In the circular economy there will be no more waste: so how will it be managed? The answer, most simply, is to drive and transform today’s waste into tomorrow’s raw material and products.
Waste Management in the (golden) age of circular economy
As part of their commitment to a full circular economy by 2050, the Netherlands has set an important interim goal to halve primary resource usage by 2030 (by keeping existing materials in the economy). In this webinar you will get a high level - to - granular overview of how this government wide initiative is working in the Netherlands.
Our four speakers will delve into how government policies and incentives create strong signals to change current business models; how municipalities are taking up the mantle to innovate away from waste management and towards upcycling; and how the private sector literally and efficiently dismantles mattresses and sends their various component parts back into the circular economy.
Speakers
- Marieke van der Werf, partner at Dröge & van Drimmelen
- Hede Razoky, account manager at Upcycle Centrum Almere
- Chico van Hemert, Managing Director at RetourMatras
- Melissa Barbosa, Head of Sustainability at IKEA Canada
The session will be moderated by Paul van der Werf, PhD., Senior Consultant at AET Group Inc.
Marieke van der Werf
Marieke van der Werf focuses on sustainable energy and the circular economy. She has many years of experience as a communication and public affairs advisor. Also, she was spokesperson on sustainability as Member of Parliament from 2009 till 2012, where she put circular economy on the political agenda.
Marieke makes a strong case both in politics and in her advisory work of engaging society in bottom-up processes. Clients like the Top Sector Energy, Nature and Environmental education, the Dutch waste-sector, the Dutch National Recycling Platform, Green Gas NL and The Dutch Provinces recognize in Marieke the drive for a circular economy and the knowledge of transition management.
Hede Razoky
As the accountmanager for the Upcyclecentrum in Almere, Hede Razoky has a strong focus on creative entrepreneurship and the connection of (external) parties to the Upcyclecentrum in the common goal of a ‘world without waste’. Educated as a sociologist at the University of Groningen, she began her professional career at a smaller municipality, where she succeeded to transform the local waste policies towards a system founded on the social incentives for waste separation.
Hede believes in creating a sustainable world and the important role of the younger generations in this goal. Thats why in addition to her role of accountmanager, she is active as a board member of the young division of the NVRD: an organization that connects professionals in the waste sector of the Netherlands.
Chico van Hemert
Chico van Hemert is operational manager at RetourMatras. The goal of this mattress recycling company is to save as much raw materials and CO2 as possible. Chico became operational manager after INGKA Investments (IKEA) and Renewi invested in the company. During his study Economics at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, he completed an internship at RetourMatras and has stayed at the company ever since. He participates in several committees to develop mattress recycling to a mature market.
Chico is passionate about business development and creating new opportunities. His financial background and technical understanding have helped the company grow from one recycling facility to four recycling facilities in The Netherlands. In Chico's view, all parties in the production chain must work together to succeed in the circular economy.
Melissa Barbosa
For over 12 years Melissa has had the pleasure of leading change towards sustainability with diverse roles in private, non-profit, and public sectors; a range of experience that includes corporate social responsibility, academia, natural resource management, renewable energy development, and social finance.
As Head of Sustainability for IKEA Canada, Melissa provides strategic and dynamic leadership working through and across the organization to facilitate the delivery of the IKEA Group People & Planet Positive Strategy; enabling the ongoing transformation and growth of the business.
Paul van der Werf (moderator)
Paul is a senior consultant with AET Group Inc. He was educated at the University of Guelph and Western University’s Department of Geography, where in 2018 he completed a PhD, with research focused on improving food waste measurement and developing a successful intervention to reduce household food waste.
Paul is a recognized waste management expert with more than 27 years of national and international experience. His key areas of expertise include waste composition analysis and food and organic waste management. He is a long-time waste management commentator and has published more than 135 articles on various aspects of waste management, in Canada and abroad.
About the webinar series
Our key objectives for organizing the webinars include increasing participant knowledge, expanding networks, showing the circular economy in real world action and inspiring the development of new circular economy projects in Ontario and across Canada.
Contact us
Are you interested in connecting with Dutch parties, for inspiration, networking or doing business? We would love to hear from you, so feel free to reach out to our Economic Affairs team at tor-ea@minbuza.nl.