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The War on Waste

Embracing the circular economy in our homes and offices.

Embracing the circular economy in our homes and offices

In the near future, all the products, gadgets and appliances we use every day will need to conform to the principles of the circular economy. To confront this bewildering challenge faced by all manufacturers and consumers, we commissioned global innovation intelligence platform Springwise to produce a research paper, The Future of the Sustainable Home and Office, which includes the latest inspirational products and services that are already embracing circularity.

The circular economy is a way of building a world with no waste. In a circular economy, once you have finished with a product, it goes back into the supply chain, instead of into landfill.  While most buildings and products are produced on a linear timeline of ‘take, make, use, dispose’, the circular economy calls for a more cyclical approach.

Our homes and offices are prime targets for circularity because they create so much waste. Recycling alone is not enough if the recycled materials can’t be recycled again. We need to rethink the entire lifecycle of a product or building and develop ways to repurpose items already in circulation.

A kitchen in light and nature colours

Eco-friendly materials

A house or an office building that uses low amounts of energy isn’t truly sustainable if it is constructed with materials that have a high carbon footprint and cannot be reused, but the most enlightened innovators have realized that one man’s trash is another man’s eco-friendly material.

One Australian property group, for example, has transformed clothing, plastic packaging, and discarded glass into ‘green ceramics’ which are used for everything from floor tiles and kitchen splashbacks, to the dining tables, light features, and artwork. Another US company turns reclaimed sawdust and plastic bags into decking that looks like wood, and an entrepreneurial Portuguese designer has upcycled waste cork into a limited-edition furniture collection. 3D-printing technology has allowed one Milan-based startup to transform Sicilian orange peels into desk lamps that can be composted or turned into biofuel when no longer needed.

Concrete has long been recognized as a building material with a truly shocking carbon footprint, but new eco alternatives have come to market that are made from hemp, weeds and even crayfish shells.

The scourges of single-use plastic could soon be a thing of the past as biodegradable packaging made from seaweed is being developed.

A office with a beutiful view over skyscrapes

Upcycling, reuse and repair

Furniture waste is a growing problem in our homes and offices as these items can’t easily be thrown out or recycled – they often get dumped illegally, with up to 80 percent of old furniture ending up in a landfill. The COVID-19 pandemic and relentless lockdowns have also triggered a surge in demand for new home office equipment to support working from home.

One British company specializes in remanufactured office furniture to as-new condition, typically selling it for less than half the cost of new with no loss of quality, and creating twice as many jobs as assembling new furniture from virgin materials.

Another UK-based fintech has taken upcycling to a whole new level with a free banking app that allows users to trade in their unwanted possessions for cash without the uncertainty, waiting, and irritation often associated with auction websites. It even offers customers an add-on service to offset the carbon footprint of their entire lifestyle.

Discussing the circular economy in design and architecture

Watch our panel discussion on this topic which was broadcasted online as part of Stockholm Design & Architecture Talks 2022. The talk was moderated by Swedish TV presenter Li Pamp and the panelists were David Schill, Marketing Director of Aritco Lift; Håkan Nordin, Head of Sustainability at Swedish vinyl flooring company BOLON; and Thomas Sandell, one of the most prominent architects in Sweden today.

Aritco Talk in studio

Artículo redactado por:

Cecilia Rada
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    CN

    ARITCO CHINA, SHANGHAI

    Aritco Homelift (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

    B310-2, Wending Living Style Plaza,
    No. 258 Wending Road
    Xuhui District, Shanghai P.R.
    China

    Phone: +86 400 6233 121
    Email: info.china@aritco.com

    CN

    ARITCO CHINA, QINGDAO

    504, No.32 Building, Tian’an Cyber Park
    No.88 Chunyang Rd. Qingdao
    China

    Phone: +86 532 66736895
    Email: info.china@aritco.com

    DE

    ARITCO GERMANY

    Aritco Deutschland GmbH
    Widenmayerstrasse 31
    DE – 80538 München
    Germany

    Phone: +49 7123 9597272
    Email: info.germany@aritco.com

    PT

    ARITCO PORTUGAL

    Beloura Office Park Rd 7 1
    Andar Quinta Da Beloura
    2710-444, Sintra
    Portugal

    Phone: +351 215 960 505
    Email: geral@aritco.pt

    ES

    ARITCO SPAIN

    Avenida de la Constitución 24, nave 10
    288 21, Coslada
    Madrid
    Spain

    Phone: +34 918 622 552
    Email: info.spain@aritco.com

    SE

    ARITCO SWEDEN

    Aritco Lift AB
    Elektronikhöjden 14
    175 43 Järfälla
    Sweden

    Phone: +46 8 120 401 00
    Email: info@aritco.com

    SEA

    ARITCO SOUTHEAST ASIA

    405 Yang 1981 Building,
    Room no. G-02B, M-03B
    Debaratna Road, Bang Na Nuea,
    Bangna, Bangkok 10260 Thailand.

    Phone: 086-317-4017 or 095-901-8887
    Email: info.sea@aritco.com

    UAE

    Aritco United Arab Emirates

    ARITCO LIFT AB C/O BUSINESS SWEDEN,
    CONCORD TOWER, 26TH FLOOR,
    OFFICE 2607, MEDIA CITY
    DUBAI, UAE

    EMAIL: INFO.UAE@ARITCO.COM

    UK

    ARITCO UNITED KINGDOM

    Phone: +44 1604 808809
    E-mail: info.uk@aritco.com