The Port of Rotterdam has the ideal location to become a circular hub, according to the newly-launched “Rotterdam towards a circular port – a deep dive into Waste-to-Value opportunities” report, with the report tracking the current waste flows in the port and the development of advanced companies in the industry cluster that are already committed to circular activities.
The report was launched by the Port Rotterdam Authority and Circle Economy.
The industry in Rotterdam is a major consumer of raw materials and, like the logistics sector and the surrounding region, it generates a wide variety of waste flows. The beneficial use and recycling of these residual flows fits in with the broader transition to a new system of raw materials and offers Rotterdam new economic and social opportunities.
Today, the industry takes the raw materials and transforms them into products, with the remaining being treated as waste; Although the majority of the industrial waste in the port is recycled or used as fuel, a significant proportion of the waste is still incinerated or sent to landfill.
Therefore, creating a value from residual flows, Rotterdam can boost its position as a circular port and an international Waste-to-Value Port with a leading position in raw material productivity and low-carbon, circular production.
The port’s first step is to attract new activities and scale start-ups; In the future, the circular economy will be crucial to introduce technologies that can cope with the large volumes of the Rotterdam region.
The second step will be to sort and recycle; This is an important step because the links in the chain are present in Rotterdam: from primary plastic producers, transporters, sorters and recyclers to customers for a range of secondary products.
The third is the industrial symbiosis; The port focuses on CCU (Carbon Capture & Utilisation), a technology in which CO2 is captured and re-used as a raw material for industry.
In the meantime, the port has drawn a roadmap with three specific steps to follow to fully-achieve compliance with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. In essence:
- The first two stages relate to energy efficiency, the construction of new infrastructure and the development of a new energy system based on electrification and hydrogen.
- The third stage will involve a new system for raw materials and fuels, and a circular economy. To achieve this goal, companies in the port are now already focusing on reducing the use of raw materials, for example by generating value from residual flows.
In its efforts of becoming a circular hub, the port has published a series of videos, presenting its steps towards a circular economy in 2050, resulting to the CO2 release and waste from industries and consumers being the raw material for new products.
For more information on the report click here.
