this new concept: on the one hand Cradle to Cradle products are either organic, recycled or biodegradable, and on the other hand they are produced in ways that support sustainability in power, gas or water use.

 

Bread from the “Bisschopsmolen” in Maastricht,
made of spelt grain ground in the oldest watermill in the Netherlands

 

Cradle to Cradle at Centre Céramique
Limburg is pursuing an active strategy of promoting sustainable development. Under the motto Let’s Cradle, the Maastricht-based Planet Prosperity Foundation is encouraging companies in Limburg to start applying Cradle to Cradle principles in their production process.

 

Organic beer made in Limburg

Norbert Huijts is an organic farmer from Voerendaal. Together with the Gulpener brewery, Huijts created a brand of organic beer made in Limburg called “Limburg’s Landbier”,. The product was appealing to me, not because organic food has become the new trend, but because organic farming represents a more responsible form of agriculture as opposed to the extreme genetic or chemical enhancement of vegetables and fruits. Although the beer does not fully apply Cradle to Cradle principles, it is being showcased in the exhibit because of the way it is produced. “Nowadays Guldpener brewery uses 100 percent sustainably generated energy,” the information leaflet reads.

 

Van Houtum toilet paper

The Van Houtum factory manufactures paper products in the small town of Swalmen in North Limburg. I was impressed to learn that “no trees are cut down” to produce Van Houtum’s toilet paper, because the factory resorts to used paper as raw material. Not only does this policy spare trees, but it reintegrates possible waste – used paper – into a new production process. Van Houtum is currently taking advice from Cradle to Cradle authority Michael Braungart to further reduce their use of natural resources such as water or energy and develop an increasingly efficient production process.

 

Mosa eco-tiles made in Maastricht

Did you know that the city of Maastricht is planning to build the greenest swimming pool in the Netherlands? It will be called “De Geusselt” and even if it is merely being designed at the moment, the “starting points for the design are a goal of 100 percent CO2 compensation and applying Cradle to Cradle principles and products wherever possible”. The tile supplier for the swimming pool project is the Mosa factory in Maastricht. Mosa tiles are produced in an environmentally responsible way; there is no waste since everything is reintegrated in the production process. More importantly, “CO2 emissions have decreased by 17 percent per kilo during the last decade”.

 

Biodegradable coffetable

The sight of Artisjok’s biodegradable coffeetable is a convincing example of a Cradle to Cradle product that could do very well on the market. It has an impeccable design, conceived by young artists from the Academy of Visual Arts in Maastricht, and what’s more, it is affordable. People rarely wonder what happens to disposed furniture. The exhibit brings out an awful truth: “Often our chairs and tables wind up in land fills where they slowly decay. On top of that, they’re full of toxic materials, like dyes and glues.” When you think about it, biodegradable furniture definitely seems to be the solution for furniture waste.

 

Biogredable coffin and Ash tree seeds

The item that in my view made the most powerful statement in the entire exhibit was the coffin designed by Ro&Ad Architects. Ad Kil and Ro Koster now have offices in Zoom, the Netherlands, and Hasselt, in Belgian Limburg, which makes them open to the Dutch Limburg area as well. They developed a coffin made of bamboo and biodegradable plastic, in which they placed seeds of the Ash tree. The deceased body decomposes together with the coffin, providing the necessary nutrients for the seeds to grow into a tree. This process highlights the fascinating life cycle that we human beings are a part of.

 

“Cradle to Cradle – Hype or Future” is not only one of the most inspiring exhibits that I’ve seen in Maastricht so far, it is also a wake up call. It teaches us as consumers that before purchasing a product, we must learn to take into consideration a number of factors that go beyond the immediate purpose we want to make of it.

 

Biodegradable laptop bag

 

The exhibit had a very powerful impact on me. I was interested in ecological subjects even prior to this, but being shown unpleasant truths about just how much waste we produce, undoubtedly raised many questions in me: what can I do as a simple consumer? How can I change the things that I found disquieting today?

The answer to these questions is clear enough: I can continue to encourage organic farming, I can buy products made from recycling, I can look for the Eco-label when I go grocery shopping, and most of all, I, as a buyer must develop my own consuming ethics – I say yes to green!

Photo-reportage by Catalina Goanta

Catalina Goanta, a Master Student from Romania at the Law faculty in Maastricht, is fascinated by the biorhythm of Maastricht.

 

NB: Although the exhibit is in Dutch, Centre Céramique offers an English translation of the information leaflet at the Reception desk. In the spirit of the event, all those requesting a copy are asked to return it so that it can be reused.

 

[googlevideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3058533428492266222[/googlevideo]
Documentary filmmaker Rob van Hattum’s Waste = Food explores
the concept of “cradle-to-cradle” environmentalism.

 

“Cradle-to-Cradle, hype or future?” exhibit at Centre Céramique (in Dutch)
Source: Limburg Province