Newsletter number 7 – June 2019
Newsletter 7 Three months in Asia! #Expé 1 The #Expé1 started its second month in India with new projects in Bangalore. A circular coconut farm, an edible tableware business and a coconut leaf straw business. Then they went to the state of Kerala to meet a farm that produces and uses compost from fishing waste in Munambham as well as Cherai where there is a public policy of private investment for aquaponics. Finally they crossed South India to get closer to Chennai, from where they will leave for Sri Lanka. In passing they stopped in Pondicherry to visit a permaculture farm. The climate change has serious consequences on India in this month of June! Indeed a scorching heat wave has raised the thermostat to reach record temperatures in Rajasthan. More than 50°C recorded! Moreover the monsoon is several weeks late leading to an unprecedented drought in Chennai. Indeed it is the monsoon that brings nearly 70% of the annual rainfall in this area of India. As a result, the retention basins are empty and the sixth city of India must transport 525 million liters of water per day by truck … These problems prevent us from finishing our adventure with projects in Chennai. These problems prevent us from finishing our adventure with projects in Chennai. We will go there only to take the plane to Sri Lanka, a little earlier than planned. Departure on July 7th! #Expé 2 For its third month of travel, the #Expé2 went to Thailand! More developed than its neighbors, this country is full of innovations and ideas to move towards a circular economy! Tourism represents 10% of Thailand’s GDP. The country welcomed nearly 32 million visitors in 2016. This demographic explosion in a developing country has dramatic consequences on the environment, and on the oceans in particular. However, Thailand owes its attractiveness to its fantastic natural spaces: it has become urgent to preserve them by adopting a more sustainable consumption pattern. The islands are particularly fragile ecosystems because of difficult waste management and with fewer resources. We met with five circular economy projects related to the management of agricultural waste, waste related to tourism and the redistribution of food surpluses for the most deprived. We are leaving Thailand for Malaysia and Singapore, where we will spend our last month of expedition! Our favorite projects! #Expé 1 – Evlogia This start up was created 6 months ago by a professor from Christ University in Bangalore through the Initiatives in Creative Learning for Impact (ICLI) program, which brings together numerous student-led projects. Evlogia brings together more than 150 students from different fields of study at Christ University. To combat plastic, they have developed straws under the name Leafy Straw, made from coconut leaves, a common agricultural waste in this region of India. Indeed, the veins and limbs that make up these leaves become dry and rigid once they fall from the coconut tree and are usually burned on farms. The students realized the method to create different sizes of straws and designed a machine that allows manual workers to work faster and more accurately. With one coconut leaf, 600 small straws are produced. These leaves come from farms around Bangalore but also from Kerala. Evlogia offers 5 types of straws according to the type of drink. The start up was made possible thanks to the ICLI program and the university which is very dynamic in the implementation of eco-initiatives. Another pilot project of the program consists in making sponges from another agricultural waste from the coconut tree exploitation, the coconut fibers. #Expé 2 – Elephant Poopoopaper Park We met a project that is original to say the least! In Chiang Mai, in the North of Thailand, many tourists flock to the animal parks to admire the Asian elephants. An adult elephant produces nearly 150kg of undigested fiber per day. The surrounding villages, which use this faeces as fertilizer, are under-capacitated and mountains of elephant dung accumulate on their doorsteps. This is how Michael and his wife Kanokrat got the idea to recuperate this fiber-rich material to make paper! But this is only part of their business: 80% of their source material comes from the agricultural waste of neighboring farmers. These farmers have no way to get rid of their vegetable waste, and every year, in April-May, a thick black smoke covers the area when all of it is burned. By creating this original product, Poopoopaper Park does not hope to absorb all the waste which is far too numerous, but seeks to contribute to improve the living environment of the inhabitants as well as to sensitize its growing public! Conference and Event The #Expé2 had the opportunity to attend the Circular Living Symposium 2019 in Bangkok! This conference, organized by PTTGC and supported by National Geographic, aimed to promote the circular economy and discuss new ideas and challenges, with interventions from experts from around the world, Thai and international companies and foundations. It was an opportunity for us to discover the latest news and trends, especially on the theme of plastics, and to admire the Thai and international commitment. Attending this international event was a real source of inspiration and motivation, showing that many companies and actors are ready to take the plunge all over the world! Quick return to France, with the organization of the awards evening by the AgroPArisTech Foundation for the projects supported this year. We are very proud to have been able to participate thanks to the presence of our President, Marc-Antoine, and part of the 2020 team already formed with Salomé and Léna! The CirculAgronomy association CirculAgronomie is an association created in 2016 by two AgroParisTech students as part of a gap year project. Our ambition is to link circular economy projects around the world in the fields of agriculture and food industry. We analyze their social and environmental impact and their reproducibility through the seven pillars of circular economy described by ADEME. To do so, students in gap year carry out
