The research by the Greenhouse Horticulture & Flower Bulbs Business Unit of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and the Club of 100 into circular greenhouse horticulture has been completed. The research looked at the possibilities and opportunities for a circular working method in the greenhouse horticulture cluster. An interactive PDF has been created from the findings. In the near future, WUR will determine what the follow-up to the research will look like. Nine chain parties (such as suppliers and trade) and Greenport West-Holland were involved in the research.
There has been a lot of talk about the circular economy in recent years. But what this looks like, how greenhouse horticulture can implement it and what is currently happening was not yet clear. That is why WUR started the circular greenhouse horticulture research project. The research was funded by the Club of 100 of the WUR; ten companies from the Club of 100 – with different expertise – also served on the project's supervisory committee.
Six material flows examined
The result of the research is a document with information that greenhouse horticulture can use, says project leader Alexander Boedijn. This clearly defines what is meant by circular greenhouse horticulture. “Our goal: to ensure that we speak the same language when it comes to the road to circular greenhouse horticulture.”
For six different material flows (water, fertilizers, plastics, biomass, CO2 and substrate), the researchers have mapped out which circular solutions are already available and which innovations have potential. To indicate how and why an existing practice or innovation contributes to circularity, the definitions in the R ladder (such as Refuse, Reuse and Recycle) and the transition paths (as defined by the PBL) were used.
Starting point for innovation
These overviews therefore show for which material flows and goals there are currently many or few solutions. It can therefore serve as a starting point for new innovations, says Boedijn. The aim is to update the overview when sufficient new content is available: greenhouse horticulture companies with innovations can then report them to the researchers. In addition, the greenhouse horticulture cluster can show the government and society, for example, what is already happening and what the agenda is for the coming years.
You can download the interactive PDF 'Steps towards circular greenhouse horticulture – Transition paths and innovations' here .
Source: Greenport West Holland
