This year’s winner in the renewable raw materials category was Carlisle Construction Materials, a manufacturer and supplier of a complete line of premium single-ply roofing products, systems and accessories for the commercial building industry. The company developed a new technique for installing and removing EPDM roofing. Large EPDM roofing membranes are fastened to the roof substructure using an induction system. The same system allows the material to be removed at the end of its life without damage. Carlisle offers building owners a take-back guarantee on the material, which can then be reused or incorporated into compounds for new roofing - a solution that fits seamlessly into the concept of a circular economy, said the jury.
The winner in the chain collaboration category was the Circular Plastics Factory. Circular Plastics Factory supports companies and brand owners in the development of circular products. The factory is equipped with everything needed to connect the different links in the chain - from physical recycling and granulation to a fully circular end product, injection moulded or otherwise produced. Services include product development, design for recycling and logistics. The jury recognised the company, amongst others, for its ability to stimulate collaborate and bring all the chain partners together in product innovations. The jury sees this one-stop formula as a valuable and structural solution for customers who want to do business in a circular manner and a real example of chain cooperation.
The jury selected Faerch as the winner of the circular design category, recognising the company for its closed-loop Evolve meal tray solution, which is made from post-consumer recycled material and can be fully recycled into new food packaging again and again. The jury called it a textbook example of a system the closes the loop, allowing Faerch to play an important pioneering role on the road to the circular economy.
Throughout the entire first day of the Kunststoffen show, visitors could vote on their choice for the Audience award. The Circular Plastics Factory nabbed this prize as well, narrowly beating out finalist Opackgroup’s submission in the circular design category - Optilayer, a monomaterial laminated film solution to replace the often unrecyclable multimaterial films used in packaging; VinylRecycling, a finalist in the chain collaboration category, came in third.
The jury members of the Rethink Awards 2023 were: Marjan Minnesma (Urgenda), Rik van der Ploeg (Nature & Environment), Marc Spekreijse (National Growth Fund Program Circular Plastics NL) and John Vernooij (Omrin).