Newsletter number 6 – May 2019
Newsletter 6 News from Asia Now it’s time to start the biggest part of our trip, the #Expé1 is now in India for 10 weeks. Enough time to cross this gigantic country (by train and bus only) and meet its population. The second largest in the world with nearly one billion three hundred million people! In this period we find hot temperatures in the north with an average of 43°C during the day and 30°C at night. In the south the temperatures are milder and the harvest should arrive at the end of June with a little delay. There are 22 recognized regional languages including Hindi, the official national and government language and the majority in the north of the country. The 23rd language of the country and second national language is English, which the Indians speak among themselves when they do not have the same language of origin and is also the language of instruction. During our first month in the Indian subcontinent we met 5 projects. In New Delhi, Jaipur and Bangalore, these projects concern the management of waste through the use of compost, the improvement of food quality, the help to the most deprived populations and farmers (50% of the workers) as well as the limitation of food waste! After a first month in Vietnam, the #Expé2 went up Cambodia and then Laos during the month of May. These two countries with young populations are still marked by the wars of the 20th century, and the circular economy is for the moment more present in the agricultural sector. With respectively 50% and 70% of their active farming populations, Cambodia and Laos are countries shaped by traditional food-producing agriculture, which is beginning to open up to new production methods. Five initiatives were encountered during this period: projects in agro-ecology, the exploitation of ecosystem services and the valorization of agricultural bio-waste, representative of what is being implemented across the countries. We are now heading towards Thailand, a country to which we will devote the month of June. We look forward to sharing with you the future projects we will meet! Our favorite projects! #Expé1 – Guna With this company, Neha Upadhyaya is helping the village of Tamachik. Located in the heart of the mountainous region of Kashmir, in Ladakh, she was able to turn it into an eco-village. It has provided the inhabitants with low-tech solutions adapted to their needs, such as a solar dryer for apricots. They are easy to assemble, transport, use and inexpensive. Their main production is organic apricots. Before its arrival, there were a lot of losses due to the low storage capacity and the short lifespan of the apricots once picked. Dried organic apricots have a shelf life of 2 years compared to 2 days for fresh non-organic apricots and sell them more expensive while having 30% less loss. Guna has enabled this village to switch to organic production, and also allows the maintenance of agricultural activity and supports the emancipation of women. With this success, Neha is happy to have 8 other surrounding villages that wish to follow the same path. #Expé2 – Naga Earth Naga Earth is a company located in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Initially created as an NGO, Naga Earth’s first project was to create a process to transform cooking oils from restaurants into biodiesel. Like other Southeast Asian countries, Cambodian cuisine requires a lot of cooking oil, which is often thrown away without treatment. In addition, in order to save money, most restaurants reuse the same oil many times, which has a very harmful effect on long-term health. Naga Earth thus provides 5000L of biodiesel per month to its customers. The co-product of the process of transforming the oil into biodiesel, glycerine, is transformed into soap which is distributed free of charge to humanitarian associations in the region. Glycerine is also used to create cleaning products sold to businesses. In both cases, the products are delivered in returnable packaging to save plastic. In addition, Naga Earth is experimenting with a plastic recycling system using four machines under construction. The latest project to date is the purchase of a machine to crush glass bottles and reduce them to sand that can be embedded in concrete. In addition to its commitment, Naga Earth wishes to transmit its knowledge to as many people as possible through collaborative workshops! The CirculAgronomy association CirculAgronomie is an association created in 2016 by two AgroParisTech students as part of a gap year project. Our ambition is to link circular economy projects around the world in the fields of agriculture and food industry. We analyze their social and environmental impact and their reproducibility through the seven pillars of circular economy described by ADEME. To do so, students in gap year carry out expeditions to different countries every year. This year, we will be 5 students… in France! Newsletter CirculAgronomie Subscribe Facebook Youtube Linkedin Instagram Legal information Copyright CirculAgronomie 2020
