CIRCULAR ECONOMY: RIDING IN CIRCLES

To really tackle pollution, we need to rethink the way economies work. Our goal is to set up circular economies worldwide that focus on recycling plastic waste and creating new useful products.

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THE MERIJAAN MODEL

We’re all about fighting plastic waste and poverty. Our weapon of choice? The German bottle recycling system. You earn cash by returning used plastic bottles to the supermarket. Easy, right? We transfer that system to remote regions of the world like Sri Lanka, where we started a pilot Project in 2020

With our circular economy model, we evaluate existing recycling infrastructure and incorporate it into our approach. We then buy plastic waste from locals, melt it down and turn it into new products that are useful to local markets. This achieves three goals: we clean the environment, create new recycling infrastructure and offer additional income for locals. Sweet!

After Sri Lanka was a great place to start for us, we’re working on exporting our circular model to more regions around the globe. We also develop educational material for schoolchildren in cooperation with German authorities because we’re convinced that long term success hinges on proper education about plastic.

THE MERIJAAN MODEL

We’re all about fighting plastic waste and poverty. Our weapon of choice? The German bottle recycling system. You earn cash by returning used plastic bottles to the supermarket. Easy, right? We transfer that system to remote regions of the world like Sri Lanka, where we started a pilot Project in 2020

With our circular economy model, we evaluate existing recycling infrastructure and incorporate it into our approach. We then buy plastic waste from locals, melt it down and turn it into new products that are useful to local markets. This achieves three goals: we clean the environment, create new recycling infrastructure and offer additional income for locals. Sweet!

After Sri Lanka was a great place to start for us, we’re working on exporting our circular model to more regions around the globe. We also develop educational material for schoolchildren in cooperation with German authorities because we’re convinced that long term success hinges on proper education about plastic.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN GERMANY

We’re making waves in Germany! To support our surf gear development, we’re cooperating with local circular economies. We work with Clean-Up organizations like Deutsches KinderhilfswerkOzeankindZero Waste eV., Netzwerkknoten andOclean Hamburg  to help them better understand how to tell plastic apart and why that’s important. We also recycle their plastic.

Also, by now we have a great community of local supporters who regularly deliver plastic.