Reduce, Reuse and Recycle at Dutch Performing Arts Festival “Noorderzon”

This year, just as in previous years, the disposable cups used at the Noorderzon Festival will be made of PLA bioplastic. However, this time the organizers of the event have devised a solution for the useful recycling of the cups, which are not only made out of renewable resources, but can if necessary also be industrially composted.

At this year’s festival, a number of partners have joined together in a project coordinated by Rotterdam-based Bio Futura B.V., to collect the approximately 500,000 bioplastic cups from the festival for recycling by LoopLife, in Belgium.

At LoopLife, a recycler that acquired Galactic’s PLA mechanical recycling operations in 2013, the cups will be shredded, washed and regranulated ready to be made into drink tokens for the 2017 edition of the Noorderzon Festival.

All festival visitors will be asked to join in the effort, and will be rewarded with a drink token for every 50 cups they hand in.

PLA is a bio-based material made from renewable resources. Cups made from PLA are a more sustainable choice than the used of oil-based plastics, due to the significantly lower amount of CO2 emitted during production. After use the material can be industrially composted or transformed into biogas.

In terms of resource use, recycling could offer an even more sustainable option than composting, by conserving raw material and completely closing the loop, say the project’s organizers.

The collaborating partners in the project are:

• Bio Futura B.V.   Project intermediary. Imports and sells sustainable disposables.
• Noorderzon       Green Key Certified festival for performing arts.
• Natureworks      Leading producer of PLA.
• Huhtamaki         European-based producer of PLA cups.
• Looplife              Recycling specialist, who will recycle the cups. 

The “Noorderzon Festival” takes place from the 18th through the 28th of August in Groningen, The Netherlands.

http://www.biofutura.nl