Newsletter 5 – October December 2018
Newsletter 5 Our new members This year, 2 expeditions are leaving to discover the circular economy in Asia. After Nepal, Clémence Robson, Julie Limasset and Virgil Hervagault are currently in New Delhi, the beginning of a two-month trip to India. The second expedition, composed of Clémence Gagnaire, Clémence Chatué and Manon Mangin, is now in Cambodia after having crossed Vietnam for one month. On the Parisian side, we welcome Julie Leroux, a new AgroParisTech graduate, who is in charge of setting up our new analysis tool. It will be tested by the two expeditions. News from the expeditions! Expé1 met with 6 projects in Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal. This small country located on the Himalayas between the two giants China and India, is at the beginning of its economic expansion. Agriculture remains mainly food-producing and the food industry is non-existent: processed food is imported from India. The projects encountered are therefore more oriented towards the management of plastic waste – a real environmental problem here, as well as the creation of cooperatives and technical and economic information centers for agriculture, which is still underdeveloped. The Expé2 has just spent a month discovering projects in Vietnam! During our trip from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, we met 13 projects. All of them quite young – most of them were created less than a year ago, they are symbols of the exponential growth of the Vietnamese economy and of the growing interest of the population for the environment, especially in relation to plastic pollution. After crossing the border a few days ago, we are now ready to set off to meet Cambodian initiatives! Spotlight on the… #Expé1 – The Bazaar/ DV Excellus The lack of a structured agricultural market in Nepal leads to significant daily price fluctuations. The bazaar, together with the Bazaar Agricultural Cooperative, has created a weekly market for vegetable producers in Pokhara. Produce comes from the Kaski district, where farmers’ property covers an average of 0.2 hectares (4 Ropani). The creation of the cooperative allows for joint purchases of agricultural inputs, which reduces costs for farmers. It also provides professionals with a regular supply. They are collaborating with DV Excellus, which is developing “Blooom”, a smartphone for agricultural professionals and buyers. For the moment, it provides a basic service to a network of 5000 farmers. The implementation of this application allows the collection of data on soils, crops and climate, and will provide personalized and environmentally friendly technical monitoring. In the long term, the goal is to expand throughout Nepal! The network will expand to 10,000 members next month. #Expé2 – Greenjoy Straw This Ho Chi Minh start-up produces straw from a hollow grass that has been growing for centuries on the banks of the Mekong River: Lepironia Articulata. The straws are grown naturally, without chemicals. After drying, they can be stored for 6 months until they are used. Then they can be decomposed under natural conditions in less than 5 days.These single-use straws may not be the most suitable for personal consumption. However, they are a good substitute for Vietnamese stores and restaurants, which are fond of plastic straws.Although it represents only 0.025 percent of the 8 tons of plastic dumped into the oceans each year (source: National Geographic), 8.3 billion straws still pollute our beaches. Green straws are a step towards a more sustainable world! The CirculAgronomy association CirculAgronomie is an association created in 2016 by two AgroParisTech students as part of a gap year project. Our ambition is to link circular economy projects around the world in the fields of agriculture and food industry. We analyze their social and environmental impact and their reproducibility through the seven pillars of circular economy described by ADEME. To do so, students in gap year carry out expeditions to different countries every year. This year, we will be 5 students… in France! Newsletter CirculAgronomie Subscribe Facebook Youtube Linkedin Instagram Legal information Copyright CirculAgronomie 2020
Milubo
Milubo Responsible consumption Fonctional economy Recycling FRANCE Web: https://www.milubo.com/ Contact: hello@milubo.com Localisation: Montreuil (93) Sector: Catering Creation date: 2019 Meeting date: December 2020 Project maturity: Under development Overview Project Summary Milubo is a French company founded in April 2019 in Paris. Milubo offers a “zero waste” solution and a new consumption mode for fast food restaurants with the implementation of a lunchbox and returnable and reusable cups offer. This model reduces the environmental impact of fast food by offering an alternative to the use of single packaging, generally made of plastic. in January 2017 and inaugurates its first cocotarium on 95 in January 2018. Key Figures 75,000 packaging avoided containers 8,000 cups in circulation An average of 50 partner companies 3 cities: Paris, Nantes and Marseille (Lyon and Bordeau to come) how the project works 1. How the project works