The Almere upcycle centre example

That is a logo made of recycled material representing the logo of Almere  It is all really well thought  through: the roof, the structures, the recycling platform, the use of the materials, offices, stores, the furniture, the flooring, including even the flushing water for toilets. As an example, the concrete pad is made from eco-granular, recycled materials from demolished buildings eg the Almere swimming pool, the Almere sports arena, etc..

To build the wooden structure around the building, used wood from the swimming pool and trees which were removed in Almere. The bicycle parking lot is made of old car tires. The wall panels are made from old galvanized steel airducts. The roll doors are the ones previously used at the sports arena.

The Modulo system is made from recycled concrete. The wooden floor is made by a team of persons with a disability. 13,000 pieces of recycled materials is what it took to make this floor. The same team was also involved in the ceiling , which is made is made out of 1,400 empty bottles.They loved to work on it. Lights, furniture, for everything we focused on circularity. To redo the furniture, leather was used from old furniture.

The Almere Upycling Center recently was published  in  Holland Circulair Hotspot, initiated by the Dutch Government as it is seeking to promote Dutch examplary initiatives in the field of circulair entrepreneurship. It is publishing leading examples eg  Heineken, Plastic Whale, Rotterzwam, DSM-Niaga, Waste2Aromatics, Waste Transformers, carpet manufacturer  Interface and The Great Bubble Barrier.

Easy to install, expandable, changeable, moveable and  reusable. These are a few remarks in the Circular Hotspot magazine about Modulo. And also very important, the fact that you can use the deck as well as the space underneath the deck. That space an be used for many purposes, eg hazardous waste, storage, maintenance, offices, changing rooms.

Holland Circulair Hotspot also emphasis the process of working with Modulo. It starts with a so called “ Country-City process” involving all relevant parties to combine existing regulations, future regulatory requirements, existing national, regional, local practices and methods with as a result the development of a number of alternative approaches, scenario’s. Each of those scenario’s will be compared, including traffic and queuing simulations as required, resulting in capital and operating budgets for the different solutions.

For the Upcycling facility in Almere potential future regulatory developments have been considered so that the site can be easily adapt if needed. For future sites focus is not only on waste or recyclables drop off anymore, but more and more on receiving of reusables and raw materials.