Circular economy experiments aim to change prevailing operating methods
Would it be possible to make paper-like material from textile waste? How could empty spaces in cities be enlivened? How can you save money on children’s sports clothing? A total of 24 experiments selected for implementation in the Experimental Finland project of the Prime Minister's Office will start to find solutions to these and other challenges. The call for applications implemented through kokeilunpaikka.fi, a digital platform open to everyone, ended on 22 January 2019. The selected experiments can now be launched. The experiments are related to construction, plastics and textiles.
The experiments all share the goal of bringing about a change in current operating practices. They are aimed at responding to circular economy challenges to which no solution has as yet been found and at making people’s everyday life easier. For example, the experiments may benefit companies in the construction sector and local waste management utilities, but the results may also make the daily life of individual people run more smoothly.
Some of the experiments focus on making the basic everyday routines easier. How do I recycle old clothes in a sensible way? What if the people working at the construction site do not have a shared understanding of how building waste is recycled? Where will I find furniture without having to buy everything new when I move to a new area?
There are also experiments in which materials and ways of reusing them are developed on the basis of the circular economy principles. Could cultivation of edible mushrooms be combined with the recycling of building materials and textile waste? How could mineral wool be made into ecological concrete? Can the wood ending up in waste processing plants be used again?
The experiments are implemented by a diverse group of actors: people who have just established their companies, experienced professionals, software experts and highly skilled craftspeople.
All the experiments can be found on the Place to Experiment website at kokeilunpaikka.fi, and it is also possible to comment on them openly. The progress of the experiments can be followed on the website and once the experiments have ended, the experiences gained will be reported and made available to everyone. The circular economy experiments are coordinated by the state-owned sustainable development company Motiva.
The selected experiments (in Finnish):
- A mixture of biocoal and compost as a structural material of golf courses
- Circul, the Uber of the circular economy
- A digital platform for reusing textiles in sports clubs - empowering clubs and families to engage in the circular economy
- Eco-image price draw/rewarding
- Eliminating single use plastics in mushroom cultivation
- HuleRuoko
- Climate smoothie
- A new life for the city’s surplus buildings
- Recycling/reuse of construction timber
- A rock dust mixture as a replacement for concrete
- KNOW2CIRCLE - a localised mobile solution for waste sorting instructions at multilingual construction and demolition sites
- Rubbish when in nature - a circular economy product when picked up
- Replacing plastic and other synthetic materials with natural materials
- Plastic Trainer
- Operating model for the reuse of demolition materials
- Turning mineral wool recovered from construction and demolition waste into ecological concrete
- A new life for construction waste through nano-coating
- Textile waste to paper
- Upcycling mode
- Uusio Lehmän Muna (ULM)
- Baby clothes rental service
- WonderWall - An insulation panel that produces edible mushrooms
- Temporary household items for temporary housing
In addition, a wool-themed experiment submitted jointly by three applicants was selected for funding.
Inquiries: Johanna Kotipelto, Senior Specialist, Prime Minister’s Office, tel. +358 295 160 206, johanna.kotipelto(at)vnk.fi and Sara Lukkarinen, Expert, Motiva Oy, +358 9 612 250 22, sara.lukkarinen(at)motiva.fi