By 2023, it will be impossible to use disposable tableware in fast-food restaurants for meals served on site, with the anti-waste law for a circular economy. It is therefore becoming necessary to find alternatives to single-use packaging to meet the upcoming legislation. Milubo presents itself as an alternative to the use of single-use dishes by offering a range of returnable containers. It works directly with retailers according to their needs. The price of the deposit is variable according to the containers which are of 2 types: cups and bowls. After consumption, customers can return the container to any of the businesses using Milubo’s services. All the stores are listed on their website. The objective is to encourage customers to return return returnable containers. In order to fight against the retention effect of containers, they are standardized and neutral. The objective is not to make limited editions (Christmas, Valentine’s Day…). Milubo has several logistic missions, which are carried out from their platform in Montreuil: possibility to clean the containers: mainly the bowls which are recovered every day.preparation of deliveriesrestocking with a fair redistribution of containers between the different businesses The service offered is based on a monthly subscription and includes the provision of the containers, the use of digital billing and the cleaning of the containers. The cleaning is billed per container. Milubo currently has a single logistics platform. The objective being to develop the short circuit, cleaning is only offered to businesses in the Paris region: 2 in Montreuil, the others in the 10th, 11th and 18th arrondissements. The cups, which are easier to maintain, are generally cleaned by the businesses offering them, which allows Milubo to offer its service in cities without cleaning platforms. Milubo has been present in Lyon since December. 2. Zoom on the containers In addition to the environmental approach, these containers have other advantages: customer loyalty Neutral design favouring deposit taste neutral Containers are available in three materials: Polypropylene (recycled and recyclable plastic): this material offers the advantage of having a low production cost and is reusable between 200 and 500 times depending on the container. The problem remains easy deterioration (they are removed if they are too worn out). The deposit for this type of container is from 1€ for cups and up to 4.50€ for bowls. Glass: The deposit for this type of container is between 1,20 and 1,09€, despite its higher weight this type of container is reusable for a longer period of time. Stainless steel: This material is used in a smaller proportion. They are proposed for caterers or bulk coffee for example. Both types of containers (cups and bowls) are available in 3 sizes (small, medium and large). sustainable development approach Pillar of the circular economy Eco Design/Extended Service Life: Materials have been selected to obtain containers that have a long service life and can be recycled. Economy of functionality: Milubo does not offer a product (container) but a service. By offering neutral containers, Milubo encourages customers to detach themselves from the possession of the good and therefore to return the container to the café/restaurant. Responsible consumption: By limiting the overproduction of packaging, Milubo contributes to a more responsible consumption. Environmental benefits By the introduction of the deposit, the number of packages is reduced considerably. Since the introduction of this system, 75,000 packages have been avoided. The major challenge of the project is based on the recovery of containers, the return rate is currently 85%. The objective is to increase this return rate in order to provide as few additional containers as possible. Containers that are too worn out after successive uses are recycled. Bénéfices économiques The use of reusable containers reduces the cost of packaging. They become profitable after an average of four uses: 2 uses for ‘low cost’ packaging5 uses for slightly more expensive packaging. The choice to offer neutral containers allows : encourage the return of packaging: the more containers returned, the less it is necessary to invest in new containers.avoid collection: no limited editions that can add additional development costs and promote retention. The objective is to make the consumer stand out from the container. Container homogenization allows the development of a limited range of cups and bowls in 3 sizes. REPLICABILITY & FUTURE PERSPECTIVES Outlook for development The perspectives of evolution around this project are numerous. Increase the container return rate to 95% as well as the speed of returns. Implementation of a digital set-point system, in test status for the moment. If the container is returned within 7 days after purchase, the customer does not pay a deposit. Beyond 7 days, the customer pays and the deposit increases with the time of return. In addition to this system, the implementation of a digital traceability system makes it possible to accurately track the number of containers used by the restaurateur/user, which can allow the implementation of a loyalty system. Development of an application to count the stores … (for the moment via the website) Development of Milubo’s own container in terms of color and design: uses for the moment the desgin of the manufacturers. Develop a collection system in flow