Great change comes from great minds. Gerko Brouwer, project leader for PlastiCity in The Hague, is one of those driving forces. Unfortunately he will be leaving for new adventures, on to his next eco-project. To say our proper goodbyes, we asked him about his experiences, highlights and learnings over the past years.

PlastiCity and The Hague, looks like a working marriage?
Gerko Brouwer: “Yes, it does! We all have a waste bin at home for separating plastics and we are avid recyclers. But for most Dutch companies, that is not the case. Their plastic waste simply goes into the incinerator, together with the other waste. Which means at the end, there is nothing left. Fortunately, this is not the case everywhere, because some companies do have a contract with a waste collector, who then uses the waste for other purposes.

But it is not financially interesting for smaller companies to sort their plastic waste and have it collected. So the small entrepreneur pays taxes to have his waste incinerated, while it could actually be recycled and put to good use. Exactly what we want to achieve with PlastiCity; putting the plastics flow from companies to good use and giving it a new purpose.

We try to be present in all parts of the plastics chain. Within the project, there are people who design the plastic products, companies that manufacture them, that use them and collect and transport them. And then there are people who recycle them. You have to work at all these different stops. You have to come up with products that can be made from that recycled plastic and are financially viable. We try to keep the chain as small as possible, and try to organise everything as local as possible. 

For example, you have to look for simple products that can be made of recycled plastics. This way only a low investment is needed, otherwise it is not feasible. You just have to start simple and ask the companies: what plastic products are you using today? Can they be made from recycled plastics? And if we do create those objects in recycled plastics, would you buy them?

The Hague is situated at the beach, so we have a company that makes beach toys from recycled plastics, how cool is that? Thanks to a very simple technique called injection moulding, you can very simply make such products with a mould. 

Oh, we also made a face mask out of fully recyclable plastics, and they are used in a local hospital over here. The first production was made using 3D printing, but we noticed that this was quite expensive, so now we will also use the same mould technique as the beach toys, which can increase production and reduce costs.”

2021 was quite the complicated year, but let's stay positive. What was your highlight?

Gerko Brouwer: “For me, the highlight of the past year was that PlastiCity is starting to embed more and more in the city network. People get to know it, they see the project, are enthusiastic about it and start to think along. In 2020, we only had 12 companies that wanted to participate, we only got ⅓ of a container filled with plastics. This year, we filled three of them! 

Above that, people are starting to contact us themselves with questions about creating products. In fact, a community is forming and that is exactly what we want to achieve. 

Companies aren’t deaf to all the problems concerning plastics and they also want to make their contribution. PlastiCity offers them the tools to do so.

You have to look at the opportunities that present themselves and seize them when they arise. You have to think in terms of solutions, not problems. For example, we are currently playing with the idea of a retour envelope made from recycled plastics. At the moment, your online packages are delivered in a box, but with this product, you could save a lot of paper and cardboard. This retour envelope could simply be given back by the customer to the courier who can use it over and over again. If this project succeeds, it would be really great.”

“It is important to think and act locally because the larger you think, the more actors are involved and the more problems could arise. When we work on a larger scale, each collaborants to see their issues solved, so suddenly it becomes a project involving 12 companies with 12 different problems but also 12 interests. That is why it is better to solve one problem, and keep things as small as possible. This way you can follow the principles of the circular economy more easily."

Is there a project in the other PlastiCity cities that you think is inspiring?

Gerko Brouwer: “Everyone uses the strengths of their own environment and that is what I like about the project. In Southend in the UK, for instance, they do a project with schools where the children can design logos. I think it is a very good idea to include schools in the project because it creates awareness about the theme from an early age.” 

What did PlastiCity teach you?

Gerko Brouwer: “Plastics are complicated. There are more than a thousand different types, with different criteria, formulas and so on. So working with plastics is anything but simple. On the one hand, it is a great product because you can use it for so many different purposes, but it is also an environmentally unfriendly product, if not treated correctly as a waste, and we are only making reuse difficult due to complicated multi plastic type products.”

When is, in your opinion, the set up of PlastiCity successful?

Gerko Brouwer: “When a basis of a group of well-intentioned people has been created who are creative and want to work along with it. A motivated group that can sustain itself and keep the enthusiasm alive. Because they have seen that it is possible, that it is financially interesting and that they recognise the added value of it. That, for me, would be the real success of PlastiCity.”