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Creating markets for recycled products and materials
in partnership with the industry 

• London Remade – Developing markets for recycled products 
• Kalundborg – industrial symbiosis reduces resource consumption 

London Remade – Developing markets for recycled products 

A multistakeholder partnership

Between 1997 and 2000, the London Waste Recycling Programme has been carried out to increase London recycling rates. Yet the increasing quantity of waste produced in London required to double the current recycling rate, i.e. to recycle an additional 250,000 tonnes of waste by 2003/2004. However, recycling produces materials which have to be brought back to the economic cycle. Therefore, a new programme started in 2000, the London Remade program, which rather focuses on the outlets of these materials. The programme receives a funding up to £5.4 million (about 7.7 million €) from the London Development Agency. 

More: flow-chart of LondonRemade activities 

The organisation London Remade works in close cooperation with the Greater London Authority. It is a partnership of organisations from the business sector, the local and regional governments, the waste management industry and the not-for-profit sector. Its objectives are threefold: 

• to improve the efficiency of collection and sorting of recyclable materials; 
• to encourage private investments in additional reprocessing capacity; 
• to stimulate the demand for recycled products. 

Green procurement programme 

Developing new markets for recycled products requires also encouraging organisations to ensure that their procurement policies promote the use of secondary raw materials. This programme of London Remade involves both the public and the private sectors. The objective is to ensure that the production of recycled goods is demand-led rather than supply-led and to secure commercially sustainable markets. 

• The Mayor’s Green Procurement Code

The key element of the programme, the Mayor’s Green Procurement Code, was launched in June 2001 by London’s Mayor. Over 280 organisations signed it up, including the vast majority of London’s local authorities and the main UK’s leading companies. When signing, organisations commit to greening their purchasing policies, with different levels of involvement possible, from simple information exchange with London Remade to commitment with target settings and progress assessment. 

The ultimate goal of the Code is to deliver demonstrable improvements in purchasing materials and products manufactured from recycled materials. 

• Creating connections between professionals 

Consequently, a broad range of professionals are brought together: procurement personnel (clients), designers, manufacturers and retailers. To find outlets, recycled products need to have their profile raised to the potential clients. But new clients must also trust the products and the suppliers. This is why the London Remade green procurement programme creates links between the different actors with a range of services:

• Market research to highlight products with good potential, 
• Showcase of recycled products and their suppliers, 
• Product demonstrations and sound technical advice, 
• London-wide marketing programme, 
• Compilation of specific sheets for recycled products, 
• Direct introductions for organisations seeking recycled products, 
• Development of a website as a hub for information sources. 

This approach leads to identify opportunities for new product development and to expand the markets for existing products. 

• The Brokerage service

The brokerage service of London Remade is a pillar of the efficient work of the programme. A dedicated team of London Remade’s staff provides this service for free to the Code’s signatories. It helps the organisations to develop green procurement policies, to set targets, to obtain high quality recycled products at competitive prices and to assess their success. 

Showcase of processes 

To showcase a range of processing and remanufacturing techniques and to promote technology transfer, 4 “Eco Industrial Sites” have been developed with private sector partners. They are material-specific and reprocess and remanufacture glass, paper, construction and demolition, and organic waste. They also provide training, visitor and educational facilities. 

After 2 years, the programme has been able to raise the profile of recycled content products and assist suppliers of these products to find new markets for their goods. The next goal is to establish a centre of excellence that will showcase and demonstrate the commercial and environmental merits of buying recycled. 

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Kalundborg – industrial symbiosis reduces resource consumption 

In Kalundborg, small Danish city of 20,000 inhabitants, a network co-operation emerged between 6 processing companies, one waste handling company and the Municipality. The companies exploit each other’s residual or by-products mutually on a commercial basis. So one company’s waste becomes an important resource for other companies. Consequently, the consumption of resources is reduced, the pressure on the environment is lowered and companies also yield financial benefits. At the very beginning, in the sixties, the city of Kalundborg took the responsibility for building the first pipeline, with the financing of the oil refinery. 

The by-products resulting from the companies’ activities are mainly steam, heat, water, refinery gas, gypsum, ash, fertilising enzymes, sludge, waste water and other wastes (paper, rubble and concrete, garden refuse, biowaste, iron and metal, glass and bottles). All these waste are exchanged between companies. 

Gypsum 

The Power Station established in Kalundborg has a desulphurisation plant removing sulphur dioxide (SO2) from the flue gas. During this chemical process, gypsum is produced. Each year, this amounts to 200,000 tonnes of gypsum. This gypsum is sold to a company manufacturing plasterboard products for the construction industry. It covers the majority of its consumption. This symbiosis significantly reduces the import of natural gypsum. In addition, power station gypsum is more uniform and purer than natural gypsum and thus more suited for the plasterboard production. 

Another source of gypsum comes from the recycling station of Kalundborg. It contributes to a smaller scale to reduce resource consumption and the quantity of solid waste to be landfilled.

Ashes 

The power station also separate ashes from the smoke. This result in some 30,000 tonnes of fly ash every year. 
Ash deriving from orimulsion firing is recycled in a plant in Great Britain. Nickel and vanadium are reclaimed from this ash. The ash is also recycled in the cement industry. 

Fertiliser 

The production of enzymes is based on fermentation of raw materials such as potato flour and cornstarch. Some 150,000 m3 of solid biomass and 90,000 m3 of liquid biomass are left over and are inactivated and cleaned up. The end-product, NovoGro® contains nitrogen, phosphorus and lime. It is used as a fertiliser in about 20,000 hectares of farmlands. It substitutes the use of lime and part of commercial fertilisers. 

Conclusion 

The benefits resulting from the exchange of resources between industrial companies – the so-called industrial symbiosis – are fourfold:

• the recycling of waste produced by companies
• the reduction of the consumption of resources: 
  • 2.1 million m³ of ground 
  • 1.2 million m³ of lake water, 
  • 20,000 tonnes of oil, 
  • 200,000 tonnes of natural gypsum. 
• the reduction of the environmental strain 
• the efficient use of energy. 

Financial savings are also impressive:

• the overall investments in projects reached 90 million US$ in 2002. 
• annual savings are superior to 15 million US$, 
• total savings until 2002 amount to 200 million US$. 

The success factors of the experience of Kalundborg lie within the fact that the companies fit each other, they are located close to each other, and they are trusting each other. 

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