PROJECT PRESENTATION

Cradle to Cradle – 3ZEN accredited projects' evaluator for EPSA Switzerland

The Cradle to Cradle™ model transfers the principle of “quality equals quantity” to industrial systems. The flow of materials is designed to be useful and benefit for the restoration and conservation of biological and technical resources. This approach stems from the tendency to slow down and reduce negative environmental impacts.

Maintaining the quality of materials and them in the design of new products across multiple life cycles is a major challenge. Usually recycling is mostly linear concept. Wastes are inevitable, as is lower quality for cycling. Cradle to Cradle™ is looking for strategies how materials can stay in closed loop without losing quality of material.

In the biological system, the Bayonix bottle is one of the major systemic solutions against excessive plastic pollution. 89 billion liters of water are put into bottles each year. Only in Germany, 1,500 bottles are consumed every second. About 80% of these bottles end up in the trash. There are around 800 million such bottles in Germany, so about 500-600 million bottles are returned each year. 35 billion plastic bottles are collected annually in landfills and in our oceans worldwide.

Bottled water causes 90 to 1000 times more environmental pollution than tap water. About 3 liters of water are required to produce disposable 1 plastic bottle.

Between Hawaii and the American mainland, an island as big as Central Europe is made up of discarded plastic waste. It is estimated to weigh over three million tonnes. Scientists have calculated that there is six times more plastic than plankton in the sea. When broken down into microplastics, they can also enter our food chain. A disposable plastic bottle takes about 450 years to break down naturally. Raw materials are declining and the quality of recycling is deteriorating. We use the environment 1.6 times more intensively than nature can regenerate
on its own. The dangers are solvents and plasticizers such as phthalates, antimony, bisphenol and many more.

As early as 2009, Frankfurt scientists discovered that mineral waters filled with commercial bottles and bought in German supermarkets contain hormone-active contaminants. Hormonal pollutants can severely damage the hormonal system and thus contribute to serious health problems such as immune deficiencies and inability to reproduce. Embryo and young children are at risk, with even the small injuries likely to cause subsequent damage.

The first sports bottle to receive Cradle to Cradle Certified certification at the “Gold” level. Very lightweight bottle in which the liquid is 100% free of harmful substances! The first sports bottle is 100% biodegradable and 100% recycled.

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Focus Area

Circular Business Models

3ZEN – Cradle to Cradle

PROJECT PRESENTATION

Cradle to Cradle – 3ZEN accredited projects' evaluator for EPSA Switzerland